Trump’s impeachment trial kicks off in the Senate Tuesday. Here’s what to know

President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial will go into full swing Tuesday, setting off a process that will eventually end with senators deciding whether to remove the president from office or to acquit him.

The trial marks only the third presidential impeachment in the history of the United States. The past two presidents who faced impeachment were Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton, both of whom were acquitted.

Why is Trump being impeached?

Trump is facing two impeachment articles: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

He is accused of withholding millions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine, and witnesses say he wanted in exchange for the country to publicly announce it was investigating former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden.

Trump is also accused of later refusing to allow staff to testify at House impeachment hearings last year.

Who will be at the trial?

The trial will include seven House impeachment managers who will serve as prosecutors against Trump. The managers selected by Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are Reps. Adam Schiff, Jerry Nadler, Zoe Lofgren, Hakeem Jeffries, Val Demings, Jason Crow and Sylvia Garcia.

United States Chief Justice John Roberts will preside over the trial and make rulings if necessary, but the rulings can be overturned by a Senate majority vote.

Trump will have his own defense team at the trial. He announced Friday Ken Starr, Alan Dershowitz, Pam Bondi, Robert Ray and Jane Raskin will serve alongside White House counsel Pat Cipollone and Trump’s personal attorney Jay Sekulow.

What will happen at the trial?

The trial officially began last Thursday with the swearing in of Chief Justice John Roberts and his administering an oath to senators.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell initially proposed allowing each side 24 hours to present their case over two days. He has since revised the proposal to allow three days for opening arguments, according to NBC News. His proposal for the trial format, also known as an organizing resolution, would then allow senators 16 hours to send written questions to both sides. The decision over whether to subpoena witnesses or documents would come after the opening arguments and questions.

His proposal will go to the Senate floor for a vote when the trial continues at 1 p.m. Tuesday.

Democrats pushed back against McConnell’s original proposal, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer promising he would try to change it Tuesday. Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy criticized the proposal in a series of tweets, and accused McConnell of “whitewashing the President’s corruption.”

“The only reason to restrict the impeachment managers to 24 hours over 2 days is to make sure the evidence is presented in the dead of the night, when no one is watching,” he said.

It is unclear exactly how long Trump’s impeachment trial will last. Clinton’s impeachment trial took nearly a month, starting Jan. 7, 1999 and ending with a Senate verdict Feb. 12, 1999. While there are limits on press access during Trump’s trial, the majority of the proceedings will be broadcast live on C-SPAN.

What does Trump say?

Trump has repeatedly criticized his impeachment, calling it a “witch hunt,” “scam,” and a “hoax.” In a trial memo issued Monday, the White House said the impeachment articles are an “affront to the Constitution.”

“All of this is a dangerous perversion of the Constitution that the Senate should swiftly and roundly condemn,” the memo said.

This story was originally published January 21, 2020 at 11:02 AM.