Senate impeachment trial for Trump to begin Jan. 21, McConnell says

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WASHINGTON – The Senate impeachment trial of President Donald Trump will begin Jan. 21, after the House is scheduled to vote Wednesday to formally send the articles across the Capitol.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told reporters that the Senate will likely take up “housekeeping” measures on the trial this week, possibly including swearing in senators and bringing over Supreme Court Chief Justice Roberts to preside. The trial would then likely begin Tuesday, McConnell said.

His announcement came after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House would vote Wednesday to send the articles, which accuse Trump of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, to the Senate. She asked Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., on Friday to prepare a resolution that would authorize and appoint the House lawmakers called managers, who will prosecute the case during the Senate trial, although she didn't name managers during the meeting.

“The president and the senators will be held accountable,” said Pelosi, D-Calif.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said the vote on the resolution would happen in the afternoon and take only 10 minutes. Each side will be given five minutes for debate. The precise timing hasn't been set, he said.

The formal procession across the Capitol from the House to the Senate to deliver the articles could happen after the vote or wait until Thursday morning, Hoyer said.

Pelosi delayed sending the articles after the House voted to impeach Trump on Dec. 18, so she could learn more about how the trial would be conducted, such as whether witnesses would be called.

Members of the Judiciary and Intelligence committees declined to say whether Pelosi offered them manager positions or whether they'd even spoken about it with her.

As the names remained secret, lawmakers leaving the meeting said they expect the managers to be deeply familiar with the details of the House case, to be knowledgeable about the law and to offer diversity in skills, background and race.

Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Pa., who as vice chairman of the Judiciary Committee is one of the lawmakers who could be tapped, called it “the biggest guessing game on Capitol Hill,” one that she and others wish they could take bets on.

Senators of both parties voiced frustration with the delay. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he wouldn't haggle with the House over trial procedures in what he called Pelosi's "one-woman blockade."

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“The president’s opponents are afraid of having the Senate judge the case they actually are going to send us,” McConnell said Monday from the Senate floor. “They are afraid of having the Senate judge the case they themselves voted on. That alone speaks volumes.”

The articles accuse Trump of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The president said he expects to be exonerated in the Senate trial. A two-thirds majority would be required to convict Trump and remove him from office, which is unlikely in a Senate where Republicans outnumber Democrats 53 to 47.

A major sticking point between Republicans and Democrats has been over whether witnesses will be allowed to testify during the Senate trial. Democrats argued the trial should include witnesses who didn't testify during the House inquiry. McConnell said he has the votes to begin the trial without deciding on whether to call witnesses until after both sides have presented opening statements.

Former national security adviser John Bolton, who declined an invitation to testify in the House inquiry, said Jan. 6 he is prepared to testify under subpoena in the Senate trial. Pelosi said Bolton's offer justified the delay in sending the articles to the Senate.

"Leader McConnell's tactics are a clear indication of the fear that he and President Trump have regarding the facts of the president's violations for which he was impeached," Pelosi said.

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., urged testimony from four witnesses, including Bolton and acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney. Democrats need at least four Republicans to join them to reach a majority of 51 senators to approve subpoenas for witnesses and documents, and a handful of Republicans said they are open to hearing from witnesses after the opening statements.

Trump said he might block Bolton's testimony under executive privilege to protect the confidentiality of advice presidents get from top aides.

The House accused Trump of abusing the power of his office by asking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate a political rival, former Vice President Joe Biden, while Trump withheld a White House meeting and $391 million in military aid. The House also accused Trump of obstructing Congress by directing aides and agencies to defy subpoenas for documents and testimony, although some officials did testify.

Trump and congressional Republicans argued he had the authority to set foreign policy and was justified in fighting corruption in Ukraine.