On Sunday January 24, 2021, Republican lawmakers indicated that Democrats must fight the battle to convict Donald Trump on their own, with the Senate convening within days and the opening of the first trial of a former president in the nation's history.
Also, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is expected to send to the Senate on Monday the indictment that was passed in the House of Representatives and hold Trump responsible for inciting the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021, that left five people dead, according to an AFP report on Sunday.
Arguments question Trump's trial
But with both sides preparing for a trial expected to be relatively swift, senior Republican officials presented political and constitutional arguments questioning the ability of the Democrats, who control 50 seats in the 100-seat Senate, to secure the 17 Republicans wanted for conviction.
For his part, a prominent Republican Senator and member of the Intelligence Committee, Marco Rubio, told the "Fox News Sunday" program that he believes "it is a stupid trial and it will backfire. We currently have fires burning in the country, and it is like pouring oil on a fire."
But he admitted that Trump, who urged thousands of his supporters to go to the Congress building to protest against the endorsement of Biden's victory, "bears some responsibility for what happened."
Rubio, the former presidential candidate who was defeated by Trump in the 2016 primaries, also noted the ill effects of "raising it again" on the country. Other Republicans have indicated that the Senate does not have the power to prosecute a private citizen as Trump is now.
The constitution does not allow
For his part, Senator Mike Rounds told the "Face the Press" program on the "NBC" network that the constitution does not allow the trial of a former president. "There are other things that we would prefer to work on," he added, including the endorsement of more Biden candidates for the government.
But Senator Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential candidate, told CNN, "The likely legal opinion is that trying the president after leaving office is constitutional. I think that is the case."
Romney, who was the only Republican senator to vote to convict Trump in his first impeachment trial, also hinted that he might be tempted to repeat his move. He said he believed, "What is being claimed and what we have seen is incitement to disobedience and it is a crime that deserves trial. Otherwise, what is that?"
Biden turned away from the battle
For his part, Biden preferred to distance himself in public and take a non-interference approach and leave the matter to the Senate to decide, preferring to focus on achieving rapid progress in combating the Covid-19 epidemic and reviving the deteriorating economy.
Biden spokeswoman Jane Psaki said the president "believes it is up to the Senate and Congress to determine how the former president will be held accountable."
Also, as Democrats worked on the indictment against Trump, Representative Madeleine Dean, who will be among the lawmakers who will present the case in the Senate, hoped the process would proceed quickly.
She told CNN that she expected "things to go much faster" than Trump's 21-day trial in 2020. Dean added that she was in the House of Representatives during those "terrifying" moments when the protesters began banging on the doors and chanting. Hang Vice President Pence. "
Madeleine Dean also said that Democrats will demand that Trump be tried for his role in this matter, which she described as "an unusually heinous presidential crime."