WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate voted on Tuesday to continue with the impeachment trial against former President Donald Trump, ruling the process is constitutional.
The vote of 56-44 vote rejects the idea brought by Trump’s legal team that it is unconstitutional to try a former president.
The House Impeachment Managers, led by Rep. Jamie Raskin, began the proceedings by showing a video montage of the events of January 6. The video showed the horrifying events of Trump supporters storming the U.S. Capitol, forcing the chamber of senators to relive that difficult day.
The video showed the mob smashing windows, expletives at Capitol Police officers, and demanding to confront lawmakers still in the chamber. The former President could be heard falsely claiming that “we won this election,” before telling his supporters, “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol”.
The riots left five people dead, including a Capitol Police officer. Twitter would later suspend Trump’s account for spreading false election claims and posing “a risk of violence.”
“You ask what a high crime and misdemeanor is under our Constitution? That’s a high crime and misdemeanor,” Raskin said. “This cannot be the future.”
