Washington | The prospect of a conviction of Donald Trump in his impeachment trial seemed very uncertain on Sunday, several Republican senators saying they were firmly against on the eve of the transmission to the Senate of the indictment of the former president for “incitement to the insurrection ”.
“I find this trial stupid. I think it will be counterproductive, ”thundered Republican Senator Marco Rubio Sunday on Fox.
“The country is already in flames and it is like pouring gasoline on this fire. ”
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Against the backdrop of calls for a rally launched by the new Democratic President Joe Biden, several Republican tenors thus warned against the “divisions” that such a historic trial might further widen.
If the tongues have loosened and that even the faithful, like Marco Rubio, openly recognize that the billionaire “bears a share of responsibility” in the murderous assault on the Capitol on January 6, many believe, like Mr. Rubio on Sunday, that ” to stir it all up ”would risk doing even more harm to the country.
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Republican senators even declare unconstitutional to judge a former president in impeachment, and seek a way to prevent the very holding of the trial, on this basis.
Plunged into an unprecedented silence since his ban from Twitter, installed in his luxurious residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, Donald Trump continues to exercise a profound influence on his party.
And the Republican figures, rarer, who strongly denounced his role in the violence come under fire from critics from the Republican base.
But no question for them to give up, like Senator Mitt Romney who defended the holding of an impeachment trial on Sunday.
“If we want this country to come together, it is important to recognize that accountability, truth and justice are needed,” the Conservative said on Fox, suggesting he could find the real estate mogul guilty , accused of having incited his supporters “to insurrection” during the violence of January 6, which left five dead.
This former presidential candidate was the only Republican senator to condemn Donald Trump during his first impeachment trial, in February 2020 in the Ukrainian case. The president was then acquitted by a Senate with a Republican majority.
Since Wednesday, the Democrats have taken control of the upper house, but their majority is extremely fragile: they occupy 50 seats, against 50 seats for the Republicans.
In the event of a perfect tie in a vote, new Vice President Kamala Harris has the power to add her voice to tip the scales on the Democratic side.
Trial February 9
But he will need two-thirds of the Senate to condemn Donald Trump, or 17 Republican votes if all Democrats vote for. A number that now seems elusive, even though their powerful leader, Mitch McConnell, has indicated that he is not ruling out voting for his conviction.
With his indictment for “inciting insurrection” passed in the House of Representatives on January 13, the Republican became the first president of the United States to fall twice under the blow of an “impeachment”.
On Monday, the Chamber’s indictment will be sent to the Senate at 7:00 p.m., marking the formal opening of the trial. But it will not start in full until two weeks later, on February 9.
“I expect it to go faster” than the first, which lasted 21 days, said Sunday elected Democrat Madeleine Dean, one of the “prosecutors” of the House.
If he was careful not to weigh in the debates on the merits of this procedure, this delay certainly relieves Joe Biden, who will be able to see more members of his cabinet confirmed by the Senate by then. And hopes to quickly pass flagship measures in Congress, before the upper house is monopolized by the trial.
But its centerpiece, a titanic plan to revive the economy and fight the pandemic, of 1.9 trillion dollars, could struggle to muster enough votes in the Senate to believe the initial opposition of Republicans.
The “total amount is quite shocking,” said Mitt Romney on Sunday, while showing himself open to negotiating on certain points of the plan, such as aid to the unemployed or to states and local communities.