PRESIDENT Donald Trump could be facing a second impeachment trial in light of the Capitol riots on January 6.
Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar drew up articles of impeachment against the President after the Capitol riot unfolded, killing five and injuring at least 60 more.
US President Donald Trump looks on during a ceremony presenting the Presidential Medal of FreedomCredit: AFP or licensors
What is impeachment and how does it work?
According to the US Constitution, impeachment is the tool Congress uses to punish serious misconduct from the president.
The misconduct can be categorized as treason or bribery, or it can be defined as “other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”
The House of Representatives can vote to impeach a president with a simple majority. The Senate will then hold a trial which ends on a vote of a verdict..
It takes two-thirds of the Senate, a supermajority, to convict the president. If convicted, the president is removed from office, and the vice president would take power.
President Donald Trump speaks about the coronavirus in the Rose Garden of the White House in WashingtonCredit: AP:Associated Press
US Vice President Mike Pence speaks during the vice presidential debate in Kingsbury Hall at the University of Utah on October 7, 2020Credit: AFP or licensors
What happens if President Trump is impeached a second time?
President Donald Trump is facing an unprecedented second impeachment as House Democrats officially push forward to charge him with “inciting insurrection” in the wake of the Capitol siege.
Democrats formally introduced the articles on January 11 and are now awaiting the Senate’s response.
US Vice President Mike Pence speaks as US President Donald J. Trump participates in a signing ceremonyCredit: EPA
Trump could become the first president in history to be impeached twice with a single charge.
If he were to be impeached a second time, the question would pose itself as to whether he should be removed from office to whether he should be banned from holding future federal office, effectively blocking him from running for president again in 2024.
When was Trump impeached?
The Senate acquitted President Trump in February 2020 after an impeachment trial led by the Democratic-led House on charges of trying to pressure Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden.
US President Donald Trump arrives to speak at the press briefing at the White House in Washington, DCCredit: AFP – Getty
When is the second impeachment vote?
To succeed two-thirds of senators would have to vote to impeach the outgoing president before the end of his term on January 20.
The document, which has over 150 sponsors, accuses Trump of violating his Constitutional duty by encouraging a crowd of his supporters to fight the vote to certify Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory and denounces him as a “threat to national security.”
“In all of this, President Trump gravely endangered the security of the United States government.
“He threatened the integrity of the democratic system, interfered with the peaceful transfer of power, and imperiled a coordinate branch of government,” the document reads.
US President Donald J. Trump and Vice President Mike Pence walk out of the Oval OfficeCredit: EPA
Riot police push back a crowd of supporters of US President Donald Trump after they stormed the Capitol building on January 6, 2021Credit: AFP or licensors
“He thereby betrayed his trust as president, to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.
“Wherefore, President Trump, by such conduct, has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to national security, democracy, and the Constitution if allowed to remain in office, and has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with self-governance and the rule of law,” it continued.
“President Trump thus warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, and profit under the United States.”
