Trump’s second impeachment trial starts tomorrow

Rep. John Katko

They’ve faced sharp backlash from former President Trump and his supporters and been censured by their state parties, all the while facing new threats of primary challenges from the right.  

But the House Republicans who voted to impeach him are showing no signs of backing down and are signaling they’d do it again, the latest salvo in the battle over the party’s direction in the aftermath of Trump’s tumultuous tenure in the White House. 

“In eight years in Congress, I probably had a hundred votes that I could have gone either way, and I maybe second-guessed a little bit,” Rep. Tom Rice, the South Carolina Republican who was censured by his state party for his vote, said in an interview. “This is not one of them.” 

As the Senate gears up for his second impeachment trial starting Tuesday, Trump still remains a polarizing and dominant force in his party. The pro-Trump wing of the House GOP Conference is still the most sizable bloc, while a large contingent of top Senate Republicans are eager to move past the Trump-era and all the controversies that followed, even as they are likely to acquit him. 

Over the weekend, Rep. Liz Cheney, the No. 3 House GOP leader who was censured by her state party for being just one of 10 House Republicans voting to impeach Trump, asserted that the GOP should “not be embracing the former President.” 

Some top Senate Republicans agree. 

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, the Alaska Republican who may vote to convict Trump, said in a brief interview, “I think we’re in a place where Donald Trump is gone — and in terms of his role in party, that has yet to be determined. But I have not embraced the party of Donald Trump. I’m looking for the Republican Party.” 

Yet Trump allies like Sen. Lindsey Graham have long argued that Trump’s support is paramount to winning back the House and Senate in 2022 – while House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy made a trek to Trump’s South Florida golf resort to make amends with the former President. 

In the Senate, so far just five GOP senators have indicated they could convict Trump in his impeachment trial – but it’s far short of 17 Republicans who would at least be needed to reach the 67 votes to convict the former President and then later bar him from ever serving in office again. 

Asked if backlash from the right is weighing on Republican senators as they decide how to vote, Texas Sen. John Cornyn said, “I don’t know if I’d say it weighs on us, but we’re aware of that in the political context.” 

Other GOP senators were cryptic when asked about Cheney’s remarks. 

After expressing his concerns about the constitutionality of the impeachment trial, GOP Sen. Roy Blunt was asked was asked about Cheney’s comments about the party not embracing Trump. Instead, he pointed to how the trial is not constitutional in his view.

“Well, embracing your view of the Constitution doesn’t mean you’re embracing any individual if that’s your legitimate view,” said Blunt, who is up for reelection in Missouri, next year. “It’s my legitimate view and that’s the only person I can speak for.” 

Caught in the middle are a band of Republicans who defied their party and stood up to Trump, voting to impeach him on a charge of inciting the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection. Many are now facing the threats of Trump-inspired primary challengers following their vote to impeach. 

Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, a Washington state Republican who also voted to impeach, said, “Heck no” when asked if she had any regrets about her impeachment vote. 

CNN’s Ted Barrett contributed to this story.

Sen. James Lankford, a Republican from Oklahoma, made it clear what many on Capitol Hill believe but aren’t saying out loud. That the outcome of former President Trump’s impeachment trial is already determined before it has even started. 

Lankford made note of the fact that most Republicans senators already voted that the trial did not have constitutional standing. 

The unprecedented second impeachment trial of former President Trump will take place under extraordinary security inside the US Capitol building — a physical reminder that federal officials still believe threats to lawmakers and federal buildings are possible more than a month after the Jan. 6 insurrection. 

Members of the National Guard still patrol the exterior of the Capitol Complex — in some cases along eight-foot, non-scalable fences topped by razor wire. 

Within the halls of the building, all nine House Democratic impeachment managers are flanked by a security detail as they walk to votes and take meetings around the Capitol. The managers were also assigned a security detail during last year’s impeachment trial.

In addition, enhanced security measures around the US Capitol will remain in place due to the ongoing potential for violence by domestic extremists, in part because the heightened political tension surrounding the trial itself, sources familiar with the plans told CNN. Access to the Senate will also be tightly regulated, as it was during Trump’s first impeachment trial. 

Federal law enforcement officials say they are not currently tracking any “specific and credible” threats to the Capitol surrounding the Senate impeachment trial, which is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, but relevant agencies, including the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security remain on high alert. They’re using all the tools at their disposal to avoid the same security and intelligence failures that occurred leading up to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. 

The FBI continues to conduct surveillance on a number of people inside the US, in cases where there is enough probable cause to do so — monitoring for any signs that they are planning something specific around the impeachment trial and in the weeks that follow, according to a law enforcement official. 

Law enforcement officials have also reached out to some of the suspects, in an effort to discourage them from facilitating unrest or violence, the official said. 

