(EFE).- The US Senate on Tuesday afternoon voted to declare the impeachment proceedings against former President Donald Trump constitutional, although 44 Republican senators voted against the measure.
Arriving at the 56-44 vote, after four hours of debate on the matter and then the vote itself in the Senate chamber, took up the first day of impeachment proceedings against the ex-president, who is being impeached for the second time, this time for “incitement to insurrection” for egging on an enraged and unruly mob of his supporters to violently storm the US Capitol building on Jan. 6, an attack that resulted in five deaths, including a Capitol police officer, who was beaten to death by the attackers.
The Senate had already voted – in a nonbinding move – in late January on whether lawmakers considered the impeachment trial to be constitutional and at that time 45 GOP senators had voted against holding the trial claiming that it would be unconstitutional to do so.
On Tuesday, Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy joined his GOP colleagues Ben Sasse, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Mitt Romney and Pat Toomey in voting with the Democratic block of 50 senators to declare the proceedings to be legal.
The upper house voted after Democratic lawmakers acting as impeachment “managers” presented their position on the constitutionality of the proceedings for some 90 minutes and then Trump’s defense team presented their arguments against impeachment for some two hours.
The debate on the constitutionality of the proceedings was being seen by many observers and lawmakers as a life preserver for those Republicans who are most uncomfortable with Trump but who do not dare to completely turn their backs on him. In effect, they can use a vote against holding the trial as proof that they did not want to convict him, regardless of other votes that they might cast after hearing the evidence against him during the course of the trial.
It was widely expected that the Senate would decide that the proceedings are constitutional, since that decision required only a simple majority.
Now, the trial will resume on Wednesday at noon, when arguments by the prosecutors and Trump’s defense will commence and theoretically senators will then have to evaluate and decide on the merit of those arguments rather than whether the trial is valid or not.
In the days leading up to the start of the trial, numerous constitutional experts had expressed the opinion that the impeachment proceedings are legitimate even if the process cannot result in Trump’s removal from office – given that he is already an ex-president – because it evaluates deeds, facts and events that occurred when he still occupied the White House.
Trump’s second impeachment trial got under way on Tuesday at 1 pm in a deeply divided US Senate, where it will be difficult to convict him for inciting the deadly Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol building by a violent mob of his followers.
The 100 senators are acting as jurors in the trial and will be tasked with evaluating the single impeachment charge of “inciting to insurrection” filed against Trump by Democrats for urging the mob to march on the Capitol in a tumultuous and violent attack that damaged much federal property, terrorised lawmakers and staffers, left five people dead and injured some 140 police officers.
Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy inaugurated the proceedings and will preside over the impeachment trial.
The session began with a vote on the rules that will govern the proceedings, and they were approved by an 89-11 margin.
Prior to that vote, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer had urged GOP senators to pay “very real attention to the evidence here because it’s very, very serious.”
“The Senate has a solemn responsibility to try and hold Donald Trump accountable for the most serious charges ever, ever levied against a president,” he said, calling the impeachment proceedings the constitutional duty of the legislators.
The Democratic managers of the impeachment argued in a document presented on Monday and will argue at the actual trial that there is no “January exception” allowing presidents to abuse their office during their last few days in power without expecting to face the consequences of such actions.
Some Republicans have claimed that Trump should not be prosecuted for inciting the Jan. 6 Capitol riot because he was due to leave office within two weeks anyway.
Now, after the question about the constitutionality of the proceedings has been settled, it is expected that the trial will move forward quickly and possibly be finalized by next week, although it is improbable that it will end with Trump being convicted given that two-thirds of the senators, or 67 votes in all, must vote to convict the ex-president, and Democrats control only 50 seats in the upper chamber.
The proceedings, nevertheless, will go down in history for two reasons, namely because Trump is the first US president to face two impeachment trials – the first one ending in his acquittal in February 2020 for trying to put political pressure on Ukraine – and because never before has a US president been impeached when he was no longer in office.
