The leader of the Democratic majority in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, announced that an agreement has been reached to postpone the trial of former President Donald Trump, until February 8, at a time when the House has been focusing most of its focus recently on approving members of the new administration of President Joe Biden and some Urgent files.
Senator Chuck Schumer confirmed Saturday, January 23, 2021, that the trial will start during the second week of February, within the framework of an agreement praised by the leader of the Republicans in the House Mitch McConnell.
The House of Representatives will formally submit the impeachment bill accusing Trump of inciting disobedience to the Senate, Monday, while it would normally start the trial within one day.
The main accusation this time for the former president stems from a inflammatory speech delivered by Trump to his supporters before they stormed the Congress building, on January 6, which caused riots that disrupted Congress's official approval of Biden's victory in the elections, and left five people dead, including a policeman.
Ready for trial
For his part, Schumer said that the new timetable would allow the Senate to move quickly to discuss the key Biden candidates, and carry out other tasks, and would give House lawmakers, who will represent the prosecution in the case, as well as Trump's team more time to prepare for the trial.
Schumer added, "During this period, the council will continue to work on other matters since the American people, including government nominations and the Covid-19 relief bill, which will provide aid to millions of Americans suffering during this pandemic."
The timetable represents a compromise after McConnell asked the Democratic-led House of Representatives to delay filing the indictment until Thursday, calling on Schumer to delay the trial until mid-February, to give Trump plenty of time to prepare his defense.
McConnell’s spokesman, Doug Andres, said the Republican senator pleased him that the Democrats had given Trump's defense time, and put forward a timetable that could make the trial begin, possibly on February 9th. “This is a victory for due process and fairness.”
For his part, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who is one of Trump's close allies, said that the agreement between Schumer and McConnell "is fair to all concerned."
He added that the agreement "gives the president's defense team sufficient time to prepare and moves the process forward for the sake of the country."
The second trial
On January 13, Trump became the first US president to support impeachment for the second time. The Senate cleared it last year in the first trial, which focused on Trump's demand that Ukraine investigate Biden and his son.
Conviction of Trump in the Senate will require the approval of two-thirds of the members, which means that 17 of Trump's comrades in the Republican Party will have to vote against him, while the conviction of the former president will clear the way for the vote to prevent him from assuming office again, a vote that requires a simple majority.
Trump, who has confirmed that he may seek to assume the presidency again in 2024, is in an awkward position, as his fate depends on the Republican minority leader McConnell, who said last week that those who attacked the Capitol were "saturated with lies" and "raised by the president and other influential figures."