As part of that effort, officials are closely tracking threats against individual members of Congress, which have continued to mount in recent weeks. Ensuring the safety of lawmakers both in Washington and as they travel back to their home states has become a particular area of focus, sources have told CNN. 

CNN’s Jeremy Herb, Josh Campbell and Katelyn Polantz contributed to this story. 

Masks will not be required on the Senate floor during former President Trump’s second impeachment trial amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, but the expectation is that the House impeachment managers and Trump’s defense lawyers will wear masks unless they are speaking at the podium, according to a Senate official familiar with the planning. 

As for senators, mask-wearing as usual is not mandatory in the Senate. But almost all senators and staffers have complied with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidance to wear masks during the pandemic on the Senate floor and around the US Capitol office complex, with the exception of Republican Sen. Rand Paul.

The Kentucky senator is often seen maskless around the Capitol and on the floor, arguing he’s immune after having Covid early last year. It’s still unclear if those who have had coronavirus remain immune to the virus. Other senators, however, who have had coronavirus and/or been vaccinated for the disease still wear masks.

Note: For the duration of the impeachment trial, senators are required to remain silent, according to trial rules.

The Senate trial is expected to start at 1 p.m. Tuesday — unless there’s an agreement to start earlier, according to leadership aides.

The trial will start with a prayer and pledge. And then a roll call vote on the organization resolution if any one in the GOP requests one. Otherwise it would be adopted by voice vote.

Tuesday’s timeline will be locked in when the Senate wraps up Monday’s session right before they gavel out this evening.

In a key sign showing the hurdles for convicting former President Trump, GOP Sen. Roy Blunt said he believes the proceedings are unconstitutional and he’s seen nothing that will change his mind so far.

He said he will vote the same way tomorrow on the constitutional question as he will on the ultimate acquittal vote.

Blunt is up for re-election next year.

Rep. Jim Jordan speaks to reporters in the Senate basement at the U.S. Capitol during the Senate impeachment trial of US President Donald Trump on January 30, 2020 in Washington, DC.

A group of House Republicans allied with Donald Trump are reprising their role at the former President’s second impeachment trial to defend him in the public debate. 

Roughly a half-dozen House Republicans are aiding Trump’s legal defense by planning to speak to reporters during breaks in the impeachment trial, according to a source familiar with the matter. 

That’s what the House Republicans did during Trump’s first impeachment trial last year, when they would speak to television cameras not far from the Senate chamber during breaks in the trial, speaking along with Trump’s lawyers. Senators from both parties would often be waiting in the wings to offer their take on the day’s events, too.

The House members taking part in the effort to publicly defend Trump during the trial include Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio, Lee Zeldin of New York, Elise Stefanik of New York, Mike Johnson of Louisiana, Matt Gaetz of Florida and Andy Biggs of Arizona, according to the source. While House members can’t join Trump’s legal team as a member of Congress – Gaetz suggested last week he’d resign if asked to be part of Trump’s legal team – they can take part in the de facto impeachment trial spin room.

Jordan’s Judiciary Committee staff is also helping the members with their prep for the trial. The Judiciary Committee Republican general counsel, Steve Castor, is a cousin to one of Trump’s attorneys, Bruce Castor. Bruce Castor told a Pennsylvania radio station last week it was a connection that helped put him in touch with Trump before he was hired for the trial.

The House Impeachment managers have set up shop for the duration of the Senate impeachment trial in an office near Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s office suite, according to a person familiar with the planning of the trial.

The room has computers set up on a table, plus a television screen with several channel options available. Hand sanitizer and cleaning wipes can also be seen on the table.

The impeachment managers spent time in the office on Monday afternoon. The managers departed about an hour later back to the House side without comment.

Former President Trump’s legal team will be offered to break in an office during the trial on the other side of the Senate floor, called the LBJ room, according to two officials familiar with the logistics of the trial. Tables are set up with a navy cloth hanging over, and two large cases of water bottles.

Also of note, a metal detector has been placed in the Senate Press Gallery for reporters to walk through in order to enter the Senate chamber during the impeachment trial.

The security measure is likely temporary for the duration of the trial, like last year — where security magnetometers were put up in the same spot in the gallery until Trump’s first impeachment trial concluded.

Former President Trump has been reaching out to aides and advisers to discuss his upcoming impeachment trial, sources familiar with the conversations said.

Trump believes he will be acquitted at his trial, based in part on the likelihood that there won’t be enough Republican senators to vote to convict the ex-president, one of the sources said.

During these last two weeks out of office, Trump has been fixated on punishing GOP lawmakers who voted to impeach him in the House, including Rep. Liz Cheney.

One Trump adviser said the ex-president is seeking what he sees as “accountability” for Republican House members who turned “against the people.” The adviser acknowledged that was a twisted view of reality as Trump was the one who was actively attempting to overturn the will of the voters.  