The charge against Trump stems from his actions on Jan. 6, when he egged on a huge crowd of his supporters to march on the Capitol, where lawmakers from both chambers were gathered to certify Joe Biden’s victory in the Nov. 3, 2020, presidential election, a loss that Trump has never acknowledged, claiming – without any evidence – that only massive vote fraud by the Democrats had denied him reelection.
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We are so sick of the these RINO Republicans, They are the SWAMP.
Absolutely disgusted and they should be charged with dereliction of their Oath.
In effect they have literally re-written the USC Regulations on a political whim & bias.
They voted that the Trial is Constitutional when Trump is private citizen and the Chief Justice
refused to participate as required by the USC Impeachment rules.
GOP Senators who joined all 50 Democrats in voting to uphold the constitutionality of the trial –
Bill Cassidy of Louisiana,
Susan Collins of Maine,
Lisa Murkowski of Alaska,
Mitt Romney of Utah,
Ben Sasse of Nebraska
Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania
Remember these people in the coming years like 2022 and 2024…
You are forgetting one tmportant thing. This is the Republican party. They never stand together or for the people they represent. Nee a new Party as with the next issue there will be other that defect. It’s what they do. But you are right with saying the are SWAMP CREATURES.
These 6 republican communist occupiers voted to make sure the fraudulent voting system swings their way in the next election.
The “Spelunker” party.
Always looking for a new cave…
They have all NOT BEEN REPUBLICAN in a long damn time..
The Democrats don’t represent the people who voted for them either. But the Democrats are united against the people of America who can think for themselves and the Republican party. The Democrats and sellouts in THE MEDIA only represent continued power and control of the government for themselves,
That’s at least one thing, you have to give the dems for.. THEY AT LEAST FIGHT for their beliefs, even IF THOSE beliefs are anti-american as all can be.. THE spineless hacks in the GOP don’t.
Pat Toomey does not care because he is not running for another term. The Lt Governor of PA Fetterman is thinking of a run for the senate seat. He is a democrat and was just in the news for detaining a jogger with a shotgun, He is another do as I say not as I do Demonrat.
I am shocked, cretin Portman from Ohio, didn’t join IN on them voting it was good.. Since he also isn’t running again…
Who does Romney think he is anyway? John McCain?
Just because they voted it to be Constitutional doesn’t mean it is. It means they are too ignorant or politically motivated to hold elective office. Too bad they don’t have pass test on the Constitution before they can run as a candidate for office. TOO many of our elected officials and government workers are functionally illiterate and political morons.
i think you got it wrong, these are six patriots who think armed takeover of the seat of government goes against the constitution. Its a pity you guys think this is a rational way to govern but you are not going to be allowed to take over the government by force
So, fifty-six traitors to America and the Constitution.
So you think there should be no accountability for a president in their last weeks of office? The founder fathers would never have agreed with that notion.
Trump’s actions surrounding the attack on the Capital were what was traitorous. And, he was trying to prevent Pence from doing his Constitutional duty in certifying the election. Trump was the one traitorous to the Constitution.
There’s imo a HELL OF a lot more than just fifty six of them!!
Aren’t all Democrat politicians and deep state bureaucrats hateful self-centered traitors? Have you ever seen or heard of one that isn’t? The DOJ and FBI are 100% corrupt from the top down. They have even infected the CIA and DOJ. There must be some kind of lapdog litmus test for stupidity and hate the Democrats must take before running for office. They may be diverse in appearance, but to a blind man they all sound the same. You can’t tell one from the other.
hy do you think i’d like to Scorch earth the entire bloody federal govt, to the bedrock.. THEN try to rebuild… CORRECTLY.
we are at war with our own government folks.
they have so much POWER that they are drunk with it.
traitors all.
The Flippy Floppy Republicans In Name Only. Traitors personified. Go ahead RINOS, go to bed with the communist Democrats. Like Trump would say, you are real beauties! Throw our Country and Constitution into the sewer, you communist traitors!!!!!
