House Managers Deliver Articles of Impeachment to Senate

The House managers have delivered the single article of impeachment against President Trump to the Senate. The article accuses the former president of being responsible for “incitement of insurrection” in the January 6th breach of the Capitol building by his supporters. It also cites Trump’s January 2nd phone call urging Georgia Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, to find enough votes to overturn the state’s election. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi named nine Democratic impeachment managers for the trial, with Representative Jamie Raskin leading the group. They carried out the historic ceremonial procession through National Statuary Hall and the Capitol Rotunda to the Senate yesterday evening. The managers and President Trump’s legal team now have around two weeks to prepare for the trial. Starting today, senators are to be officially sworn in as jurors in the case but the official proceedings will not kick off until the week of February 8th. Instead of Chief Justice John Roberts, the Senate’s longest-serving Democrat, Senator Patrick Leahy, is expected to preside over the event. It’s still unclear how long the trial will last, whether the House impeachment managers will seek witnesses and what the president’s legal defense will be.