Mitch McConnell explains why impeachment of Trump will go nowhere in the Senate

by The Right Scoop

McConnell wrote a letter explaining why the impeachment process that the House is wanting to take up against Trump will go nowhere in the Senate:

FOX NEWS – “The Senate is currently in recess and is holding pro forma sessions every three days until January 19. Pursuant to the unanimously approved order setting up the recess and these pro forma sessions, the Senate may conduct no business until January 19,” McConnell wrote.

He added that the Senate will hold two more pro-forma sessions — on Tuesday and Friday.

“Without unanimous consent, the Senate may not conduct any business of any kind during pro forma sessions, including beginning to act on received articles of impeachment from the House,” McConnell wrote.

If the House votes to follow through with articles of impeachment against the president before Jan. 19 — the day before Biden’s inauguration — the Senate will receive a message indicating that the House impeached the president while the Senate is in recess.

All 100 senators would have to agree to conduct “any business of any kind” during the two pro-forma sessions to begin assessing articles of impeachment before the next regular session on Jan. 19, the letter states.

“Assuming such unanimous consent is not given, the following would take place under the Senate Impeachment Rules when the Senate resumes regular session on January 19,” McConnell wrote.

McConnell then laid out possible scenarios for Jan. 19, 20 and 21, essentially saying that unless Chief Justice John Roberts presides over an impeachment trial starting on Jan. 19, and unless House managers exhibit articles before the Senate on the same day the Senate is informed on impeachment on Jan. 19, the Senate trial would likely “begin after President Trump’s term has expired.”

Once the trial has begun, the Senate “shall continue in session from day to day (Sundays excepted)… until final judgment shall be rendered,'” the senator wrote.

McConnell sent this letter to his Republican colleagues in the Senate, explaining how they could legally “dispose of any articles of impeachment”, Fox News writes. Meaning as long as any one of them objects to bringing the Senate back in full session, the Senate will remain in recess until the 19th.

And then, there simply won’t be enough time once the Senate comes back in session to fulfill the obligations required for impeachment. The inauguration happens the very next day and Trump will be gone by the 21st.

UPDATE: It appears the House has already filed impeachment articles this morning:


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