Former Trump aides recall the then-President was enjoying the spectacle created by the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6. Trump was “loving watching the Capitol mob,” one former senior White House official said.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer just announced on the Senate floor that a deal has been reached on the rules of the impeachment trial.

The New York Democrat said the structure of the trial is “eminently fair.” Adding, “It will allow for the trial to achieve its purpose in truth and accountability. That’s what trials are designed to do, to arrive at the truth of the matter, and render a verdict.”

Here’s a look at the key points of the Senate resolution:

On the former President’s lawyer’s “central argument” that the trial is unconstitutional because Trump’s no longer in office, Schumer said it relies on a “fringe legal theory that has been roundly debunked by constitutional scholars from across the political spectrum.”

Despite the trial kicking off tomorrow, Schumer noted that Senate committees will continue to work and process President Biden’s nominations.

He said the Senate is steadily confirming more members of Biden’s Cabinet, next up being Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough later this afternoon. 

And following the passage of the budget resolution last week, Schumer said, “Senate committees have instructions to begin crafting legislation to rescue our country from Covid-19.” 

The lawyers who signed on to lead former President Donald Trump’s impeachment defense team bring a curious history of experience with them as they prepare to defend the former President in his second Senate trial that starts tomorrow.

Trump’s office announced that David Schoen, a seasoned civil and criminal lawyer, and Bruce L. Castor, Jr, a well-known lawyer and the former Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, district attorney, would defend him at the trial.

The lawyers, both of whom have legal careers peppered with curiosities, joined Trump’s team a day after five members of his defense left, effectively collapsing the team.

Trump’s lawyers are tasked with devising a defense strategy for a former President who faces the impeachment charge of inciting a deadly insurrection at the US Capitol, something that if convicted could also result in him being barred from holding federal office ever again.

For Schoen, whose website says he “focuses primarily on the litigation of complex civil and criminal cases before trial and appellate courts,” Trump is just the latest controversial figure his career has brought him to in recent years.

Schoen was on the team of lawyers representing Roger Stone, Trump’s longtime friend and former adviser, in the appeal of his conviction related to issues Stone took with the jury. Stone dropped that appeal after the then-President commuted his prison sentence, but before Stone received a full presidential pardon for convictions, including lying to Congress to protect Trump.

Schoen, who holds a master of laws from Columbia University and a juris doctorate from Boston College, according to his biography, serves as chair of the American Bar Association’s Criminal Justice Subcommittee of the Civil Rights Litigation Committee.

Castor, meanwhile, served as Montgomery County district attorney from 2000 to 2008, before serving two terms as the county commissioner, according to a release from Trump’s office.

He was involved in at least one high-profile case as district attorney, when he declined in 2005 to prosecute Bill Cosby after Andrea Constand reported the actor had touched her inappropriately at his home in Montgomery County, citing “insufficient credible and admissible evidence.”

Cosby was later tried and convicted in 2018 for drugging and sexually assaulting Constand at his home in 2004, despite the fact that Castor argued during a pre-trial hearing that he’d already committed the state to not prosecuting the actor.

Read more about the lawyers here

The second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump kicks off in the Senate tomorrow.

Trump’s lawyers and the House managers submitted pretrial legal briefs today ahead of the beginning of the trial, in what amounts to a preview of the arguments that senators will hear on the floor in the coming days.

Senate leaders, meanwhile, are finalizing the trial organizing resolution that will lay out the rules of the proceedings, including how much time each side will have to present their case.

CNN’s Chief Congressional Correspondent Manu Raju answers your questions about the upcoming trial.

WATCH:

Video Ad Feedback

af1edd97-34e0-4091-9b22-24588917d4fe.mp4

09:53 - Source: cnn

CNN’s Jeremy Herb and Manu Raju contributed reporting to this post.

Senators won’t be required to sit at their desks during the entire impeachment trial. There is some flexibility because of Covid.

According to a Senate official familiar with the planning: 

These precautions will mean some members will not be at their desk during the trial. However, senators will still need to be on the Senate floor to vote.

House impeachment managers filed their response to former President Donald Trump’s initial pretrial brief shortly after 12 p.m. ET on Monday, their last opportunity to push back ahead of the impeachment trial on the claims that both Trump and most Senate Republicans are making that the trial itself is unconstitutional.

Read the full briefing below:

##Prosecutors#

House impeachment managers walk to deliver the article of impeachment to the Senate on Capitol Hill on January 25 in Washington DC.

The House impeachment managers responded to former President Donald Trump’s lawyers in a pre-trial brief on Monday that pushed back on Trump’s claims that the trial was unconstitutional and his speech did not incite the rioters at the Capitol on Jan. 6.

The Democrats’ legal briefing was in response to last week’s filing from the Trump team, and is a preview of the arguments that will be made in the Senate when the trial begins on Tuesday.

