January 20 According to ABC on the 19th, who will preside over the second impeachment trial of President Trump in the U.S. Senate is still an open issue.
According to the U.S. Constitution, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts should preside over the trial of the President of the United States, but there seems to be still variables.
According to the report, some Republicans, represented by former judge Michael Rutig of the Federal Court of Appeal, believe that since the United States does not have a precedent for trying the former president, the entire impeachment trial can be regarded as unconstitutional, so Roberts should not preside over the trial.
If an invitation is extended to Roberts, his participation is likely to depend on his own interpretation of the law. At the same time, if Trump or his legal team question the constitutionality of federal court proceedings, Roberts may also choose to avoid the Senate trial. In this case, Roberts and the justices may eventually be asked to make a ruling.
If Roberts is absent, the responsibility for hosting could fall to Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, according to ABC analysis. In addition, Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy may also be the candidate.
On January 6, Trump supporters forcibly broke into the Capitol and clashed with armed police, causing many deaths and injuries. Since then, people in the United States have blamed Trump for the riot.
On the afternoon of January 13th, local time, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the impeachment bill against Trump, which was charged with “sedition”.
This also makes Trump the first president in American history to experience two impeachments. Previously, Trump was impeached for trying to seek help from Ukraine to smear political opponents.
According to U.S. law, after the impeachment bill is submitted to the Senate, the Senate will hear the impeachment bill and vote.
If more than two-thirds of the senators support it, the president is impeached, the vice president will take over the presidency, and if less than two-thirds of the seats support, the president will continue his term.
Trump expressed “condemnation” of this, saying that the move would “bring danger” to the country. U.S. President-elect Biden believes that the top priority at present is to deal with other emergencies in the country.
Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal lawyer, recently said that he would defend his impeachment.
According to the analysis of the New York Times, impeaching Trump seems to make little sense when he is leaving office, but for Trump, this impeachment will stain his political career.
If convicted, the Senate, under the Constitution of the United States, may consider “disqualifying him from holding and enjoying any office of honor, responsibility or salary under the United States”.
Bill Press, a U.S. political columnist, said that if Trump’s impeachment fails, the provisions of the U.S. Constitution on impeachment are “ineffective”.
Republican Congresswoman Lisa McClain, who opposes impeachment, worries that impeaching Trump may tear the country further.
“After all, the more urgent issue in the United States is the peaceful transfer of power and the stability of the overall state, rather than Trump, who will leave the White House in a few days.”
