Donald Trump remains in the focus in Washington.
The second impeachment process starts.
The chairman of the Supreme Court does not take the chair.
Ex-President
Donald Trump
is no longer responsible for US politics.
But in an
impeachment process *
against himself he has to answer politically for the assault on the Capitol.
With Senator Patrick Leahy, a Democrat is to lead the process.
(see update from January 25th, 10:16 pm)
.
Update from January 27, 8:10 a.m
.: The hopes of the
US Democrats
for a conviction of the former President
Donald Trump
in the
impeachment
process have suffered a significant damper.
On a poll presented on Tuesday
45
of the
50
Republican senators behind an application, the process due to the
storming of the Capitol
for
unconstitutional
explained.
Republican
Rand Paul
argued that the process was unconstitutional because Trump left office on Jan. 20.
The Democratic majority leader in the Senate,
Chuck Schumer
, called Paul's argument
"simply wrong"
.
Otherwise, a president could
avoid
impeachment and
suspension from office
by
committing
crimes against the country just before the end of his term in office or by stepping down before a trial in the Senate.
Ex-President Donald Trump: Great support in the Republican party base
Tuesday's vote made it increasingly unrealistic that the
two-thirds majority
needed to convict Trump would
come about
in the Congress Chamber
.
Should the 50 Democratic senators vote unanimously to condemn Trump, they would have to be joined by at least
17 Republicans
.
Trump still enjoys
a lot of support
from the
party base
and exerts great influence on the party even after he has been voted out of office.
Many Republicans fear the ex-president's anger and therefore avoid speaking out against him openly - even if the riot in the Capitol by
radical Trump supporters
on January 6 and the behavior of the ex-president sparked indignation among many of them .
+
A majority of Republicans are against a conviction of ex-President Donald Trump (archive image)
© Nicholas Kamm / AFP
Trump impeachment reaches US Senate: Biden skeptical - "He has not changed that much"
Update from January 26th, 9:48 p.m
.: The preparations for the
impeachment process
against the former US President
Donald Trump
are in
full swing
.
On Tuesday, the
100
senators were
sworn in
as a
jury
by Senate Chairman Patrick Leahy
.
He took the parliamentarians' oath to practice "impartial justice according to the constitution and the law" in the process.
The
Senate
trial
will
begin
the
second week of February
.
Until then, Trump and his lawyers can prepare for the trial.
The ex-president is
accused of
"inciting a riot"
.
However,
a
two-thirds majority in
the Senate
would have to
vote against Republican Trump
for a
guilty verdict
, whose party, like the Democrats, has 50 of the 100 senators.
Impeachment by Donald Trump: Indictment filed against ex-US President in the Senate
Update from January 26,
6:17 a.m
.: Ex-President
Donald Trump
threatens to be suspended from office if convicted: On Tuesday night, the
US Congress
took another step towards impeachment proceedings:
Representatives of the House of Representatives
formally reached the Senate the
indictment
against the Republicans because of
"incitement to rebellion"
one Washington.
The trial is scheduled to begin there in two weeks.
In a solemn ceremony, the nine MPs, appointed by Chairman
Nancy Pelosi
(Democrats),
walked
silently through the halls of the
US Capitol
to the Senate Wing.
You will act as the prosecutor.
Then in the Senate, the chairman of the prosecutors,
Jamie Raskin
,
read
the so-called impeachment.
Trump had "threatened the integrity of the democratic system" and "hindered the peaceful transfer of power," it says.
US President Biden skeptical about impeachment: "He hasn't changed that much"
The 100 senators take the role of jury in the trial.
For this task they are to be sworn in this Tuesday.
The longest serving senator, the 80-year-old Democrat
Patrick Leahy
, takes the role of chairman of the proceedings
.
Meanwhile
,
CNN
reports that
US President Joe Biden sees little chance of success in the matter.
He doesn't think enough Republicans would vote for a conviction in the Senate.
“The Senate has changed since I was there.
But he hasn't changed that much, ”he
told the US broadcaster.
At least two thirds of the senatorial votes would be required.
50 of them belong to the US Democrats, so they would need the support of 17 Republicans.
+
Nine members of the US House of Representatives submit the impeachment indictment against ex-President Donald Trump in a ceremony in the Capitol.
© Melina Mara / POOL / AFP
Impeachment for Donald Trump?
Surprising change - suddenly someone else is leading the process
Update from January 25, 9:36 p.m.:
As the US news
channel CNN
claims to
have learned from two sources, the presiding judge at the
Supreme Court
should not
lead
the
impeachment proceedings
against
Donald Trump
, rather the Democratic
Senator Patrick Leahy should
take over this task.
