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A few things to keep in mind as the Senate starts just the fourth presidential impeachment trial in the nation’s history, and looks at whether to convict Donald Trump on a charge of incitement of insurrection for events that culminated in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. 1/x
This will mark the first modern impeachment trial closed to the public, who will be able to watch only from a video feed controlled by the Senate, as @ktullymcmanus writes https://www.rollcall.com/2021/02/08/impeachment-trial-first-no-public-view-of-proceedings-as-covid-19-and-press-access-questions-remain/
The first day will be about the constitutionality of trying a former president, as @lindsemcpherson notes. https://www.rollcall.com/2021/02/09/first-day-of-second-trump-impeachment-trial-will-decide-constitutionality-of-trying-a-former-president/
The whole thing could wrap up in a week under the procedural agreement. https://www.rollcall.com/2021/02/08/trump-impeachment-trial-could-conclude-within-a-week-under-procedural-agreement/
There’s more on the line than Trump’s potential conviction, the Senate could be getting rid of a tool and weakening its own power of oversight when it comes to presidents. https://www.rollcall.com/2021/02/04/congress-risks-losing-bridle-on-the-executive-in-trump-impeachment-trial/
There's a human element, too. The same senators who fled for their lives during a violent mob attack on their workplace will now decide in that same chamber whether President Donald Trump should be held responsible for inciting that insurrection. https://www.rollcall.com/2021/01/19/senators-will-judge-trump-as-victims-of-mobs-attack/
The senators don’t play the role of “jurors,” they are more like individual judges on a panel of 100 who will make rulings and issue a judgment. But there’s essentially nobody to review those votes, no appellate court to reverse them. https://www.rollcall.com/2021/01/26/legal-issues-are-political-in-trump-impeachment-trial/
It’s not just senators. Staffers struggle with trauma, guilt and fear. So will journalists who were there. This week will be reliving it for many who don’t want to. https://www.rollcall.com/2021/01/28/insurrection-aftermath-staffers-struggle-with-trauma-guilt-and-fear/