Pity we can’t throw them all into an active volcano!
These Romney run RINO resisters to change the establishment monopoly on power, now make AOC and her squad of chuckleheads look sane by comparison. The precedent has now been set to immediately impeach the President of the opposite party the very second that the opposing party takes power in the House, and even if short of advantage in the Senate, tie the American government up in social confusion and division for months if not years. These Marblehead RINO Senators are the very Democrat matching marbles of Xi’s gameboard of Chinese checkers, and thanks to these fools who place self-interest over self-government, American sanity and unity, not to mention Constitutional obedience will get checked out at the nearest Chinese laundry counter, where truth, honor transparency and the ability to defy traitorous conduct is washed out the American Cloth of many colors, now turned only yellow, brown and black. Biden had exchanged the patriotic, “Millions for defense, but not a cent for tribute”,,,,,,,for self-serving quid quo pro of a “No ticky no shirty” with the Ching Chong Chinamen no loner sitting on the fence, trying to make a dollar out of 50 cents, but sitting in our boardrooms and halls of Congress buying Democrat and RINO American politicians by the bushelful. You and Hunter sold America out cheap Joe, enjoy your millions while your Chinese masters walk away with trillions.
Hell will freeze over before the GOP ever has THe balls, to try and impeach the former democrat president, ASSUMING they even win back the white house…
Correction. The government, especially when controlled by Democrats is, and always has been at war with its own citizens. Every once and awhile they throw a bone to the peasants just to keep us off guard.
Sometimes, sorrowfully, it take a real crisis or a specially created dust devil to see clearly who your friends are !
The poor, misinformed voters who ae paying their money to keep these false Republicans in office are being swindled with every breath they take.
An honest effort should be made to recall all of them ! Their motive for voting against the most honest, most plain spoken, most effective, most America First president has to be financial. Somebody is getting something of great value somewhere along the line ! Nobody, elected y the people could be that stupid !
(Well, maybe Hank the Island Tipper.)
The people that continue to elect “hank the island tipper” are….
The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court declined to preside over the Impeachment of Trump and the trial. This should tell you if this sham was Constitutional or not. NOT. The 6 Republicans who voted with the Demorats should be tarred and feathered.
Yeah, this same Chief Justice that refused to hear the Overwhelming evidence of voter fraud prior to electing Senile Quid Pro Quo Joe. He was “Ascared” of the Marxist Communist crowd that was Terrorizing OUR Country for years. Deep State at work!!!
I wouldn’t take his lack of wanting to precide over anything, as proof it was unconstitutional…
Roberts is not presiding. As you say this indicates that he knows that a trial of a former president is not constitutional. The words in the Constitution support that position as does federalist 39 by Madison. If there is a vote to convict and an appeal to the Court is made, Roberts knows that he would have to preside over the Court. He wouldn’t want to handle both the trial and the appeal. Senator Leahy (known as Leaky) has not problem with acting in the Senate as the judge and as a juror.
I keep hearing about the five people that died but have never seen any facts about those five deaths.
The deaths are being buried along with the people. The Capitol Police Lt who shot the unarmed AF Vet is getting off with no charges filed! Democrats want NOTHING to interfere with their blaming President Trump for the whole incident so EVERYONE walks except the President!
From what i remember of the DAY OF, three of those five, were SHOT IN GANG shootings no where NEAR the capital buildings.. ONE was a cop who had his head bashed in, and one was that woman who got shot INSIDE..
SO ONLY TWO DEATHS can be attributed to the riot.
BUT LIKE ALWAYS, liars LOVE PADDING THEIR numbers, just to make it seem SCARIER than it is!
Cowards each and everyone of them. And the Socialist/Communists LOVE it that they are cowards. Makes them FAR easier to control. TRAITORS!
The reason this is happening, many voters allowed things to slide. Once that happens it emboldens them and now they think they can ice skate right over the Constitution and the people.
