Yahoo Finance Senator Patrick Leahy will preside over Trump’s second impeachment trial
The Senate's longest serving Democrat will rule over Donald Trump's second impeachment trial.
Senaatoer Patrick Leahy, the Senate's longest serving Democrat, will be the one to preside over Mr Trump's historic second impeachment trial as Chief Justice John Roberts of the US Supreme Court has made it clear he wants no part in the proceedings.
Justice Roberts presided over Mr Trump's first impeachment trial, but said he was not interested in adjudicating the upcoming proceedings. In the past, the Justice has commented that he prefers to leave political decisions to the Congress to maintain the Supreme Court's ostensible position of impartiality in tact.
Mr Leahy will likely still get a chance to vote on whether or not to impeach Mr Trump. As a sitting Senator, he will still be entitled to a vote.
Democrats pushed for the Senate to convene in an emergency session immediately after Mr Trump was impeached in the House with the intention of convicting and removing Mr Trump from office.
Then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refused to call the special session, stating that a fair trial would be impossible under that kind of time line.
The impeachment trial was supposed to begin shortly after Joe Biden was inaugurated, but has been pushed back until 8 February. Mr McConnell said the move would allow Mr Trump's defense team time to prepare and file briefs ahead of the trial.
It is currently unclear if Democrats will push to call witnesses during the trial.
If Democrats choose to call witnesses, it could extend the trial for some time. Arguments in the Senate are not expected to begin until the middle of February, and witness testimony could push the trial on for weeks.
Mr Trump's first impeachment trial lasted just over two weeks.
Bill Clinton's impeachment trial took nearly three months.
According to a CNN report, several impeachment managers have said they do not expect the trial to exceed 21 days.
Congressman Jamie Raskin will lead the impeachment managers delivering the article of impeachment to the Senate.
In order to convict Mr Trump, Senate Democrats will have to secure 17 Republican votes, which is increasingly unlikely as GOP members close ranks ahead of Mr Trump's impeachment trial.
Some Republicans, like Sen. Tom Cotton, have argued that the impeachment trial is unconstitutional, arguing that impeachment is meant to remove an official from office. As Mr Trump is now a private citizen, he argues it is in violation of the constitution.
However, constitutional scholars have largely pushed back against this interpretation.
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