Inside America
By Venkatesh Raghavan
Trump might get a life-time bar if convicted
US President Donald Trump most likely will be facing a trial in front of the Senate on impeachment proceedings initiated against him for inciting violence and vandalism in the Capitol region on the morning of January 6 by the house of representatives only after he exits office on January 20. The trial conventionally is supposed to be presided over by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. However, Vice President-elect, Kamala Harris is likely to preside in her capacity as the constitutional president of the Senate. The pronouncement of the trail commencing only after Trump exiting office came from the Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnel. He is slated to play the role of a facilitator for Kamala Harris to preside over the trial.
Interestingly, the Senate has at present a fully balanced composition of 50 senators each from the Republicans and the Democrats. For the impeachment to take place, it would require a minimum of 17 Republicans to vote in favour of the move as any impeachment movement of an American President calls for a two-third majority meaning 67 votes in this instance. There is however, a possibility of the numbers game getting changed in the event senators absent themselves from the voting procedure for whatever reasons. Amidst much discussion centring on how the movement will play out, some Congressmen were heard expressing their fear sentiment if they dared to vote against Trump.
There was also a recall from the war of words that Kamala Harris had with President Trump over their respective Twitter handles. Soon after the decks were cleared for Trump as the sole Republican candidate contesting the polls, it was announced that Kamala Harris had conceded to Joe Biden for the presidential race from the Democrats. Trump had a go at her from his Twitter handle sounding a sarcastic note: “We will miss you.” Harris had shot back saying, “I will be present at your trial.”
However, at this juncture, Trump is faced with a more bitter situation with Twitter banning him for life on the count that he abused the usage of his handle by inciting people to indulge in acts of violence and this had to be taken cognizance of as if it’s continued to happen, it might be a matter of grave concern over preserving of law and order in the country. There were some people who jumped into the fray, championing the cause of free speech and criticizing Twitter for such an extreme step, calling it a “dangerous precedent”.
This however, will be less of his problems, as Trump stands to be the first American president who was impeached twice. The impeachment actually stands for the lower chamber of the Congress, which happens to be the house of representatives. The Senate, which happens to be the upper house will subsequently take over the trial and final verdict on his impeachment. Once Biden takes over formally, the Democrats will gain full control over the administration and might be in a position to bar any future attempts that could be made by Trump to contest for the Presidential polls. This is subject to the condition that the Senate convicts Trump. The US constitution provides for barring any convicted or impeached person holding or having remitted office from contesting any time in the future by a simple trust vote.
