This is how the second impeachment trial of Trump 2:55 would work
(CNN) -
House Democrats serving as prosecutors in the case against Donald Trump say privately and in public that they will likely avoid a dramatic confrontation with the former president and are unlikely to issue a subpoena to force him to testify. .
Democrats believe there is ample evidence, from videos and other sources, demonstrating Trump's clear intention to incite his supporters to storm the Capitol, which led to the deadly riots on January 6, without his testimony.
They plan to argue that his refusal to testify underscores his guilt.
And there is no appetite for a potential court showdown if Trump refuses to comply with a Senate subpoena to testify, at a time when many Senate Democrats are eager to make the trial short so they can move on to other matters quickly.
All of which, say Democratic sources, means that prosecutors are unlikely to seek a subpoena for the former president.
"His immediate refusal to testify says it all and clearly establishes an adverse inference that supports his guilt," Rep. Jamie Raskin, lead impeachment prosecutor, said Thursday night, not mentioning the possibility of issuing a subpoena to demand his testimony. .
Trump refuses to testify in his impeachment 0:48
No final decision has yet been made on how far to seek Trump testimony or whether a subpoena will be issued, Democratic sources say.
Also, Democrats have yet to decide whether to call witnesses.
Yet there is a growing expectation that they won't, largely because all senators experienced for themselves what happened that day and video evidence will be able to tell the story vividly.
How long could impeachment last?
Democrats continue to debate how long the trial should last.
Prosecutors for the impeachment believe that the procedure could take up to two weeks.
Meanwhile, some Senate Democrats are pushing for a shorter term, according to sources familiar with the matter.
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It seems increasingly likely that the trial will conclude in the week of February 22, because Democrats hope to approve the aid package against covid-19 before the end of the month.
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The structure of the trial is still unknown, but it is expected to be shorter than Trump's 2020 trial. It lasted about three weeks.
Behind the scenes, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and their aides are engaged in extensive discussions about a package that sets out the ground rules of procedure.
This package is expected to be unveiled before the trial begins on Tuesday, sources say.
The Senate will have to pass the ground rules, and both sides hope they will be adopted by a bipartisan majority.
This would be a change from 2020, when the rule package was adopted along partisan lines after a fierce debate that dragged on past midnight on the opening day of the trial.
An inescapable decision
Ultimately, senators will have to make the decision whether or not to compel witnesses to appear, as a simple majority could issue a subpoena to testify.
However, some Democrats are wary of seeking Trump's testimony.
They argue that it's not necessary and that it could become a sideshow.
"I think it's a terrible idea," Sen. Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat, said Thursday.
When asked to explain why, Coons replied, "Have you met President Trump?"
Is impeachment of Trump constitutional?
1:15
Senate Democrats are aware of the fact that there appears to be little chance of a conviction, which requires two-thirds of the vote.
To reach that threshold, 17 Republican senators would have to convict Trump.
However, 45 of the 50 Senate Republicans supported a procedural vote last week to dismiss the trial on the grounds that it is unconstitutional to convict a former president.
What do the Democrats plan to argue?
Despite facing a skeptical jury in the Senate, House Democrats plan to argue that Trump was solely responsible for inciting the deadly January 6 riots, after his lies and conspiracy theories that he they stole the elections and spurred their supporters into trying to violently prevent the certification by Congress of President Joe Biden's electoral victory.
The impeachment prosecutors plan to use video evidence to show how Trump's speech motivated the rioters.
Also to show how they declared that they were acting on behalf of Trump while looting the Capitol.
They present arguments for impeachment.
This they say 2:11
However, by requesting Trump's testimony - even if unsuccessful - Democrats would mitigate a possible argument by Trump's defense team that the House of Representatives acted so swiftly to impeach him a second time that they did not even seek witnesses. .
The background to the first impeachment trial against Trump
In Trump's first impeachment trial, Democrats sought to authorize a subpoena for former Trump National Security adviser John Bolton to testify.
It failed in a controversial vote in the Senate.
This time, Democrats control the Senate, which means they would have the votes to authorize a subpoena.
But taking that step could open the trial to thorny legal issues that end up in court and delay the trial even further.
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The Trump administration laid the groundwork for taking a subpoena to court, fighting nearly every request for House investigations in court over the past few years.
That includes a case that is still in litigation and has prevented his former White House attorney Don McGahn from testifying before Congress for nearly two years.
Trump has repeatedly tried to claim "absolute immunity" for himself and his top former advisers.
This even when the courts say the focus is too broad to be allowed.
During Trump's first impeachment process, the administration ignored several witness subpoenas and administration documents.
In the case of a more personal investigation, Trump, with private lawyers, filed several attempts in court to obtain tax information about him and his businesses.
Like the McGahn case, that litigation has yet to be resolved.
CNN's Katelyn Polantz contributed to this report.
Impeachment Impeachment of Donald Trump
