1) The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Starting an Impeachment Trial

2) It is unclear when and how the Senate may begin President Trump’s second impeachment trial. The problem with “starting” an impeachment trial is that once you start, under the Senate impeachment rules, it can potentially supersede all other Senate action.
3) That’s the case - UNLESS - the Senate works out some sort of an agreement on handling an impeachment trial. Otherwise, once you start an impeachment trial, without a side agreement, the Senate meets six days a week at 1 pm et, Sundays excluded, until the trial is finished.
4) The key is when the House sends over the article of impeachment. That triggers a lot of things.

First things first. The Senate must send a parliamentary message to the House that it’s ready to “receive” the article.
5) This is kind of like a football referee waving his hand at a kickoff returner stationed in the end zone to make sure he’s ready to proceed with the kickoff. Once the Senate does that, the House can send the articles.

But…
6) Minutes after approving two articles of impeachment for President Clinton in December, 1998, the House voted on a separate resolution to send the articles to the Senate and appoint the House impeachment “managers.”
7) These House members serve as “prosecutors,” presenting the House’s case to the Senate. After impeaching President Trump in December, 2019, the House never approved the resolution to send its two articles to the Senate until January 15, 2020.
8) The impeachment trial began the next day. The trial is deemed as formally “beginning” once the Senate assembles, the articles are presented verbally to the Senate and the House managers are recognized.
9) The Chief Justice of the United States usually then swears-in the senators as jurors.

The first day of such a trial is often ceremonial. Opening arguments by the House managers and the president’s defense usually don’t start until the next day.
10) Keep in mind that the Senate can vote to dismiss the articles once a trial has started. The Senate could also approve an operating resolution for the trial which supersede the standardized Senate impeachment rules.
11) Such a measure could dictate when the Senate convenes for the trial, its length and how to handle witnesses and evidence.
12) So, the paramount concern in the mind of current Senate Minority Ldr Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is timing out when the House sends over the articles so the Senate may begin the trial – yet balancing that with confirming as many of President-elect Biden’s cabinet members as possible
13) That’s why we believe a trial may not start until next week at the earliest – if not later. Moreover, it’s possible the Senate works out a bifurcated arrangement where it handles nominations and other Senate business (say a COVID bill) during one day part and the trial later
14) But nothing can happen until the House sends the article to the Senate. And Schumer can work with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) as to when he believes it’s convenient to begin the trial.

More from Chad Pergram

More from Politics

So let's see a show of hands: how many of you even knew Huber was digging into the Clinton Foundation? While he was assisting Horowitz in his digging into the FISC/Steele Dossier/Fusion GPS/Perkins Coie/DNC/Hillary campaign stuff?


I'm sure Huber is coming to DC *only* to discuss Clinton Foundation things with Meadows and his committee.

He for certain, like, won't be huddling with Horowitz or that new guy, Whitaker while he's in town. That would NEVER HAPPEN. [wink wink wink!] 😉

I just spent a year and a half telling you they will SHOW YOU what they are REALLY DOING when they are READY.

Not before.

No matter how much whining is done about it.

I'm exhausted but it's worth it.

Now you know why they're f**king TERRIFIED of Whitaker, the closer tapped by Trump to come in late for the hysterical fireworks that will ensue soon.

Look who's suddenly fund raising for his legal defen- er, I mean, ha ha - his reelection campaign!
1/ Imagine that as soon as the referendum result the EU announced that it was looking forward to the end of free movement of UK citizens in the EU


2/ Imagine if the EU said finally all those retired Brits in the EU27 could go home

3/ Imagine if the EU said finally all those Brits in the EU could stop driving down wages, taking jobs and stop sending benefits back to the UK

4/ Imagine if the EU said it was looking to use UK citizens as “bargaining chips” to get a better trade deal

5/ Imagine if the EU told UK citizens in the EU27 that they could no longer rely on established legal rights and they would have to apply for a new status which they have to pay for for less rights

You May Also Like

I hate when I learn something new (to me) & stunning about the Jeff Epstein network (h/t MoodyKnowsNada.)

Where to begin?

So our new Secretary of State Anthony Blinken's stepfather, Samuel Pisar, was "longtime lawyer and confidant of...Robert Maxwell," Ghislaine Maxwell's Dad.


"Pisar was one of the last people to speak to Maxwell, by phone, probably an hour before the chairman of Mirror Group Newspapers fell off his luxury yacht the Lady Ghislaine on 5 November, 1991."
https://t.co/DAEgchNyTP


OK, so that's just a coincidence. Moving on, Anthony Blinken "attended the prestigious Dalton School in New York City"...wait, what? https://t.co/DnE6AvHmJg

Dalton School...Dalton School...rings a

Oh that's right.

The dad of the U.S. Attorney General under both George W. Bush & Donald Trump, William Barr, was headmaster of the Dalton School.

Donald Barr was also quite a


I'm not going to even mention that Blinken's stepdad Sam Pisar's name was in Epstein's "black book."

Lots of names in that book. I mean, for example, Cuomo, Trump, Clinton, Prince Andrew, Bill Cosby, Woody Allen - all in that book, and their reputations are spotless.