Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell has proposed delaying the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump until mid-February to give him time to prepare a legal defense.
McConnell said in a statement on Thursday that he has presented Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer with a proposed timeline for the first phases of the impeachment trial that would give Trump two weeks to prepare.
“Senate Republicans are strongly united behind the principle that the institution of the Senate, the office of the presidency and former President Trump himself all deserve a full and fair process that respects his rights and the serious factual, legal and constitutional questions at stake,” McConnell said.
McConnell added that his proposed timeline gives both sides “a modest and reasonable” amount of time to assemble their arguments, “given the unprecedented speed of the House’s process.”
Schumer: Pelosi will deliver Trump impeachment article to Senate on Monday
The House voted to impeach Trump for a record second time on Jan. 13, charging the former president with inciting an insurrection a week earlier when radical supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol building in an attempt to disrupt Congress’ certification of Joe Biden as the 46th president.
Five people, including a Capitol Police officer, died in the attack and many have since been arrested.
McConnell proposed that formal procedures, including House managers reading the article of impeachment to the Senate and the swearing in of members of the court, to begin on Jan. 28.
Trump would then have until Feb. 4 to answer to the charge and until Feb. 11 to submit his pre-trial brief.
The House would also submit its pre-trial documents by Feb. 13, according to McConnell’s proposal.
“That means former president Trump has 14 total days from when we issue the summons to write his brief,” McConnell said.
Now the Senate minority leader, McConnell said this structure is similar to the pre-trial process of former President Bill Clinton in the 1990s and Trump’s first Senate impeachment trial a year ago, though periods between due dates are slightly longer “because of the House’s unprecedented timeline.”
“At this time of strong political passions, Senate Republicans believe it is absolutely imperative that we do not allow a half-baked process to short-circuit the due process that former President Trump deserves or damage the Senate or the presidency,” he said.
“We received leader McConnell’s proposal that only deals with pre-trial motions late this afternoon. We will review it and discuss it with him,” Justin Goodman, Schumer’s spokesman, said.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters during her weekly press conference Thursday that the lower chamber is ready to submit the article to the Senate, but didn’t say when that might happen.
“I’m not going to be telling you when it is going, but we had to wait for the Senate to be in session,” she said. “They’ve now informed us they’re ready to receive.”
At Trump’s first trial, Democrats pushed to included witnesses, which McConnell, who was then the Senate majority leader, was against. On Thursday, Pelosi said witnesses may not be necessary this time, as “the whole world bore witness to the president’s incitement.”
“It will be soon,” she said. “I don’t think it will be long. But we must do it.”
Schumer also told reporters on Thursday that it’s up to Pelosi to decide when the article is sent over. he also said he and McConnell are working on a bipartisan agreement on trial rules.
“But make no mistake, there will be a trial,” he said. “There will be a vote up or down on whether to convict the president.
“I believe he should be convicted. We’ll have to wait until the article comes over to figure out how to do that.”
Thursday, former senior adviser Jason Miller announced that South Carolina-based attorney Butch Bowers has been hired to represent Trump.
“Butch is well respected by both Republicans and Democrats and will do an excellent job defending President Trump,” Miller tweeted.
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The very concept of constitutional impeachment presupposes the impeachment, conviction and removal of a president who is, at the time of his impeachment, an incumbent in the office from which he is removed. Indeed, that was the purpose of the impeachment power, to remove from office a president or other “civil official” before he could further harm the nation from the office he then occupies.
The Constitution DID NOT imply that impeachment can be used against a private citizen or as a means of hateful destruction of a former president.
But it would appear that the Congressional Democrats and their RINOs no longer abide by our U.S. Constitution. They consider themselves above the U.S. Constitution and the law. 👿
On the PLUS SIDE…
IF the democrats are INTENT on this path, it opens the doors for other ‘presidents’ to be IMPEACHED.
Let’s see, Carter for iran, giving the Nationalist Chinese Security Council to the Communist china, GIVING the Panama Canal to Unfriendly Nation, PARDONING AND RESTORING CITIZENSHIP to the Draft Dodgers that LEFT US SOIL(without their return WE WOULD NOT HAVE THESE PROBLEMS TODAY)
Clinton for, among many others, TRANSFERRING ABSOLUTE ABOVE TOP SECRET TECHNOLOGY of MULTISTAGE SEPARATION TECHNOLOGY TO CHINA, Without which, china would still be a third rate military power.
Obama for NOT BEING A CITIZEN among others.
Biden for ELECTION FRAUD… Johnson for the same crime.
KAMMALuh for NOT BEING A CITIZEN.
OK, I’m IN!
Would it have been better, had i said “ITS foolish, to think the GOP will ever grow a spine”??
McConnell has been there a long time . You would think he would have read the Constitution and know what’s in it by now. President Trump is out, stop wasting our tax dollars on B.S. And please READ the bills before YOU vote on them!
