Trump accused of 'incitement to insurgency': how his impeachment trial will go
The first president in US history to be twice indicted by Congress, Donald Trump faces a new impeachment trial. A month after his supporters attacked Capitol Hill, he will have to prove that he is not responsible, and can surely count on the support of Republican senators.
Donald Trump again faces justice. Indicted a week before the end of his term, the former US president is accused of instigating a spectacular assault on the US Congress by his supporters, which left five dead.
In this extraordinary trial in the Senate, which opens on Tuesday, February 9, parliamentarians will examine his responsibility in these deadly events: if recognized, he could be impeached. Donald Trump no longer occupies the White House, but this decision could have symbolic significance, in addition to depriving him of some of the advantages of former presidents. The outcome the Democrats want, however, seems difficult to achieve. "The Obs" takes stock.
The murderous assault on the Capitol as a backdrop
After months of questioning the legitimacy of the presidential election he lost, by maintaining to his supporters that the election had been "stolen" from them because of a "massive fraud" that his teams did not never succeeded in proving despite dozens of legal appeals, Donald Trump had made an appointment with his supporters in Washington on January 6, even though the elected officials had to certify the victory of Joe Biden.
In a speech to his congregation gathered in droves, he urged them to "walk down Pennsylvania Avenue" and "walk to the Capitol," saying, "You will never take back the country by being weak." You have to show your strength, you have to be strong. "
The images that followed left their mark on the world: many pro-Trump protesters broke into American democracy, causing chaos and terrorizing some parliamentarians.
The attack killed five people, including a police officer. Launching an express procedure, Congress indicted Donald Trump on January 13, a second historic "impeachment": never had a president been indicted twice, and neither had a president been. judged after leaving power.
The start of the debates launched the week of February 8
After the indictment was handed in, the Senate gave itself two weeks before starting the debate, so as not to monopolize the time of the upper house, which was supposed to confirm members of Joe Biden's government as a priority.
The length of the proceedings is still unknown, but according to the Washington Post, they should not last longer than the first impeachment trial of Donald Trump, which lasted three weeks. Democrats say they want to move quickly, not least because part of the allegations against the former president occurred in public.
Two lawyers recruited at the last minute
Donald Trump had difficulty recruiting his defense team: he was let go by five lawyers 8 days before the trial. He finally entrusted the case to two lawyers accustomed to controversies, David Schoen and Bruce Castor.
The former boasted of having defended "all kinds of gangsters", some of whom were members of the Russian and Italian mafia. He also drew attention after the death in August 2019 of billionaire Jeffree Epstein, accused of sexual exploitation of minors, by challenging the suicide thesis.
Bruce Castor, meanwhile, was a Pennsylvania county attorney for a long time. In this influential post, he refused in 2005 to prosecute actor Bill Cosby, whom a woman accused of sexual violence. The comedian, very popular in the United States, was finally sentenced to ten years in prison in 2018, after being implicated by dozens of women.
Donald Trump absent from his own trial
The central figure in this historic trial refused to set foot there. Asked to testify under oath in front of parliamentarians, Donald Trump opposed them to an end of inadmissibility: the former "president will not testify in a procedure contrary to the Constitution", indicated one of his advisers.
The unconstitutionality of the trial as the main argument
Is Judging a Former President in Impeachment Unconstitutional? The question could be open since this is an unprecedented situation. Republican Senator Rand Paul tried to block the trial last week using this argument but his objection was rejected by the Senate.
The Democratic prosecution invokes the precedent of a former minister tried in this context, and insists that Donald Trump must be condemned to make him ineligible and "to dissuade future presidents from provoking violence in order to remain in power".
Not enough to destabilize Donald Trump's new lawyers, who intend to argue that the impeachment procedure does not apply to a former president, in order to avoid debating the merits of the accusation.
It remains to be seen whether they will follow Donald Trump in their plea, blaming their allegations of electoral fraud. A risky strategy: according to the American press, if some of the billionaire's lawyers slammed the door this weekend, it was because they refused to do so.
A “stillborn” trial?
To condemn Donald Trump, Democrats need 17 Republican votes. While they won a majority in the Senate in the election, that number seems almost impossible to achieve.
Because few Republicans have openly and firmly turned away from Donald Trump, despite the deep unease caused by the attack on Capitol Hill. For the billionaire's son, Donald Trump Jr, there is no doubt: “This stuff is stillborn,” he jubilated on Twitter.
Republicans ready to betray Trump?
Not all Republicans should be united behind Donald Trump, however: five of them voted against Rand Paul's objection to making the trial unconstitutional: former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Ben Sasse and Pat Toomey.
Mitch McConnell, a former Trump ally and Republican leader in the Senate, had said on January 13 that he was not ruling out condemning him. He has since claimed that Trump supporters have been "showered with lies" and "prompted" to launch their assault on Capitol Hill.
On Wednesday, he continued to pose the threat: “The trial has not yet started and I intend to join in and listen to the arguments. "
What does Trump risk if he is convicted?
If convicted, Donald Trump would lose many benefits enjoyed by former presidents, such as his presidential pension for life. A simple majority vote could also prevent him from running for president.
