Extract from ABC News
The Democratic-controlled US House of Representatives will deliver an impeachment charge against former president Donald Trump to the Senate on Monday (local time), rejecting Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's request for a delay.
Key points:
- Republicans wanted a delay to give Mr Trump more time to prepare a defence
- Mr Trump is charged with "inciting insurrection" via a rally address he gave before some of those there attacked the Capitol
- Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said it would be "a fair trial"
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who displaced Senator McConnell as the chamber's leader after Democrats won two Georgia runoff elections this month, announced the move on the Senate floor but did not say when Mr Trump's second impeachment trial would begin.
"The House will deliver the article of impeachment to the Senate. The Senate will conduct a trial of the impeachment of Donald Trump," Senator Schumer said.
That came the morning after Senator McConnell asked the House to delay sending the charges until next Thursday, and to agree not to start the trial until mid-February.
The request for a delay was made in order to give Mr Trump more time to prepare a defence against the charge that he incited insurrection by his followers who stormed the Capitol on January 6.
"This impeachment began with an unprecedentedly fast and minimal process over in the House," Senator McConnell said on Friday.
"The sequel cannot be an insufficient Senate process that denies former president Trump his due process or damages the Senate or the presidency itself."
Senator Schumer said he also speaking to Senator McConnell about the "timing and duration" of the proceedings ahead.
17 Republican votes needed to convict Trump
The moves come as Senators Schumer and McConnell are struggling to assert control in a 50-50 chamber where Democrats now hold a razor-thin majority thanks to Vice- President Kamala Harris's tie-breaking vote.
The trial could distract from Democratic President Joe Biden's efforts to push an ambitious legislative agenda through Congress, including nearly $US2 trillion ($2.59 trillion) in fresh COVID-19 relief for Americans and US businesses, as well as the need to confirm his Cabinet nominees.
Mr Trump last week became the first president in US history to be impeached twice and, when the Senate convenes for his trial, will be the first president to be tried after leaving office, for his alleged role in urging his supporters to storm the Capitol in an attack that left five dead.
Ten House Republicans joined Democrats on January 13 in impeaching him. The support of at least 17 Senate Republicans would be needed to convict him — a separate vote would then be needed to ban him from running for office again.
Such a vote could signal that senior Republicans were eager to remove Mr Trump as the de facto leader of their party. He has said he may seek to run for office again in 2024.
Mr Trump's fate ultimately could depend on Senator McConnell, whose position is likely to influence other Republican politicians.
The Kentucky Republican said this week that the mob that attacked the Capitol was "fed lies" and "provoked by the President and other powerful people".
Reuters/AP
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