Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday faces the start of his second impeachment trial, an uphill battle for Democrats determined to prove him guilty in the wake of the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Despite the unprecedented circumstances and the uncertain political ramifications, experts see acquittal as the likely outcome of the trial.
The House impeachment managers, led by Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., nevertheless aim to persuade two-thirds of the divided Senate to convict Trump of inciting the Jan. 6 invasion.
But their path is filled with obstacles, including Republicans who largely doubt the legality of the trial itself and a Democratic president, Joe Biden, who’s eager for Congress to get cracking on passing his ambitious legislative agenda.
Trump is the only commander in chief in U.S. history to be impeached twice. In 2019, he was impeached on two articles, abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, over his efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate Biden and his son Hunter Biden. He was acquitted by the Republican-led Senate in February 2020.
Trump will have been out of office for nearly three weeks by the time the current trial kicks off. Ensconced at his home in Florida, the one-term Republican president still commands the support of swaths of the party, and the loyalty of many of its representatives.
„I’m about 95% certain that it’s going to end in acquittal,“ said Chris Haynes, a political science professor at the University of New Haven. „I just don’t think there’s 17 Republicans that will join the Democrats in convicting Trump.“
Here’s what to know about the upcoming trial:
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