Donald Trump's impeachment trial opens in Senate, in his absence
The doubly historic impeachment trial of Donald Trump opened on Tuesday in the Senate for "incitement to insurgency" in the assault on the Capitol. From the opening, the elected and democratic prosecutor Jamie Raskin broadcast a video montage against the former president based on "concrete and solid facts".
Second impeachment trial for Donald Trump. The hearing opened on Tuesday, February 9, in the Senate for the former President of the United States, barely a month after the assault on the Capitol by several of his supporters. An "absurd" accusation in the face of "overwhelming" evidence: the lawyers for the former Republican president and the elected Democrats who carry the accusation have already set the tone for future discussions.
The prosecution case against Donald Trump is based on "concrete and solid facts", declared the elected representative and Democratic prosecutor Jamie Raskin on Tuesday, by broadcasting a video montage at the opening of the trial of the former president before the Senate dependent.
The chosen one, a former law professor, promised to avoid boring "long lessons" and screened a film of several minutes, juxtaposing excerpts from Donald Trump's fiery statements in front of his supporters, gathered on January 6 in Washington, and scenes of violence during their assault on the Capitol a few moments later. An extraordinary case, the 100 senators who serve as jurors in this trial are thus the witnesses and victims of the attack of January 6.
This hearing before the Senate is "a political instrumentalisation of the impeachment procedure" and will "tear up" the United States, argued for his part Donald Trump's lawyer, David Schoen. And he added: "This trial is going to open new, deep wounds in the nation as many Americans see it for what it is: an attempt by a group of politicians to remove Donald Trump from politics and deprive him of of their rights 74 million voters ".
Now living in Florida, Donald Trump did not go to trial. And there is little doubt that he will be acquitted at his term.
A hoped-for quick vote
The Constitution requires, in fact, a two-thirds majority for a guilty verdict. Even if Republican senators have sharply criticized the role of the 45th US president in the violence, it seems unlikely that 17 will join their voices to the 50 Democrats in condemning the billionaire, still very popular with his base.
One thing, however, unites the two camps: they all want to go fast, and a final vote could take place as early as the beginning of next week.
Republicans because they don't want to dwell on a streak that divides their ranks; Democrats because they want the Senate to be able to quickly focus on their priority again: approving Joe Biden's candidates and laws.
Presenting himself as a "unifier" of a battered America, the latter takes care to stay away from this procedure. The new president "won't spend a lot of time watching the hearings, if at all," White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki insisted on Monday.
"Avoid alienating supporters" of Donald Trump
It is a legal debate on the constitutionality of the trial which will occupy its opening Tuesday: each camp will have two hours to deliver its arguments and the senators will then vote to say if they deem themselves competent.
This point is at the heart of the arguments of Donald Trump's lawyers, Me David Schoen and Bruce Castor, for whom it is "absurd and unconstitutional to conduct an impeachment trial against a private citizen". An argument repeated by many Republican senators.
"In recent weeks, the right has sought refuge, a way to oppose the conviction of Donald Trump without having to express judgment on his conduct, in order to avoid alienating the president's supporters, while avoiding to justify his behavior obviously contemptible, anti-patriotic and anti-democratic ", thundered Monday the leader of the democratic majority in the Senate, Chuck Schumer.
This is the first time that a former US president has been tried for impeachment. On January 13, the real estate mogul had already become the first president to be twice hit with an "impeachment" in the House of Representatives, after a first procedure for "abuse of power" in the Ukrainian case. He was acquitted in early 2020.
"Worst Constitutional Violation Ever"
In their argument delivered Monday, the "prosecutors" Democrats cited "overwhelming evidence" of the guilt of the billionaire, responsible according to them for "the worst violation of the Constitution ever committed by an American president".
They recall his months spent denying his defeat to Joe Biden, denouncing, against all evidence, "massive" electoral fraud. And his long speech to the thousands of supporters gathered on January 6 in Washington, even as parliamentarians were gathered on Capitol Hill to endorse the Democrat's victory.
"You will never take back our country by being weak. You must show strength," he had launched to the white-hot crowd in front of the White House, before calling to go to the Capitol to make "hear [ their] voice in a peaceful and patriotic manner ".
For his lawyers, "President Trump did not urge anyone to commit illegal acts."
To assert that he could be responsible for the violence of a "small group of criminals" so "inspired by his words that they left before the end of his speech" towards the Capitol is "simply absurd", he said. written in their pitch published on Monday.
