Second impeachment against Donald Trump: This is what the impeachment process is about - date and background

In the USA, the impeachment against Donald Trump is imminent.

He is the first President to face such a procedure for the second time.

• The second impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump will begin in the US Senate on February 9.

• After the storm on the Capitol, the ex-president is accused of "inciting a riot".

• Despite new majorities in the Senate, impeachment seems very unlikely.

Washington DC - Donald Trump has become unusually quiet since he left the White House.

The ex-president has retired to Florida.

No television interviews, no appearances, no Twitter - almost eerily quiet after four years of continuous sound.

And it could have stayed that way for the time being, had it not been for the second impeachment against Trump.

Date of the second impeachment proceedings: when is the impeachment against Trump?

Because on February 9, the crucial phase of the impeachment proceedings against the 45th President of the United States begins.

The US Senate will then decide whether Donald Trump will be removed from office as president.

The House of Representatives had previously voted in favor of opening the procedure on January 13th.

The background is the riots in the Capitol in Washington DC on January 6th.

The spokeswoman for the House of Representatives, Democrat Nancy Pelosi, announced on the same day that this would be initiated.

Impeachment against Donald Trump: The ex-president is accused of this

Donald Trump is now charged with "inciting riot".

He is accused of inciting his supporters, who launched a storm on the Capitol that day, in a speech.

In fact, he called out to people at his rally: "You must fight like the devil" and "Be there, it will be wild".

When the violence escalated, all he said on a Twitter video was: “Go home.

We love you, you are special. "

These statements could now be his undoing.

Because in the draft for the impeachment indictment, it was said that Trump would remain "a danger to national security, democracy and the constitution if he is allowed to remain in office".

The real estate entrepreneur is no longer president, his successor Joe Biden was sworn in on January 20th.

But the impeachment against Trump continues.

Although this is unusual, the US Constitution does not prohibit it.

Impeachment proceedings: shortly before the impeachment process, Donald Trump causes another stir

If the Democrats have their way, Trump should now even travel to Washington to testify under oath in the proceedings against him.

Democratic MP and Prosecutor Jamie Raskin wrote a letter calling on him to testify and also "cross-examine".

The former president rejected this immediately.

His lawyers called the request a "PR trick" to get attention.

His legal team called the impeachment process "unconstitutional".

This also seems to be the line of argument of his new lawyers Bruce Castor and David Schoen.

The two lawyers stepped in after five members of the old legal team resigned their mandate less than a week before the start of the trial.

According to information from CNN, Trump had insisted that they focus on the unsubstantiated election fraud allegations he has been making for months.

The new legal representatives also seem to be staying away from this approach for the time being.

They still want to prevent a statement from their client.

Trump could provide grounds for prosecution if proven to lie.

Second impeachment against Trump - the reasons for the subsequent impeachment

A guilty verdict currently seems highly unlikely.

The Senate is no longer dominated by the Republicans, but a two-thirds majority is required for impeachment.

That is, in addition to the 50 Democratic senators, 17 Republican senators would have to express distrust Trump.

But there is no sign of that; the majority of Republicans are against impeachment.

Failure would be a bitter disappointment for the Democrats.

Not only would it be a political defeat, it would also be unfavorable in terms of perspective.

Because with a conviction of the ex-president, he would probably get a ban for future offices at the federal level and could not run for re-election as president in 2024.

Impeachment proceedings against Trump: Democrats failed in previous attempt

The current impeachment process is the second attempt to bring down Donald Trump.

An impeachment for abuse of power and obstruction of investigations by Congress was sought as early as 2019.

Back then, the Ukraine affair was the trigger.

The former head of government was acquitted by the Senate at the time.

Trump is the only president in US history to face two impeachment proceedings.

(mam / AFP)

List of rubric lists: © Andres Caballero-Reynolds / AFP