I said it then and will say it again. When Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House tore up the State of the Union Address before the American audience, there were no repercussions from this disrespect of the people and the president, then it became anything goes. There is a huge price to pay for inaction, and here it is.
Excellent point, Bluebird! I felt that way the moment it happened – how could she have the audacity to be that boorish, and then…………….I found out – no repercussions, just like when Antifa and BLM go on their rampages and there are no consequences to them.
We American citizens are S-C-R-E-W-E-D…yeah, you that voted Democrat, too.
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”― Edmund Burke (in a letter addressed to Thomas Mercer).
Isn’t is amazing that so many idiots can ignore the CLEAR wording of the Constitution? MAGAs in the states of these back-stabbing losers need to get a primary opponent lined up! “Depends” Leahy is certainly an “objective” judge, correct?
Leahy is about ready for his dirt nap. Is there anyone in VT under 50 years of age??
SINCE when have they honestly cared a flying squrrel, about what the constitution says???
so…
#METOO cassidy, retard from Louisiana ran to a camera to PROUDLY PROCLAIM:
“DUH, I’M TOO TOOPUD TO NO WUT DUH KONSITUSHUN SAYZ, BUT DEM GUYS TOL ME SUMPTIN, AND DEM UDDER GUYZ SED SUMPIIM ELSE, AN EYM’ GONNA GO WIT DUH FERST GUYS,,,,’
instead of coming to the microphone and stating:
“I have STUDIED the Constitution and FULLY UNDERSTAND THE INTENT of the Impeachment Clause.”
But, apparently THAT IS THE LEVEL of what passes for ‘INTELLIGENCE’ IN THE SENATE TODAY.
THANK A TEECHUR AND THE EDUCATION SYSTEM IN AMERICA….
Remind me, EXACTLY WHICH ENUMERATED POWER does ‘education’ come under?
No one seems to have a definitive answer on what the real American people should do or how they should handle these threats before the country is destroyed beyond fixing. We put a strong leader in office to initialize the fix but with much deceit he was removed. What now? I have heard no workable answers
There does not seem to be anyone in public life that is up to President Trump’s abilities to assume the mantle of leadership for the Republican Party. You certainly don’t see those abilities in these 6 stars of the DC Clown Show; Rand Paul, Cruz and Hawley are being marginalized daily; and the young stars are too inexperienced to handle the Deep State. We need a Superstar like Biden who ain’t Biden…HAHAHA.
WE need a flat out scorched earth, grand re-start.. GET RID OF EVERY rikken one of those in office.. FROM THE newest member, to the longest standing one of them. GET RID OF THEM ALL..
THEN start afresh… AND NO ONE IN OFFICE NOW, can ever even RUN for office ever again.
I asked GOD the same thing in prayer. HIS reply (heard through my heart (mind), not my ears) was “follow my WORD”
Mark 13:23 But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.
Mark 13:19 For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.
The entire 13th chapter of Mark tells us everything we need to know. Therefore, we can’t fight this and we shouldn’t be distressed. Do not throw away our Christianity.
Romans 12:19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
It’s HIS fight Revelation 17:14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
2 Corinthians 13:11 Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.
It seems like none of the democrats, or their stooges in the media, care to listen to the words Trump actually used at his rally. Nowhere in his speech, neither then or before, did Trump tell people to go and storm the capital, but to go and peacefully march at the capital grounds, and let their voices be heard. As usual the libs have put their meaning to what his words mean. Another sticking point is that the democrats are saying Trump incited the crowd to go and invade the capital, when in fact the time stamps on the videos show that the people storming the capital actually started while Trump was still speaking, about 7 miles away. Looks like the dems aren’t really interested in facts or the truth, they just want their revenge against Trump. It’s very doubtful that the senate will find Trump guilty, but even if enough republicans join the democrats and say he’s guilty, it will never make it past the SCOTUS. They already know that all this posturing by the democrats doesn’t meet constitutional requirements, that’s why Roberts isn’t presiding in this phony trial. He knows the case will end up before the SCOTUS for a final decision.
