Nine House Democrats who will serve as prosecutors in Trump’s trial, accompanied by the clerk of the House and the acting sergeant at arms, carried the charge against Trump to the Senate in a solemn procession across the Capitol.

Wearing masks to protect against COVID-19, they filed through the ornate Capitol Rotunda and into the Senate chamber, following the path that a mob of Trump supporters took on January 6 as they clashed with police.

On arrival in the Senate, the lead House impeachment manager, Representative Jamie Raskin, read out the charge.

“Donald John Trump engaged in high crimes and misdemeanours by inciting violence against the government of the United States,” he said.

Ten House Republicans joined Democrats in voting to impeach Trump on January 13.

But Senate Democrats will need the support of 17 Republicans to convict him in the evenly divided chamber, a steep climb given the continued allegiance to Trump among the Republican Party’s conservative base of voters.

President Joe Biden said on Monday he did not believe there would be enough votes to convict Trump, according to CNN, citing a brief interview with Trump’s Democratic successor.

Over 30 Democrats were present to hear Raskin’s remarks, but just three Republicans: Senate party leader Mitch McConnell, Senator Mitt Romney and Senator Roger Marshall, who was just elected in November.

Capitol Police were scattered along the lawmakers’ route from the House to the Senate, and security around the Capitol remained tight, with roads closed off and barbed wire-topped fencing. Many of the National Guard troops deployed after Jan. 6 had been sent home, but thousands remained.

FEB. 9 START DATE

Trump, a Republican, is the only U.S. president to have been impeached by the House twice and is set to become the first to face trial after leaving office.

His term ended last Wednesday.

The Senate is expected to start a trial on Feb. 9 on the article of impeachment against Trump.

The 100 senators are due to serve as jurors in proceedings that could result in Trump’s disqualification from ever again serving as president.

Democrat Patrick Leahy, the Senate’s longest-serving member, said on Monday he would preside over the trial.

Although the Constitution calls on the U.S. chief justice to preside over presidential impeachments, a senator presides when the impeached is not the current president, a Senate source said.

First elected to the chamber in 1974, Leahy, 80, holds the title of Senate president pro tempore.

Chief Justice John Roberts presided over the impeachment trial when the Senate, then controlled by Trump’s fellow Republicans, acquitted Trump in February 2020 on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress arising from his request that Ukraine investigate Biden and his son.

Leahy will still be able to vote in the trial, an aide said, noting that senators still vote on all matters when presiding over the chamber.

A number of Republican lawmakers have objected to the impeachment, some arguing that it would be a violation of the Constitution to hold a trial now because Trump no longer serves as president.

“I still have concerns about the constitutionality of this, and then the precedent it sets in trying to convict a private citizen,” Republican Senator Joni Ernst told reporters. “So in the future, can this be used against (former) President (Barack) Obama?” she asked.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, rejected that argument on Monday.

“The theory that the Senate can’t try former officials would amount to a constitutional get-out-of-jail-free card for any president,” Schumer told the Senate.

A DIVIDED SENATE

The Senate is divided 50-50, with Democrats holding a majority because of the tie-breaking vote of Vice President Kamala Harris.

Senate leaders agreed on Friday to put off the trial for two weeks to give Trump more time to prepare a defense and let the chamber focus on Biden’s early priorities, including Cabinet appointments.

The impeachment focuses on Trump’s speech to supporters on a grassy expanse near the White House shortly before a mob stormed the Capitol, disrupted the formal certification of Biden’s victory over Trump in the Nov. 3 election, sent lawmakers into hiding and left five people dead, including a police officer.

During his speech, Trump repeated his false claims that the election was rigged against him with widespread voting fraud and irregularities.

He exhorted his supporters to march on the Capitol, telling them to “stop the steal,” “show strength,” “fight much harder” and use “very different rules.”

McConnell and other Republican lawmakers have condemned the violence and some have accused Trump of inciting it.

Romney told CNN on Sunday that the trial was necessitated by Trump’s inflammatory call to his supporters.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll on Friday found that 51% of Americans thought the Senate should convict Trump, breaking down largely along party lines.

