John Cornyn, a prominent Republican in the US Senate, warned Saturday 23 January 2021 that the trial of former President Donald Trump in the House for the second time could lead to the trial of former Democratic presidents, if the Republicans regain control of the House after two years.
Kornin, in a tweet to Senate Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, said: "If questioning and trying former presidents is a good idea, then what about former Democratic presidents when Republicans regain the majority in 2022? Think about it and let's do what is in the interest of the country."
Kornin’s warning came after Trump earlier this month became the first US president to be held accountable twice in Congress.
Trump's trial will start after the Democratic-majority House of Representatives, with the support of ten Republicans, approved his accusation of inciting an armed rebellion, after his enthusiastic speech to his supporters on January 6, 2021, and the subsequent storming of the Congress building in an attack that resulted in deaths.
On the other hand, a number of Republican members of the Senate oppose Trump's trial, which may lead to preventing him from running for the presidency again, and the Democrats currently have a simple majority in the House of Representatives and the Senate in the US Congress.
Trump trial
Trump's trial will begin in the second week of February 2021, after the former president's indictment is transferred to the Senate on Monday.
This two-week period between the submission of the indictment and the start of the debate will allow the trial not to have a monopoly on Senate sessions at the start of President Joe Biden's term, and in this way the Senate can hold its sessions to confirm the appointment of cabinet members.
For her part, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement, "Our public prosecutors are ready to defend their case before the 100 senators who will serve as judges during the trial."
Schumer had made it clear that he had discussed with Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell the "schedule" and "duration" of the sessions. "There will be a trial in the Senate in the United States, and a vote on whether the president is guilty," he added.
So far, Joe Biden has refrained from interfering in Trump's trial, believing that it is up to Congress to determine the methods for trying the former president.
It is reported that Trump's first trial in the House took place at the end of 2019, because he called on Ukraine to investigate the son of Joe Biden, but the Senate, which is controlled by Republicans, acquitted him.
This time, however, some elected Republicans seem more inclined to criticize him. Even Mitch McConnell, one of his staunchest allies during his presidency, has declared that he is not ruling out his conviction.
The constitution requires a two-thirds majority to convict a president, meaning that 17 Republican senators in the Senate must join the 50 Democrats to achieve that qualified majority, which is not certain at this stage.
But if Donald Trump is found guilty, he will not be dismissed, because he actually left the White House, but he will become ineligible to be elected, after he proposed the idea of running again for the presidency in 2024.