The U.S. Senate is scheduled to begin an impeachment trial against former President Donald Trump on the 9th, and Trump responded with a formal letter to the Senate on the 2nd, stressing that the articles of impeachment passed by the federal House of Representatives were unconstitutional, and that his speech outside the Capitol on January 6th questioning the election results was protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution as freedom of speech, and that the charge of sedition was false.
The House voted 232 to 197 to impeach Trump on Jan. 13 for “sedition” at the Capitol. In his letter, Trump called the impeachment “unconstitutional” because he is no longer president and cannot be removed from office even if he is convicted. “The Constitution requires impeachment against a sitting president, and since the 45th president of the United States is now no longer ‘president,’ the Senate could not have found the words ‘shall be removed’ in the articles of impeachment. “
He also denied inciting rebellion, stressing that he has consistently and faithfully carried out his duties as president of the United States and has done his best to preserve, protect and defend the U.S. Constitution at all times, while never committing a crime. Trump argued that in his Jan. 6 speech outside the Capitol in Washington, D.C., he challenged the election results as part of his First Amendment rights. The letter reads, “Like all Americans, the 45th president is protected by the First Amendment.”
Finally, Trump asked the Senate to reject the first article of impeachment because it does not have the power to rule on the removal of a president who has left office and asked the Senate to declare him innocent.
Trump’s impeachment is considered by political observers to have a high probability of failure as the Senate needs a 2/3 vote in favor to pass.
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