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The Latest: Trump's trial could start on Inauguration Day

President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial could begin at 1 p.m. on Inauguration Day next Wednesday as President-elect Joe Biden is being sworn into office

Via AP news wire
Thursday 14 January 2021 15:09 GMT
Trump Impeachment
Trump Impeachment (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

The Latest on President Donald Trump s impeachment and the fallout from the Jan. 6 attack of the Capitol by pro-Trump loyalists (all times local):

9:55 a.m.

President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial could begin at 1 p.m. on Inauguration Day next Wednesday as President-elect Joe Biden is being sworn into office. That's according to a a timeline of Senate procedure obtained by The Associated Press.

It's the possible schedule if House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sends the articles of impeachment to the Senate soon.

Trump was impeached by the House on Wednesday on a single charge of incitement to insurrection after the deadly Capitol siege last week by a pro-Trump mob. Trump is the only president ever to be impeached twice.

Pelosi, D-Calif., hasn't said when she'll send the impeachment charge to the Senate. Some Democrats have suggested holding back to allow Biden time to be inaugurated and to start working on his priorities first.

Biden has suggested the Senate could divide its time between the impeachment trial and confirming his Cabinet nominees and working on COVID-19 relief and other issues.

—AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro.

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HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT IMPEACHMENT AND THE FALLOUT FROM THE JAN. 6 RIOTING AT THE CAPITOL:

President Donald Trump is facing an impeachment trial in the Senate after he leaves office on Jan. 20, the day when Democrat Joe Biden is inaugurated as America's 46th president. Trump was impeached on Wednesday, one week after he encouraged a mob of loyalists to “fight like hell” against election results and the Capitol became the target of a deadly siege. The FBI is warning that armed protests by violent Trump supporters are being planned in all 50 state capitals as well as in Washington for the days leading up to Biden's inauguration.

Read more:

— McConnell open to convicting Trump in impeachment trial

— EXPLAINER: What’s next after House impeachment vote

— Expecting trouble, DC locks down a week before inauguration

— Biden skipping Amtrak trip to Washington over security fears

— Capitol investigators try to sort real tips from noise

— A day of historic impeachment, a Capitol as armed encampment

— Enduring 2nd impeachment, Trump stands largely silent, alone

— FBI, Justice Department leaders stay out of sight after riot

— Hawley, facing fallout, blames media, D.C. ‘establishment’

— Twitter CEO defends Trump ban, warns of dangerous precedent

— Immigration agency leader resigns, only weeks in office

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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON:

12:15 a.m.

Only one president has ever been impeached twice in American history and that's now Donald Trump.

The House took that step on Wednesday in the wake of the violent siege of the Capitol on Jan. 6 as Congress was affirming the election of Democrat Joe Biden as the nation's 46th president.

Trump faced a single charge “incitement of insurrection” in the House vote after he encouraged a mob of loyalists to, as he put it, “fight like hell” against the election results.

Security was exceptionally tight at the Capitol for Wednesday’s vote and was bolstered by armed National Guard troops. Secure perimeters were set up and metal-detector screenings required for lawmakers entering the House chamber. A handful of Republicans supported impeachment along with the Democrats.

The soonest that Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell would start an impeachment trial is next Tuesday, the day before Trump is already set to leave the White House and the day when Biden is inaugurated. The legislation is also intended to prevent Trump from ever running again.

McConnell isn't ruling out that he might eventually vote to convict Trump.

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12:10 a.m.

Even though President Donald Trump's impeachment trial in the Senate won’t happen until Trump is out of office, it could still have the effect of preventing him from running for president again.

If the Senate were to convict, lawmakers could then take a separate vote on whether to disqualify Trump from holding future office.

In the case of federal judges who were impeached and removed from office, the Senate has taken a second vote after conviction to determine whether to bar the person from ever holding federal office again.

Only a majority of senators would be needed to ban him from future office, unlike the two-thirds needed to convict.

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