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Trump Impeachment Trial Opens With Dramatic Video Montage - WATCH LIVE

Ken Bredemeier

   WASHINGTON - Arguments are under way in Washington in the historic
   second impeachment trial of former U.S. President Donald Trump, with
   lawmakers set to decide whether it is legal under the Constitution to
   try him after he has already left office.

   Nine Democratic lawmakers from the House of Representatives, acting as
   prosecutors against the former U.S. leader, are arguing at Trump's
   trial before the 100-member Senate that he should be held accountable
   for inciting the storming of the Capitol on January 6. They say he
   urged hundreds of supporters to confront lawmakers as they were
   certifying that Democrat Joe Biden had defeated him in last November's
   election.

   Congressman Jamie Raskin of Maryland told the Senate that if Trump is
   not held accountable, it "would create a brand-new January exception"
   where future presidents would not face consequences for any wrongdoing
   during their final month in office through impeachment and trial in the
   Senate.
   WATCH TRIAL LIVE

            IFRAME: [1]https://www.youtube.com/embed/Aqhw-rS3VKU

   The Democrats showed the Senate a video of the chaos that unfolded in
   the Capitol building, with rampaging protesters storming past
   authorities and lawmakers scrambling to avoid the violence.

   Trump's lawyers are expected to respond that the trial is
   unconstitutional because the Constitution says impeachment is a tool to
   remove officials from office if they are found guilty of "high crimes
   and misdemeanors." That is impossible in Trump's case, they contend,
   because Trump's four-year term ended when Biden was inaugurated on
   January 20.

   The Senate, however, conducted an 1876 impeachment trial of a Cabinet
   secretary who resigned moments before he was impeached. Trump was
   impeached by the House of Representatives while still in office.

   Up to four hours of arguments are scheduled on the constitutional
   issue, but Trump's legal effort to end the trial before it starts in
   earnest is likely to fail.

References

   1. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Aqhw-rS3VKU

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