Trump's Second Impeachment

Thousands of Trump’s supporters stormed the United States Capitol on January 6th, leaving five people dead. This has led to Trump’s 2nd impeachment by the U.S. House of Representatives and to him becoming the first American president to be impeached twice. It is known that Trump helped encourage a crowd of his supporters who attacked the U.S. Capitol.

Democrats and 10 Republicans voted to impeach Trump on one charge: incitement of insurrection. The Insurrection Act of 1807 is a U.S. federal law that empowers the President of the United States to deploy U.S. military and federalized National Guard troops within the United States in particular circumstances, such as to suppress civil disorder, insurrection, or rebellion.

Impeachment charges are not criminal, but political. The former president was accused by the House of inciting the storming of the Capitol, his speech on January 6th to supporters outside the White House. He urged supporters to “peacefully & patriotically” make their voices heard but also stated “fight like hell” against the election that he falsely told them had been stolen.

To impeach a president in the U.S., the Senate will hold a trial to determine whether the president is guilty of the charge against, which in this case was the incitement of insurrection.

Trump’s impeachment process, step by step:

1. Speaker of the House declared an official impeachment inquiry.

2. Six House committees investigate

3. The House votes on how the impeachment investigation will be carried out.

4. Public hearings are conducted by the House Intelligence Committee.

5. Judiciary Committee debates on the articles of impeachment and vote to send them to the House.

6. House votes yes on impeachment and sends articles to the Senate.

7. Senate decides how the trial will be conducted.

8. The trial is held, with Senate acting as a jury.

9. Senate acquits Trump on 2 articles. (VERDICT)

As for now, Donald Trump's impeachment trial in the Senate over the Capitol riot will begin on the week of February 8. This is also the first time that the former president has been facing such allegations since leaving the White House.

“We all want to put this awful chapter in our nation’s history behind us,” Schumer (An American politician serving as the Senate Majority Leader) said about the deadly January 6th siege of the Capitol by a crowd of Trump supporters.

“But healing and unity will only come if there are truth and accountability. And that is what this trial will provide.” The Senate could vote, if Trump were convicted, to bar him from taking office, again and again, reducing his chances of a political comeback. Since Biden’s government quickly needed to work on his coronavirus aid package, it was a complicated process for the democrats to hold Trump accountable.

Overall, from this 2nd impeachment, we can see that there are signs of a deep split within the Republican Party. As mentioned earlier, 10 Republicans also voted for Trump’s impeachment. They have split with their party to impeach the former president.