Impeachment update: senators to vote on Wednesday

As Donald Trump’s impeachment trial comes to a close on Wednesday, here’s what you need to know:

The House of Representatives impeached President Donald Trump Dec. 18 on two impeachment charges after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the formal impeachment inquiry Sep. 24, according to the Washington Post. President Trump is the third president in U.S. history to be formally impeached by the House, following presidents Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton.

The House impeached the president with a vote of 230-197 for Article I (Abuse of Power) and 229-198 for Article II (Obstruction of Congress). All House Republicans who voted opposed impeachment and only three Democrats opposed impeachment on at least one of the two articles.

Both Clinton and Johnson were not removed from office after the Senate impeachment trial, which is the final stage of the impeachment process and requires a two-thirds majority vote, according to History.com. 

The House delivered the two articles of impeachment to the Senate on Jan. 15 and Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. presides over the trial where senators serve as jurors. Designated House members, called managers, argue for impeachment and the president’s legal team defends his case, as witnesses are called and cross-examined by both sides, according to the Washington Post.

Attorney Alan Dershowitz said the allegations did not call for impeachment, while lead House impeachment manager Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said Sunday that he believes the Democrats “proved” their case against the president, according to Fox News. 

On Friday, Jan. 31, the GOP-led Senate voted 51-49 not to call more witnesses to testify, which Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called a “grand tragedy.” 

Senator Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, tweeted Friday that she voted against calling more witnesses because she did not believe the continuation of the process would change anything, given the partisan nature of the impeachment.  

This decision ultimately ends the impeachment trial that Trump’s lawyers called “a dangerous attack on the right of the American people to freely choose their president” and a “brazen and unlawful attempt” to overturn the 2016 election results in their first formal response to the Senate, according to The Hill.  

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., postponed the final impeachment vote until Wednesday, Feb. 5, at 4 p.m., according to The Hill. Any vote under the two-thirds majority threshold will lead to Trump’s acquittal and allow him to continue his presidency, according to the Washington Post. 

Visit www.liberty.edu/Champion on Wednesday, Feb 5, for updates on the impeachment trial.

Wood is the editor-in-chief. Follow her on Twitter.