Never ever underestimate the ignorance of mittens romney.
It’s not ignorance… it’s self centered greed … this all about the money… Romney and the 5 other communist occupiers have all their money tied up in selling out our country to the rest of the world for their own personal financial benefit… and President Trump is standing in the way of that accomplishment.
When all is said and done, the facts will show that both mittens and his son are dirty, mittens is trying to cover it all up.
ITS not ignorance, its ABJECT hatred…
“a loss that Trump has never acknowledged, claiming – without any evidence – that only massive vote fraud by the Democrats had denied him reelection.” NOPE! BS
There has been more than enough evidence presented to warrant an investigation into the possibility of election fraud. That doesn’t mean that Biden didn’t win, but it also means that his “win” is questionable. We are owed an investigation that we never got. That the media and powers that be are so quick to say “nothing to see here” instead of addressing what appear to be legitimate allegations adds a lot of credence to the charge of election fraud.
I am not convinced that Trump did not win the election. I have no problem with Trump fighting to question the questionable election certification. I admire that.
I’d like to have a thorough investigation and if any fraud is found, send anyone participating in election fraud to Gitmo for life with no possibility of pardon or parole.
IT matters not that they have no evidence.. THEY DIDN’T have any for the PRIOR sham of an impeachment, that lasted 3 ******* years!
Justice Roberts refused to be a part of this sham trial yet seven republicans think it’s okay. This is why we need a cleansing of the party, too many swamp loving politicians pretending to be conservative.
This entire exercise is there only to split the Republican Party ,[ which it has ], and allow these VICIOUS Democraps to spout more vile hatred for the former President. It is shameful that these 6 boobs have allowed themselves to be taken in by this blatantly Partisan Attack against themselves as well as the entire Republican Party to which they used to belong. HATE IS THE MISSION STATEMENT OF BIDEN’s NEW DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST PARTY !!!!!!
The GOP can get buried, into the deepest sinkhole, for all i care.. THEY NO LONGER exist to me.
All this impeachment sham proves one thing; That Donald J. Trump is still our President!! If he didn’t do such a good job as he did in the 4 short years he was in office, this never would be happening with the rabid DemonRats and the Phony RINO’s Impeachment Scam!! He obviously did something right! As I said in 2017 Donald J. Trump lifted the welcome mat to a house that was destroyed and all the cockroaches scattered in different directions!!
This country can blame the REPUBLICAN party in collusion with the lame stream media for the communist take over that started in earnest the first year of Obama’s first term. They did NOTHING to stop him no matter the unconstitutionality of what he did and it’s gotten worse since then. It is SOOOO very obvious the REPUBLICAN party, along with the commucrats, that they do not believe in or uphold it. And don’t forget–WE continue to pay these traitors, WE continue to pay teachers to indoctrinate our children and do NOTHING to change it. I am DONE with the REPUBLICAN party.
The devil take many many forms including but not limited to politicians.
Given this list of RINOs, the only 2 that are safe is Collins and Toomey. Collins because she was just re-elected and has nothing to worry about for a few years and Toomey is rumored to quit after his term is done. But with what I’ve been hearing on Rush Limbaugh from the callers of the states of these other RINOs, they might as well quit after their current term is done because it sounds like none of these RINOs will ever be re-elected.
My first problem is everyone is entitled to a fair trial. You can’t have democrats crying as Victims and witnesses and be on that jury. An impartial jury ??? What is happening to Trump is not impartial ..I guess the constitution doesn’t apply to Trump right to a fair trial.
These days, it doesn’t apply period..
I believe it IS Constitutional for the Senate to try Trump for claimed offenses in office, even though this is just an attempt by scared Democrats and RINO Republicans to deny him a second term. Finding him guilty is quite another thing. Trump did nothing beyond the Exercise of his First Amendment rights, PERIOD.
The impeachment is useful, however. Now we have names, and we need to field a primary challenger to each one and to start removing them from committee assignments.
I guess this article came out before the video tapes of J6.