Senators in Donald Trump’s historic second impeachment trial have agreed to consider the case, rejecting an attempt by the former president’s defense team and some Republican allies to halt the trial because he is no longer in office.
The vote was 56-44 on Tuesday on the question of whether the Senate has jurisdiction and could proceed. It came after four hours of arguments from Trump’s lawyers and the Democratic impeachment managers, who are arguing that the former president incited the Jan. 6 Capitol riots.
The impeachment managers managed to pick up one additional vote from Republicans – Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy. Two weeks ago, he voted in favor of an effort to dismiss, but on Tuesday he voted with Democrats to move forward. Cassidy joined Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Ben Sasse of Nebraska, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, and Mitt Romney of Utah in dismissing the Trump team’s claims.
Cassidy told reporters earlier that the impeachment managers’ arguments were “strong arguments” and it was a “very good opening.”
Cassidy said, “I have always said I was approaching this with an open mind.”
House managers used an emotional, jarring video of the Jan. 6th Capitol Hill attack to try to make their case in their opening arguments.
Trump was impeached by the House on a count of incitement of insurrection over the Jan. 6 Capitol riot by a mob of his supporters.
“The singular goal of the House managers and House leadership in pursuing the impeachment conviction of Donald J Trump is to use these proceedings to disenfranchise at least 74 million Americans, with whom they viscerally disagree, and to ensure that neither they nor any other American ever again can cast a vote for Donald Trump,” Trump attorney David Schoen said.
“Their ultimate hope is that this will be a shot across the bow of any other candidate for public office who would dare to take up a political message that is very different from their own political point of view,” he continued.
Schoen also showed a defense team video of Democrats calling for the former president’s impeachment.
Schoen said Democrats are fueled by a “base hatred” of the former president and “seeking to eliminate Donald Trump from the American political scene.”
It appears unlikely that the House prosecutors will call witnesses, in part because the senators were witnesses themselves. At his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, Trump has declined a request to testify.
The former president’s conviction by the Senate is unlikely since it would take 17 Republicans to side with the Democrats.
Presidential impeachment trials have been conducted only three times before, leading to acquittals for Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton, and then Trump last year.
The Senate will resume the trial Wednesday at 12:00 pm Eastern.
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