Step by step: this will be the second impeachment of Trump 3:51
(CNN) -
Senators will be formally sworn in as jurors on Tuesday for the second impeachment trial against former President Donald Trump, though the trial will not enter its peak until the week of February 8.
On Monday, House impeachment prosecutors - a group of Democratic lawmakers who will act as prosecutors presenting the case against Trump during the trial - handed over the only impeachment charge to the Senate.
The charge, approved by the Democratic-led House, accuses Trump of inciting insurrection by provoking the attack on the United States Capitol that left several people dead, on January 6, 2021.
The transfer of office generally triggers a quick impeachment start, but Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell reached an agreement last week to delay the start date. of the merits of the proceeding.
That move will give Democrats more time to confirm Biden's cabinet and potentially take on a new COVID-19 relief bill, while Trump's defense team will have more time to prepare for trial.
It remains to be seen how long the trial will last, whether the House impeachment prosecutors will seek witnesses, and what the exact outlines of the president's legal defense will be.
Biden to CNN: Trump's impeachment 'has to happen'
House of Representatives hands over to the Senate the position of the second impeachment against Trump
Impeachment Charge Against Trump Delivered In Senate 12:46
Trump impeachment proceedings
When the trial begins, one visible difference between the proceedings and Trump's first impeachment will be that instead of Chief Justice John Roberts, the longest-serving Democrat in the Senate is expected to preside.
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Roberts will not preside as he did in the first trial, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN on Monday.
Instead, Senator Patrick Leahy, president
pro tempore
of the Senate
, is expected to preside
, the sources said.
The Constitution says that the Chief Justice presides when the person facing trial is the current U.S. president, but senators preside in other cases, a source said, and Trump's second trial will take place with him. out of office as president of the United States.
The likelihood of Leahy overseeing the trial has raised questions about whether he, too, will be eligible to vote, but constitutional experts say nothing would stop him from doing so.
It would take two-thirds of the votes in the Senate to convict Trump, a high bar to reach that seems increasingly unlikely to happen, as several Senate Republicans already argue that it is illogical and may be unconstitutional to impeach a former president.
Given the Constitution's limited language on impeachment, legal experts disagree on whether the Senate can convict a former president.
But Democrats have singled out jurists at both ends of the political spectrum who say a trial is constitutional.
Under the agreement reached by Schumer and McConnell, several ceremonial functions of the trial will take place this week.
On Tuesday, the Senate is also expected to issue a subpoena to Trump, another step in the organizing process for the trial to accelerate.
The trial will then be effectively suspended while Trump's impeachment managers and legal team exchange pretrial briefs for two weeks.
Final reports would be delivered on February 9, allowing the trial to begin in earnest.
Impeachment of Donald Trump