The five-page House brief says that Trump can stand trial in the Senate for a crime that he committed while in office.

“Presidents swear a sacred oath that binds them from their first day in office through their very last,” the Democrats write.

And they pushed back on the Trump legal team contention that Trump’s false claims the election was stolen from him were protected by the First Amendment and could not be proven inaccurate.

“President Trump’s repeated claims about a ‘rigged’ and ‘stolen’ election were false, no matter how many contortions his lawyers undertake to avoid saying so,” the House managers wrote.

Read the full brief here.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki speaks during a press briefing on February 8 in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC.

President Biden won’t have time to watch his predecessor’s second impeachment trial, the White House said Monday afternoon.

“The President himself would tell you that we keep him pretty busy, and he has a full schedule this week,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters.

She said his schedule would include visits to the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense, in addition to “engaging with business leaders, mayors and governors, and of course continuing to make the case and have conversations with Democrats and Republicans directly about his hopes and plans for the American Rescue Plan moving forward as quickly as possible.”

Biden will also “remain closely in touch with speaker Pelosi, leader Schumer a range of officials on the Hill about his plan and that’s exactly what they want him to do,” Psaki said. “He will leave the pace and the process and the mechanics of the impeachment proceedings up to members of Congress.”

Psaki later added that she doesn’t expect the President to speak about impeachment over the course of the trial.

“The President was asked about this this morning and he made pretty clear he wasn’t planning to speak to it,” she said. “He’s no longer in the Senate and we put out a statement at the conclusion of the House proceedings. I certainly would consider doing that at the conclusion of the Senate, but I don’t expect that he’s going to be posturing or commenting on this over the course of the week.”

Former President Donald Trump looks on during a ceremony in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on December 7, 2020.

President Biden will allow intelligence professionals to determine whether his predecessor can receive sensitive briefings if he requests them, the White House said.

The clarification came after Biden said during an interview that former President Trump should not receive intelligence briefings because of his “erratic behavior.”

“He was expressing his concern about former President Trump receiving access to sensitive intelligence,” she went on. “But he also has deep trust in his own intelligence team to make a determination about how to provide intelligence information if at any point the former president requests a briefing.”

She said such a scenario was “not currently applicable,” suggesting Trump has not yet requested access to intelligence.

“But if he should request a briefing, he leaves it to them to make a determination,” Psaki said.

Asked during an interview on CBS whether Trump should still receive intelligence briefings, Biden responded: “I think not.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer speaks during a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol on February 4 in Washington, DC.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced some details about the resolution being finalized that outlines the rules for the impeachment trial. He said the impeachment managers, including Lead Manager Rep. Jamie Raskin, are ”very happy” with the proposal. 

The New York Democrat added they’ll be releasing more of the details today. But he’s “proud to report” that each side will have ample time to make their arguments.

On witnesses at the trial, he said if the impeachment managers decide they want witnesses “there’ll be a vote on that — that’s what they requested.” He said the managers want to preserve the option.

One other detail of note is Schumer said the trial will pause for the Jewish Sabbath on Friday evening through Saturday, to accommodate one of Trump’s lawyers requests and will “resume on Sunday afternoon after Jewish the Sabbath is over.”

In a pretrial brief ahead of former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial in the Senate, Trump’s legal team accused House Democrats of engaging in “political theater” and argued that the upcoming trial is unconstitutional because Trump is no longer president.

Read the full brief:

Former President Donald Trump’s legal team accused House Democrats of impeaching Trump for “political theater” as they argued that the upcoming Senate impeachment trial is unconstitutional because Trump is no longer President.

The 75-page legal brief from Trump’s attorneys expands upon their initial response to the House’s impeachment last week, in which they argued that the trial was unconstitutional, that Trump didn’t incite the rioters and that his speech spreading false conspiracies about widespread election fraud is protected by the First Amendment.

The brief filed Monday also claims that Trump’s speech on Jan. 6 did not incite the rioters, arguing that he urged those gathered to be peaceful.

“Despite the House Managers’ charges against Mr. Trump, his statements cannot and could not reasonably be interpreted as a call to immediate violence or a call for a violent overthrown of the United States’ government,” Trump’s lawyers say.

In his speech on Jan. 6, Trump’s told the crowd to “fight like hell.” 

 “And if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore,” Trump said.

In their brief, Trump’s lawyers argued that Trump’s speech about fighting was metaphorical and he did not call for any violence.

“To characterize this statement alone as ‘incitement to insurrection’ is to ignore, wholesale, the remainder of Mr. Trump’s speech that day, including his call for his supporters to ‘peacefully’ making their ‘voices heard.,” the lawyers claim.

The House impeachment managers will file their response to Trump’s arguments in a brief that’s due at noon today.

Read the legal brief of Trump’s defense team here.