Trump impeachment trial: GOP senator rips former president’s legal team

Former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial kicked off today with a round of debate over whether the trial is constitutional. Starting at noon tomorrow, each side will have up to 16 hours to make their case to the 100 senators who will decide whether to convict Trump on the charge of inciting the deadly Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.

Immediately prior to the insurrection, Trump led a rally in which he proclaimed his oft-repeated lies about the election being stolen and encouraged his supporters to march to the Capitol, where lawmakers were voting to finalize Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election. The House impeached Trump a week later, just seven days before Biden took the oath of office.

With the Senate split 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans, it is unlikely they will reach the two-thirds threshold for conviction. Trump is the only president to be impeached twice. The proceedings in the Senate started just after 1 p.m. ET, and debate lasted nearly four hours. The proceedings adjourned just after 5 p.m.

Trump impeachment trial: GOP senator rips former president’s legal team, CNBC, Feb 10