Hearing of former US President Donald Trump’s impeachment case has begun before the Senate this week. He has been accused of inciting a riot in the US Capitol (Parliament House) on January 6 as part of the impeachment.
Washington. The second impeachment trail against former President Donald Trump began in the US Senate at 1 pm on Tuesday (February 9 at 11.30 pm Indian time). Trump will be represented by his attorneys Bruce L. Castor Jr. and David Scone during the trial. He filed a 78-page trial brief on Monday (8 February), terming the charge of impeachment as “constitutionally wrong”, along with Trump’s violation of his right to free speech, due process.
Trump addressed his supporters on January 6, in which he allegedly instigated the Americans. After this a violent mob created a furore in the US Capitol. Five people were killed and hundreds were injured in the Capitol Hill incident. Not only this, the halls and rooms of the building were torn down. Along with this, Congress and Capitol staff members hid for hours in fear of being attacked or killed.
Voting for impeachment The
House of Representatives voted on 13 January to approve an article of impeachment accusing Trump of “inciting violence against the United States government” in an attempt to reverse the election results. In this poll, 232-197 voting was done. The impeachment also asked that he be disqualified from holding a public position again.
Ten House Republicans joined with Democrats to vote for Trump’s impeachment. On January 25, the House of Representatives, the lower house, formally sent an article of impeachment to the Senate to begin the trial.
Although no one expects Trump to be blamed. Only two-thirds majority in the Senate can be proved guilty, which means that 67 senators should vote in favor. Even after 50 Democrats voted against Trump in a 100-member house, he would need 17 votes, which is unlikely. Also, there is little hope that Trump himself will be present during the impeachment. It is believed that he will put his point in the Senate only through lawyers.
What are the main arguments of Trump’s lawyers in the impeachment hearing
Lawyers argue that Trump did not provoke people to riot while addressing a rally of supporters. Defense lawyers have alleged that the impeachment manager of the House is taking only those parts of the hour-long Trump speech that are helpful for the Democratic Party’s case. The lawyers underlined that Trump repeatedly appealed to his supporters, ‘to raise their voice in a peaceful and patriotic way’. He argued that Trump’s remarks were ‘if you don’t fight with your life you are going to lose this country’ – the election was done in the general context of security and not for calling for violence.
The lawyers also said that the promoters of the law had already expressed the possibility of violence on 6 January, so Trump could not incite himself to violence. However, Trump’s lawyers also argue that he was protected under the First Amendment of the Constitution. Together, he has also said that impeachment of Trump is unconstitutional, because he is no longer in office. Lawyers argue that the constitution does not give the power to impeach an ordinary citizen.
