Impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump Coming into the Senate. And – not entirely voluntarily – the former US president has reorganized his defenses. Trump’s office announced on Sunday evening (local time) that the new defense team would be headed by “highly respected trial lawyers” David Scone and Bruce Castor.
Broadcaster CNN reported on Sunday that the previous team had “practically collapsed”, Because the five lawyers already employed will not represent Trump.
The reason for this was differences in defense strategy, CNN reported. Trump demanded that attorneys instead of questioning the legality of impeachment proceedings against the already resigned president focus on their baseless electoral fraud allegations.
The process in the Senate is to begin in the second week of February. Prior to this, a first written statement is planned by the defendant and the House of Representatives.
Democrats want lifetime ban
The announcement from Trump’s office stated that Shawnee and Castor agreed that the trial against Trump was unconstitutional. A large majority of Republicans in the Senate recently took this view: Five of the 50 Republican senators in the chamber supported a resolution from withinWhich described the process as unconstitutional because Trump has already stepped down.
On January 13, the House of Representatives controlled by Democrats decided to open impeachment proceedings to “incite a riot”. A week ago there was a storm in the background of the Capitol by Trump supporters.
Following Trump’s sentence, Democrats are calling for the former president to be suspended from office for life at the federal level. This would rule out Trump’s possible candidacy in the presidential election in 2024. A two-thirds majority in the Senate, which is necessary for a belief, is not emerging. It would require 17 Republicans to vote with 50 Democrats.
Big question: can a former president be prosecuted?
It is also controversial among lawyers whether impeachment proceedings against a former president are constitutional. The relevant constitutional article clearly contains the names of the presidents, vice presidents and government officials against whom such proceedings may be directed.
However, the Congress Science Service (CRS) writes, “It appears that most scholars who have studied the issue have concluded that Congress has the power to extend impeachment to government officials who are no longer in office.” ” Keep this opinion also. Otherwise, they argue, presidents can break the law shortly before the end of their term without fear of reprimand.
