Wednesday, February 10, 2021

Impeached for the second time

 Trump's second impeachment has started

What will be the outcome of the trial in the senate? The second impeachment of the former president Donald Trump began yesterday on Tuesday, February 9th. This is a historic event because it is the first time a president has been impeached twice. But it is very likely that it will not end in a conviction. But it is still an important political exercise none the less. Furthermore it is important to remember that this is not a courtroom trial, but is in fact a political trial brought on by the Democrats as an attempt to prevent Trump from ever holding public office again. There will not be a judge and a jury like in a regular court case. The capitol riot by supporters of President Trump last month was the event  that provided the motivation behind this second impeachment attempt. Although it does seem pretty clear that Trump's rhetoric led to the riot, Trump has left office and will not appear as a witness at the trial and will probably remain at his home in Florida. There may be witnesses, such as rioters or organizers of the rally that preceded the riot, but in the previous impeachment trial no witnesses were used. 

All of this means the impeachment vote will follow party lines with all or most Democrats voting for impeachment and most or all of Republicans voting against impeachment. The Democrats would need 11 Republicans to change sides and vote for impeaching former president Trump again, but this seems pretty unlikely. However, it is interesting for young people to learn about the event and better understand how the U.S. government works.

Question: Do you think Donald Trump will be impeached a second time?

Trump lawyers rail against impeachment trial as ‘political theater’ on eve of proceedings

Trump's trial set to rock Washington and echo through the ages 

Where all 100 senators stand before Donald Trump's impeachment trial 

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