Trump impeachment lawyer asks for trial break for Sabbath

Senate leader accepts request that could delay – or shorten – proceedings by days

The second impeachment trial against former president Donald Trump, which is due to start on Tuesday, is expected to take a break from Friday afternoon to Sunday for the Jewish Sabbath.

The pause in proceedings comes at the request of David Schoen, who was appointed to Mr Trump's legal team only a week ago – when several lawyers walked from away from the former president’s defence.

In a letter to the Democratic and Republican leaders of the Senate, Mr Schoen asked for the break for the Jewish Sabbath if the trial is not finished by the beginning of the Sabbath at 5.24pm on Friday, the New York Times reported.

That could cause a delay to the trial, which the Senate was thought to want a relatively speedy conclusion to, with the majority of Republicans seemingly against any conviction for the former occupant of the White House. Democrats, meanwhile, are keen on moving on to confirming president Joe Biden's nominees and passing legislation.

Senators will also need to vote on any session being held on a Sunday.

Mr Schoen wrote in a letter seen by the Times: “I apologise for the inconvenience my request that impeachment proceedings not be conducted during the Jewish Sabbath undoubtedly will cause other people involved in the proceedings.

“The practices and prohibitions are mandatory for me, however; so, respectfully, I have no choice but to make this request,” the lawyer added.

Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, who received the letter alongside Republican minority leader Mitch McConnell, has already agreed to respect Mr Schoen's request, but did not say how the accommodation will be made.

A timetable for the trial, according to the Times, remains up in the air and could still change after proceedings start on Tuesday.

“We respect their request and of course will accommodate it,” said a spokesman for Mr Schumer, Justin Goodman. “Conversations with the relevant parties about the structure of the trial continue.”

The trial against the former president is expected to be shorter than his first, which took roughly three weeks to conclude.

If it finishes before the start of the Sabbath on Friday evening, it would result in the shortest impeachment trial ever seen in the Senate, although a planned Sunday break and public holiday on Monday mean a two-day delay to proceedings could occur.