According to the rules of procedure, the presiding judge at the
Supreme Court
actually leads
the
impeachment proceedings
against the US President in the Senate.
The first attempt
to remove
Donald Trump
from office was led by
John Roberts
- presiding judge at the
Supreme Court
.
Since
Trump
is no longer president, according to
CNN
Senator Leahy
will be responsible for it.
The
House
of
Representatives
indictment is due
to be sent
to the
Senate
on Monday evening (local time)
.
There the chairman of the procedure is to be sworn in.
Its job will be to
take the oath from
the 100
senators
who
serve as jurors
in the
impeachment process
and who will make the final decision on
Donald Trump
.
The actual
proceedings
against the former US president are due to begin in the second week of February.
How long it could take is not yet foreseeable.
However, experts assume that it will not exceed the 21 days of the first procedure from 2020.
A result could therefore be expected at the end of February - even earlier, according to US experts.
Impeachment for Trump?
Republicans deeply divided - final push for the former figurehead seems possible
First report from January 25th, 3:20 p.m .:
Washington, DC -
Impeachment proceedings
against someone who is no longer in office?
That sounds bizarre at first, but the
US Senate
will be looking at exactly that in the near future.
And there is a reason.
Donald Trump
left the White House on January 20.
But for the time being it remains possible that he will return there again.
In the USA, each
US president can serve
up to two terms.
The rumor mill has been simmering for a long time: Will Trump run again in 2024?
Is he starting his own party?
"We'll be back in some form," * he shouted ambiguously to his followers before he and his wife
Melania Trump
boarded Air Force One
for the last time
*.
For the
Democrats
and some
Republicans
in the US Congress, this thought is a horror.
With the storming of the
Capitol
in Washington, DC on January 6, many of the MPs in the House of Representatives saw their opportunity.
"Incitement to riot" is the charge, whose Donald Trump in the
impeachment proceedings
should be found guilty.
With his speeches, Trump is said to have tempted his supporters to violently storm the heart of democracy in the US capital.
Donald Trump before impeachment: Senate has to decide - Lifelong suspension of office at federal level?
In addition to the Democrats, ten Republicans also voted in the
House of Representatives *
for opening the procedure.
Back then, Donald Trump was US President for a few days.
The
Senate *
ultimately has to decide whether he will be politically condemned
.
If that happened, a momentous step could take place: In another vote, the Chamber of Parliament would be able to ban Trump from being allowed to become president again.
That is what some are aiming for.
For a first conviction, however, a two-thirds majority of the senators present is required.
The nominal figure is 50:50 for the two major parties - including independent MPs.
At least 17 Republicans would have to
agree to
the
impeachment
if all Democratic MPs go along and all are present.
Whether this will happen is still completely open.
One argument that could become important: If Trump actually founds his own party and pulls his loyal supporters
away
from the
Republican Party *
, that would represent immense damage to the Republicans in the USA.
Other voices, on the other hand, argue that impeachment would divide the nation even further - and are therefore against it.
Impeachment of Donald Trump: Republicans discuss their strategy
As reported by the
Washington Post
, the
Republican National Committee
(RNC), the national organizing body of the Republican Party, discussed heatedly over the weekend how to react to the impeachment.
Republican Senator
Mitt Romney
, who has attacked Trump several times, supported an impeachment process.
"Truth and justice are needed," he told Fox News Sunday.
He left it open whether he would vote for or against impeachment.
Senator
Marco Rubio,
on the other hand, said on the same program that he thought the process was "stupid" and harmful to the US, even if Trump was "responsible for some of the events".
A process would stir everything up again, instead Rubio wishes: “We have to work on some really important things.” Voters would have to decide who to vote in the end.
But there are also Republicans who continue to cling to Trump.
Senator
Rand Paul,
for example, called on the US broadcaster ABC to investigate the election fraud.
"We never had a presentation in court where we actually looked at the evidence."
Impeachment: The indictment will be read out in the Senate on Monday (local time)
So there are controversial and strategically important decisions to be made.
On
Monday
the prosecution will to initiate the
impeachment process
to be submitted.
The announced the top of the Democrats in Congress, Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi, on Friday.
Then the indictment will be read out in the Senate - 7 p.m. local time, 1 a.m. CET on Tuesday.
The hot phase of the negotiations is to begin in the second week of February.
That suits the
new US President Joe Biden
.
In this way, the Senate can first vote on its nominated ministers and deal with important government projects *.
Trump *
is the first president in US history to be the focus of an impeachment case for the second time.
The first trial
2019 because of the so-called Ukraine affair ended with an acquittal.
(cibo) * Merkur.de is part of the Ippen-Digital network.
List of rubric lists: © Nicholas Kamm / AFP