McConnell, having handed a cover to Dems by claiming – WITHOUT A SHRED OF EVIDENCE – that the President had spontaneously incited a pre-planned Anti-FA attack in D.C., is now posturing as the white knight with too little too late.
He knows it’s a meaningless procedural gesture or he wouldn’t be bothering for President Donald Trump.
They …NEVER… have abide by the Constitution.. it’s just fancy printed toilet paper to the communist party.
The Supreme Court could step in immediately and stop the further division of this nation along party lines by declaring illegal, any attempts to punish in impeachment, ANY President who has already left office as unconstitutional, nor deny him the right to run again for office by the political party in office.
This is modern day America, not ancient Greece where unpopular or too powerful citizens were “Ostracized” removed from a city by the emotions of the masses, for five or ten years by popular vote. That failed first experiment in nascent democracy usually only ended in dictatorship. A greater disservice to a successful leader has not occurred since the Athenians ostracized Themistocles, despite his many victories that kept the enemies of the state without, from getting within. The extremist attempts to ostracize President Trump are prima facie evidence that the enemies within are already within, the highest chambers of our government.
Should the Democrats succeed in their social attempt at domestic terrorism, then the Bidens, the Clintons and Obama’s had best fear for themselves when the worm has turned and Republicans rule the day.
By allowing it to continue, the door for a wide plethora range of CRIMINAL CHARGES against nearly ALL DEMOCRATS IN CONGRESS…
Many of which are Military Tribunal criminal actions.
Good Luck with that; its too late, they are way ahead of that curve, they are on the way to making their party the only totalitarian one world government party! In fact, they are the pawns/demons who are working for the One World Government!!
All that would have to happen is for conservatives to vote out a system that now controls every aspect of every election, and every life through regulation, executive order, data controls, boycott, peer pressure, thuggery and legal force.
You can vote your way into socialism but you have to shoot your way back out.
Max, that’s why i see no more reason, to BOTHER WITH VOTING ever again.. WITH HOW the left, controls absolutely EVERY DAMN THING THERE IS, to do with the vote, you just KNOW we’ll, never ever again see a Republican (OR proper conservative) win..
YOU EXPECT the cowards in the scotus, to do a DAMN THING to stop this??? HELL will freeze over LONG BEFORE< they do so.
I only wish that could be true. Unfortunately, since the Communists have fraudulently gained total control of our government and courts, they will insist ALL our future elections will be run as the election of 2020. If Senile Joe’s first day in office is a prelude of the future, our Nation will be destroyed in record time. John Roberts had better put a stop to this impeachment insanity, especially since he refused to hear the evidence of voter fraud in a Presidential Election. All he has to do is read the Constitution, something he is supposed to have a working knowledge of, and Squash the plans to impeach a civilian from the presidency.
I wouldn’t trust Roberts, to WASH MY WINDOWS, let alone do a damn thing to halt their persecution of Trump and us conservatives.
Delay? How about it should NEVER happen. If this travesty of law and of our Constitution continues then we need to push for EVERY past president and every leadership member of Congress to face the same fate. I have no doubt that impeachable offenses, with significantly more proof, can be found on most if not ALL of them.
AND whom do you expect to DO THAT pushing?? CERTAINLY NOT these cowards and traitors in office…
Oh, Mitch, you are such a sweetheart, trying to impeach a President who is no longer in office and trying to impeach a President who did not call for violence and who did nothing wrong. Oh, Mitch Deep State, you are a real winner!
oh yes… we still have people waiting for a little more than a $600.00 living check from the destroyed economy these chunks of excrement’s like this trader perpetrated on the American people while more and more people become homeless… BUT… you go right ahead and make impeaching a past tense President that’s completely illegal a main priority. You’ll surely win over the American public… who know …they may even fraudulently vote to put your stupid face on mt. Rushmore.
McConnell has proposed delaying the impeachment trial
Of course this Spineless piece of Schiff doesn’t have the decency or courage to say that this is a travesty of justice and should never take place.
The Republican Party has so damaged themselves and continue to do so that I don’t see anyway for them to survive as a party.
Don’t worry, the American Public has a very short memory and by time we get to 2024 registered republicans will be so sick and tired of President Harris that they will vote for Mitt (the spineless RINO) like he is Abraham Lincoln!! (Proverbs 26:11)
There’s no way they SHOULD survive.. PERIOD.
“The Turtle” is back to saving his political career, another fraudulent RINO! If another political party that supports President Trumps platform is not formed, you may as well put a fork in this Country!!
Oh …just shut up all ready, hide under your desk, collect an outrageous paycheck for doing …NOTHING… like the last 36 years of taxpayers padding your back account while your chinese wife ran intelligence back to china giving you kick backs you useless pile of excrement. No one wants to see or hear you ever again!