Source: Reuters

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In a letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, Pence slammed Democratic efforts to pressure him into invoking the 25th Amendment, calling it “political games.”

“Under our Constitution the 25th Amendment is not a means of punishment or usurpation,” Pence said.

“Invoking the 25th Amendment in such a manner would set a terrible precedent,” he added.

Source: dpa/NAN

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Barrett took the constitutional oath of office before President Donald Trump at a brief ceremony hosted by the White House on Monday night.

Coming through a 53-48 vote along party lines, Barrett’s confirmation is seen as a victory for Trump, who nominated her following the death of liberal justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Shortly after the ceremony, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ms Nancy Pelosi, issued a statement accusing Trump and Senate Republicans of committing “an act of supreme desperation”.

Pelosi said they rushed through a Supreme Court nominee just eight days before the November 3 presidential election “as part of their years-long campaign to destroy Americans’ health care”.

Democrats are worried that the appointment of Barrett, a conservative, will favour Republicans in politically sensitive cases pending before the apex court.

One of the cases is the Affordable Care Act enacted under the administration of former President Barack Obama which Trump has been trying to scrap.

Democrats argue that no fewer than 20 million Americans could lose their health care coverage if the apex court repeals the law, otherwise known as Obamacare.

“In her confirmation hearing, Justice Barrett refused to answer whether she believes that Medicare is constitutional.

“She refused to acknowledge the scientific fact that climate change is happening, saying she isn’t a scientist, calling it ‘controversial,’” the speaker said.

Democratic Party’s Vice Presidential candidate, Ms Kamala Harris, described Barrett’s confirmation by the Republican senators as despicable, saying they must be held accountable.

“Instead of working to provide COVID-19 relief to struggling Americans, Mitch McConnell and Republicans chose to jam through a Supreme Court nominee — when more than 62 million people have already voted.

“It’s despicable and they must be held accountable,” Harris said on Twitter.

Former First Lady and Secretary of State, Mrs Hillary Clinton, also tweeted her reaction following the confirmation.

“Republicans just pushed through a Supreme Court justice who will help them take away Americans’ health care in the middle of a pandemic,” she said.

However, Barrett said in her speech after she took the first oath of office that her policy preferences would not influence her decisions on cases.

She said the confirmation process had made one of the fundamental differences between the federal judiciary and the Senate clearer to her.

“And perhaps the most acute is the role of policy preferences. It is the job of a senator to pursue her policy preferences.

“In fact, it would be a dereliction of duty for her to put policy goals aside. By contrast, it is the job of a judge to resist her policy preferences.

“It would be a dereliction of duty for her to give into them. Federal judges don’t stand for election.

“Thus, they have no basis for claiming that their preferences reflect those of the people.

“This separation of duty from political preference is what makes the judiciary distinct among the three branches of government,” she said.

Speaking earlier, Trump said Barrett’s confirmation was a “momentous day for America, the United States Constitution, and for the fair and impartial rule of law”.

“The Constitution is the ultimate defense of American liberty, the faithful application of the law is the cornerstone of our republic.

“That is why as president I have no more solemn obligation of no greater honour than to appoint Supreme Court justices”, Trump said.

Barrett’s lifetime appointment has sealed a 6-3 conservative majority in the nine-member Supreme Court bench.

All Democrats in the Senate voted against her confirmation, which came just a week before the presidential election.

Republican senator, Susan Collins, representing the northeastern state of Maine, joined the Democrats in opposing the confirmation.

Source: NAN

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He was speaking after it was confirmed that public impeachment hearings will begin in Congress next Wednesday.

At Louisiana, he accused the Democrats of trying to overthrow American democracy via a “deranged, delusional, destructive and hyper-partisan” process.

Mr Trump was in Louisiana to support the Republican candidate for governor in forthcoming elections.

Tuesday saw his party lose the governorship of Kentucky and control of the state legislature in Virginia.

The impeachment inquiry centres on claims that Mr Trump pressured Ukraine to announce an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden, a leading contender for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination.

Mr Trump denies any abuse of power, calling the inquiry a “witch hunt”.

What did Trump say?

