Updated on: February 10, 2021 / 7:00 AM / CBS NEWS First day of trial previews impeachment arguments
Washington The Senate voted to move forward with former President Donald Trump s impeachment trial on Tuesday, with a majority of senators determining they have jurisdiction to place former presidents on trial in cases of impeachment.
By a vote of 56 to 44, the Senate rejected arguments by Mr. Trump s attorneys, who asserted that holding an impeachment trial of a former president is unconstitutional.
Six Republicans joined all 50 Democratic senators in voting to move forward with the trial. But the vote also served as an indication of Mr. Trump s eventual acquittal, since 17 GOP senators would need to vote with Democrats in order to convict him. Senator Bill Cassidy joined five other GOP senators who had previously voted that the trial is constitutional.
The impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump on a charge of inciting last month's deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol will begin on Tuesday with arguments over whether the proceedings are constitutional.
The Senate affirmed the constitutional basis of former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial, clearing the way for arguments to begin on whether he incited an insurrection by inflaming the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol last month.