America is entering uncharted territory when the Senate meets next Sunday for the impeachment trial of Donald Trump, the first US president to be impeached twice by the House of Representatives and will face trial after leaving office, making the first days of Democrat Joe Biden's term much more difficult. .
Trump watched part of the impeachment debate on television and raged at Republicans who supported his impeachment, a White House source told Reuters. In an emotional debate following the vote, in which 232 representatives supported the impeachment while 197 were against, ten Republicans joined the majority Democrats in accusing the president of inciting violence by his supporters in the Capitol.
Among the Republicans who voted for the impeachment is Liz Cheney, the daughter of former US Vice President Dick Cheney, who enjoys a significant reputation in the party. Now it's the US Senate's turn, and a two-thirds majority is needed to impeach Trump, which means that at least 17 Republicans need to join the Democrats in the 100-member Senate. A quick impeachment, a week after the riots, which would force Trump to leave the White House before Biden takes office on Jan. 20, is unlikely, meaning the Senate will be preoccupied with the issue in the first days of Biden's term.
The trial of the outgoing president will significantly complicate the job of his successor, who has to face economic problems, the pandemic and try to contain the panic that has gripped the divided country.
Biden, a Democrat, urged the Senate to avoid a tense trial during his first days in the White House so he could focus on the economy, the vaccine distribution program and confirm key Cabinet appointments.
"I hope the Senate leadership will find a way to address the constitutional obligations of impeachment while also working on other pressing issues for this country," Biden said in a statement Wednesday evening.
Trump's refusal to concede defeat and a runoff election in Georgia last week have delayed the confirmation of appointments to the incoming president's key aides, who usually take office before a new president is inaugurated.
Trump's disastrous final days in office have brought the Republican Party to a turning point that will determine its future, according to CNN. How Republican senators decide to deal with the autocrat who has intimidated and manipulated them for the past five years will really show whether their party, over which they have lost control, can revive its conservative soul or is doomed to a conspiratorial anti-democratic stalemate.
The trial in the Senate - unlike the first one - this time will be held under the control of the Democratic Party, and the reaction to Trump's impeachment will reverberate in a restless, angry nation that is traumatized by the rebellion in Washington, writes CNN. Tens of thousands of troops and security forces will manage to keep the peace during Biden's inauguration, but FBI warnings of planned uprisings in 50 states indicate how tense the atmosphere is.
According to CNN, the first impeachment trial of the former president will show whether it is possible and at what speed to rehabilitate American political institutions and the role of truth in public life. Although the ten Republicans' support for impeachment is somewhat of an erasure of hard party lines, Trump still has control over the Republican base and the capacity to intimidate Republican senators. The scenes of Republican lawmakers being harassed by Trump supporters in recent days show the price paid by those who abandon their leader. The Republican Party is facing two directions. On one side is support for Trump's kind of politics — which won new voters and the White House and a majority in Congress in 2016, but lost both in 2020.
On the other side, there is an uncertain future - but also freedom from Trump's policies and rhetoric, which, in the opinion of some Republicans, led to the attack on the Capitol.
During the coming weeks, we will also see how Trump returns to his previous life, which suddenly does not seem so attractive.
Trump's refusal to peacefully hand over power in accordance with American tradition made him an outlaw. Companies and banks are distancing themselves from him - which probably motivated him to call for calm after the new impeachment. His business is already feeling the negative effects of the presidential mandate. Many civil and legal challenges await Trump once he is no longer protected by the presidency.
How Republican senators decide to deal with the autocrat who has intimidated and manipulated them for the past five years will really show whether their party, over which they have lost control, can revive its conservative soul or is doomed to a conspiratorial anti-democratic impasse.
And although Trump is furious with associates and trustees, there is one issue on which he is very focused, and that is how to use the power to pardon before the end of his term, three sources from the White House told Reuters. He has already sparked controversy in recent weeks after pardoning associates convicted in the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, security contractors convicted of killing Iraqi civilians and his son-in-law Jared Kushner's father, Charles, an investor sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty in 2004 guilty of tax evasion.
Trump and his family could face legal trouble including investigations in New York over taxes and business.
A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that Trump's last act as president could be to preemptively pardon himself and family members shortly before Biden's inauguration. Presidential pardons apply only to federal crimes, not violations of state laws.
No US president has ever pardoned himself, and experts on the US constitution say there is no definitive answer on the legality of such a move.
Republicans who supported the impeachment fear for their lives
Peter Meyer, a Republican congressman who voted for the impeachment of Donald Trump, said that some of his colleagues hired armed security because of fear for security. "When it comes to the safety of my family, we planned, prepared and took adequate measures," said this Republican from Michigan to MSNBC.
"I have colleagues who are now traveling accompanied by armed security. "Many of them are changing their habits out of fear for their safety," said Mejer and emphasized that members of Congress have the right to this type of security. "It is sad that we have come to that, but we expect that someone might try to kill us," he said.
Meyer is one of ten Republicans in the House of Representatives who voted to impeach Donald Trump for inciting violence in the Capitol, which left five people dead, including two police officers.
Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol repeated Trump's claims that Joe Biden won the election thanks to fraud. "There was no convincing victory of Donald Trump. The elections were not stolen," said Mejer. "None of those claims have been proven in court and it's time to settle this once and for all."
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