Second impeachment trial of Trump begins in Senate

Former US President Donald Trump's second impeachment trial formally commenced in the Senate on Tuesday. Trump is the only US President in the history of America to be impeached twice. This is the fourth impeachment trial in the US and first-ever impeachment trial of a former President. It will aim to answer whether one can incite an insurrection with impunity. The House of Representatives last month impeached the former president for inciting violence against the government over his role in the January 6 riot at the US Capitol, which also claimed the life of a police officer. Earlier impeachments included former President Andrew Johnson's trial in 1868 for firing a Cabinet secretary without the consent of Congress, Bill Clinton in 1998 for perjury and obstruction of justice and Trump in 2020 for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

Trump isn’t attending his unprecedented second impeachment trial and is banned from tweeting, but his team is making sure Republicans feel his presence. Former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows was in the U.S. Capitol, meeting with the defense team and letting Republican senators see him there on behalf of Trump. Trump’s office also issued a statement slammed the proceedings as “political vengeance” against the former president, and reaffirmed that he wouldn’t testify or participate in what he called a “unconstitutional sham hearing.” Trump’s team argued that the trial is unconstitutional because he is out of office, but also that he didn’t incite the riot and spoke under protection of the First Amendment.