Trump to go on trial in Senate soon

WASHINGTON: Donald Trump will go on trial in the US Senate soon after an impeachment case against the former president is transmitted by the House of Representatives on Monday, top lawmakers announced.

The House impeached the Republican leader for a historic second time on Jan 13, just one week before he left office, but Speaker Nancy Pelosi has yet to send the article of impeachment to the Senate.

The step is necessary in order to launch the trial process.

“I have spoken to Speaker Pelosi who informed me that the article will be delivered to the Senate on Monday,” Chuck Schumer, the new Democratic Senate majority leader, said in a floor speech on Friday.

“A trial will be held in the United States Senate and there will be a vote whether to convict the president,” Schumer told his colleagues.

Trump was impeached on a single charge of “incitement of insurrection” for his role in whipping up his supporters during a speech in Washington on January 6, the day a pro-Trump mob stormed Congress with deadly consequences.

The Senate’s top Republican, Mitch McConnell, severely reprimanded the outgoing president and left the door open for voting to convict Trump.