At the rally in the city of Monroe, he accused the Democrats of “ripping the guts out of our country”, suggesting they were engaged in an “illegal act”.

“Corrupt politicians… and the crooked media have launched the deranged, delusional, destructive and hyper-partisan impeachment witch-hunt,” he said.

The president also attempted to discredit the whistleblower who flagged up his July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

A rough transcript of the call released by the White House shows Mr Trump asked Mr Zelensky to investigate Mr Biden, now a Democratic frontrunner for next year’s White House election.

Mr Trump said the whistleblower made a “horrible statement” about the call, which led to the impeachment probe.

US President Donald Trump has dismissed the impeachment inquiry as a “hoax” as he accused Democrats of a “coup” in a defiant speech.

He sought to galvanise support for Republican businessman Eddie Rispone, who is bidding to unseat Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards in next month’s state election.

The president told supporters Mr Rispone will “defend your values”, while accusing Mr Edwards of being “dangerously soft on crime”.

What’s happening with the impeachment?

Democrats said on Wednesday the first public hearings of the inquiry will take place next week.

Three state department officials will testify first.

So far lawmakers from three key House of Representatives committees have heard from witnesses behind closed doors.

House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff, who is overseeing the inquiry, told reporters on Wednesday that an impeachment case was building against the president.

He said: “We are getting an increasing appreciation for just what took place during the course of the last year – and the degree to which the president enlisted whole departments of government in the illicit aim to get Ukraine to dig up dirt on a political opponent.”

Mr Trump has been making widely discredited corruption claims about former Mr Biden, whose son Hunter Biden once worked for a Ukrainian gas company.

The Capitol Hill hearings will now be broadcast live, with both Democratic and Republican lawmakers questioning witnesses.

One of the first to appear will be Bill Taylor, acting US ambassador to Ukraine, who delivered some of the most explosive private testimony last month.

On Wednesday – a week ahead of his scheduled public hearing – House Democrats released a transcript of his evidence.

It shows Mr Taylor told lawmakers it was his “clear understanding” that the president had withheld nearly $400m (£310m) in US military aid because he wanted Ukraine to investigate the Bidens.

The military aid to Ukraine was released in September, after a whistleblower raised the alarm about a 25 July phone call in which Mr Trump asked the Ukrainian president to investigate the Bidens.

Quick facts on impeachment

Impeachment is the first part – the charges – of a two-stage political process by which Congress can remove a president from office.

If, following the hearings, the House of Representatives votes to pass articles of impeachment, the Senate is forced to hold a trial.

A Senate vote requires a two-thirds majority to convict and remove the president – unlikely in this case, given that Mr Trump’s party controls the chamber.

Only two US presidents in history – Bill Clinton and Andrew Johnson – have been impeached, but neither was convicted.

President Richard Nixon resigned before he could be impeached.

Source: BBC

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The chairmen of three House of Representatives committees said they wanted documents related to a July 25 phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that was at the heart of their inquiry.

The three said they were forced to issue the subpoena after the White House failed to produce documents they requested in a September 9 letter.

“We deeply regret that President Trump has put us – and the nation – in this position, but his actions have left us with no choice but to issue this subpoena,” said Representatives Elijah Cummings of the Oversight Committee, Adam Schiff of the Intelligence Committee and Eliot Engel of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

They gave the White House until October 18 to produce the information, including who else besides Trump was on the phone call with Zelenskiy.

“This subpoena changes nothing – just more document requests, wasted time, and taxpayer dollars that will ultimately show the President did nothing wrong,” White House spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham said in a statement.

White House lawyers believe Trump, a Republican, can ignore lawmakers’ demands until the Democratic-controlled House holds a full vote of the chamber to formally approve of the impeachment inquiry, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Earlier, the committees asked Vice President Mike Pence to hand over documents relating to a meeting he held with Zelenskiy and the call between Zelenskiy and Trump.

They gave Pence until October 15 to produce any records relating to the July call and a meeting he held with Zelenskiy on September 1.

According to a partial transcript of the call, Trump asked Zelenskiy the “favor” of investigating former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, a leading contender for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, and his son, Hunter Biden, who had served on the board of Ukrainian gas company Burisma.

