MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

US Senate voted to impeach ex president Donald Trump, 56 to 44

Trump lawyers argued that the former president should not face a trial in the Senate for inciting insurrection because he was no longer president.

AFP – The United States Senate voted to proceed with the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, and rejected defense arguments that it was unconstitutional. His lawyers argued that Mr. Trump should not face a trial in the Senate for inciting insurrection because he was no longer president.

However the Senate voted 56-44 to proceed with the trial, with six Republicans joining Democratic lawmakers. The trial began earlier on Tuesday with debate on whether trying an ex president is indeed constitutional.

“You will not be hearing extended lectures here from me because our case is based on cold, hard facts,” lead House impeachment manager Jamie Raskin, a lawmaker from Maryland, told senators.

Raskin dismissed the argument of Mr Trump's lawyers that he should not be tried at all. “Their argument is that if you commit an impeachable offence in your last few weeks in office, you do it with constitutional impunity. You get away with it”.

“In other words, conduct that will be a high crime and misdemeanor in your first year as president and your second year as president and your third year as president, and for the vast majority of your fourth year as president, you can suddenly do in your last few weeks in office without facing any constitutional accountability at all,” he said.

“This would create a brand new January exception to the constitution of the United States of America.” Mr Raskin then presented a lengthy video montage of scenes from the January 6 storming of the Capitol by Trump supporters after the former president gave a fiery speech urging them to contest Joe Biden's election victory.

The video footage included scenes from Mr Trump's pre-riot speech, and then scenes of violence as his supporters broke into the Capitol.