Members of the press covering the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton in February 1998. Photo: MARIO TAMA/AFP via Getty Images During initial intra-Republican discussions of a possible Senate impeachment trial of Donald Trump, the president reportedly favored quick disposal of articles of impeachment by an immediate motion-to-dismiss.
Trump, who as recently as Wednesday lamented impeachment as a “dirty word,” has struggled to accept the prospect of becoming the third President in history to be impeached. But the President and White House officials are now signaling they will mount a robust defense in the Senate and look to turn the tables on Democrats during the President’s trial – including by digging in on the President’s unsubstantiated claims of corruption leveled at former Vice President Joe Biden.
Can Trump and his allies essentially pull off repurposing the Senate trial into a show trial of his own devising? Perhaps to some extent, though it’s important to understand that neither the Constitution nor the standing Senate rules predetermine the scope of the trial, the witnesses each party can call, and the rules of evidence governing admissible matters.
I think Trump is forgetting that John “Split Infinitive” Roberts will preside. He will run a professional and orderly trial.