The House has delivered its article of impeachment against former President Donald Trump to the Senate, formally triggering the start of the trial against the only president in US history to be impeached twice
House members deliver Trump impeachment charge House prosecutors walked the article of impeachment against former President Donald Trump to the Senate on Monday night, setting the stage for a trial to begin Feb. 9.
Nine House members led by Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., will serve as prosecutors, who are called managers, in the trial.
House Democrats were joined by 10 Republicans in voting Jan. 13 to charge Trump with inciting insurrection at the Capitol a week earlier after a riot left five people dead. A violent mob smashed windows and doors while storming the building and occupying offices, including the Senate chamber, where the trial will be held.
With the formal presentation of the article of impeachment, senators will be sworn in Tuesday as jurors to determine whether Trump incited the rampage. Conviction requires a two-thirds majority of the Senate with 50 Republicans and 50 members who caucus with Democrats.
Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the longest-serving member of the Democratic majority, will preside over the trial rather than Chief Justice John Roberts.
Roberts presided over Trump’s first impeachment trial over dealings with Ukraine. But the Constitution calls for the chief justice to preside only over trials of sitting presidents
USA TODAY