U.S. Senators are pictured at the impeachment trial after about 16 hours of questioning on the impeachment of President Trump (Trump) over two days on Jan. 29 and 30, 2020. (Senate Television via Getty Images)
Former President Trump’s (Trump) office said in a statement Monday (Feb. 8) that Trump and his legal team were satisfied that Senate Republicans and Democrats were able to reach an agreement on the upcoming impeachment trial process.
“We thank the Senate Republican leadership for their unwavering support for due process and for ensuring a process that is consistent with past precedent,” the statement said. “This trial process will provide us with an opportunity to explain to Senators why an impeachment trial of an ordinary citizen is absurd and unconstitutional.”
The announcement comes after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., announced that the Senate had reached a bipartisan agreement on how the impeachment trial would proceed the day before the impeachment proceedings were scheduled to begin.
Schumer said Monday, “All parties have agreed to follow a process that will ensure a fair and impartial impeachment trial of the former president in the Senate.”
Senate Minority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, has reached an agreement with the House Democratic impeachment manager and Trump’s lawyers, it was revealed.
The agreement agrees that the impeachment trial against Trump will begin with a four-hour debate on whether the impeachment proceedings should be dismissed.
In January, Sen. Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, raised a point of order in the Senate that forced the chamber to vote on the constitutionality of the impeachment process against the former president. The vote was 55 to 45. This means the impeachment trial will go forward. But it also indicates that nearly half of the senators believe the procedure is unconstitutional.
Under the agreement, both sides will have up to 16 hours to present their respective views after Tuesday’s (Feb. 9) debate, starting at 12 p.m. ET Wednesday (Feb. 10). Senators will then have a total of four hours to ask questions of both sides. According to Schumer, up to four more hours could be allotted between the impeachment manager and Trump’s defenders if witnesses or documents are subpoenaed.
The House of Representatives, currently controlled by Democrats, voted 232 to 197 on Jan. 13 to pass an impeachment resolution against former President Trump, accusing him of fomenting a “rebellion” that led to the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol.
The impeachment process took just seven hours to complete, with Republicans criticizing the speed and lack of due process. Meanwhile, the constitutionality of the Senate’s impeachment trial has sparked heated public debate among legal scholars and lawmakers.
Trump’s lawyers filed a written argument Monday saying the trial was a “political farce” and that impeaching a former president is unconstitutional. Democrats rejected the argument and said they wanted the trial to be a public trial against Trump and to ensure he could not run for president again in the future.
Trump’s lawyers wrote: “Overall, the evidence conclusively demonstrates that condoning the House Democrats’ desire for this political farce poses a threat to our Republic’s democracy and our cherished rights.”
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