At the time, the Trump administration was withholding hundreds of millions in aid for Ukraine and Democrats said they suspect Trump was using U.S. foreign policy and taxpayer money for his personal political gain.

Trump is running for re-election.

“Recently, public reports have raised questions about any role you may have played in conveying or reinforcing the president’s stark message to the Ukrainian president,” Cummings, Schiff and Engel wrote in a letter to Pence.

A spokeswoman for Pence said the broad nature of the request showed that it was not “serious.”

When Pence met with Zelenskiy, the two discussed the $250 million in security assistance that the U.S. Congress had approved but that the Trump administration had not disbursed.

Source:  Reuters

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Following a whistleblower complaint that Trump, a Republican, solicited a political favour from Ukraine’s president that could help him get re-elected, the lawmakers are investigating concerns that Trump’s actions have jeopardized national security and the integrity of U.S. elections.

The House Foreign Affairs, Intelligence and Oversight Committees also scheduled depositions for five State Department officials over the next two weeks, including Kurt Volker, Trump’s envoy to Ukraine.

Volker resigned his post on Friday, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The reason for Volker’s resignation was not immediately known.

The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the subpoena or Volker’s resignation.

The committees announced the subpoena after the Trump administration missed a Thursday deadline to provide documents and information about contacts with Ukrainian officials, as well as a July 25 telephone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

That call is central to the impeachment investigation that Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the Democratic-led House, announced this week.

The impeachment inquiry has cast a new pall over Trump’s presidency just months after he emerged from the shadow cast by Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into whether he colluded with Russia in the 2016 election.

Trump has reacted furiously to the impeachment inquiry, arguing he did nothing wrong, and accusing Democrats of launching a politically motivated “witch hunt.”

More than 300 former national security officials from both Republican and Democratic administrations on Friday endorsed the impeachment inquiry, saying they did not prejudge the outcome but wanted to know more facts.

TRUMP DOUBLES DOWN

As the subpoena was announced, Trump’s re-election campaign said it would spend $10 million next week airing an ad called “Biden corruption” on television and websites that accuses Democrats of playing politics with the impeachment investigation.

Former Democratic Vice President Joe Biden is Trump’s leading rival in the race for the 2020 presidential election.

The White House this week released a summary of Trump’s July 25 phone call in which he asked Zelenskiy to investigate Biden and his son Hunter Biden ahead of the November 2020 presidential election – a call at the heart of the whistleblower’s complaint.

Hunter Biden served on the board of a Ukrainian gas company called Burisma when Biden was in office.

There has been no evidence that the former vice president used his position to help his son in the Ukraine matter.

Ukraine’s anti-corruption investigation agency said on Friday it was investigating permits given to companies managed by Burisma during 2010-2012.

Hunter Biden was hired in 2014.

The agency said it would only go further if compelling new testimony emerged.

The whistleblower raised concerns about interactions that Trump’s personal lawyer Rudolph Giuliani – who has promoted theories about Biden’s activities in Ukraine – had with former and current Ukrainian officials.

The complaint raised questions about Giuliani’s role in the early recall of Marie Yovanovitch, who was the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine.

The whistleblower said Volker and Gordon Sondland, U.S. ambassador to the European Union, worked to try to “contain the damage” from Giuliani’s travels and meetings.

The House Democratic committees said they had scheduled depositions for Yovanovitch, Volker and Sondland during the next two weeks, as well T. Ulrich Brechbuhl – a State Department aide who the whistleblower said had listened in on Trump’s call with Zelenskiy.

The committees also said it had scheduled a deposition with State Department Deputy Assistant Secretary George Kent, who oversees Ukraine policy.

Kent was deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Kiev from 2015 to 2018, and worked on anti-corruption policy in the region before that time.

House Intelligence Committee Democrats are debating the merits of summoning Giuliani, a source familiar with deliberations said.

On October 4, the committee also will hear closed-door testimony from the intelligence community’s inspector general Michael Atkinson, who had determined that the whistleblower’s report was credible.

Source:  Reuters

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