Democrats start action to bring Donald Trump to justice over Capitol riot

Donald Trump
The start of the move to bring Mr Trump to justice was due this evening with the laying of a single article of impeachment.
AP

A Democrat bid to impeach Donald Trump in the Senate over the Capitol riot will begin today as the former president pressures Republicans not to convict him.

The start of the move to bring Mr Trump to justice was due this evening with the laying of a single article of impeachment. It will allege incitement to insurrection in an attempt to hold Mr Trump responsible for the violence which led to five deaths on January 6 in an unprecedented assault on the heart of American democracy.

A two-week delay will follow before the process continues with a trial as Democrats seek to avoid diverting attention away from President Joe Biden’s first days in office and the raft of initiatives he has planned to counter the impact of the pandemic and his predecessor’s four years in power.

These early reforms include an executive order to reverse a Pentagon policy that largely bars transgender individuals from joining the military. The move will overturn a ban ordered by president Trump during his first year in office.

Democrats will use the delay in impeachment proceedings to try to rally sufficient support among Republican senators to secure the necessary two-thirds majority in favour.

It came as reports continued that Mr Trump could be planning to set up a new party to challenge Republicans  who went against him in his final weeks in office. Other sources told the Washington Post, however, that this was a device to deter Republican senators from backing the impeachment motion.

The prospect of the Democrats gaining the 17 Republican votes required to approve impeachment still appeared slim despite the backing of former presidential candidate Mitt Romney and the expected support of at least three more senators.

Florida senator Marco Rubio was opposed and stated yesterday that “the trial is stupid” and would increase division in the country instead of producing unity. Meanwhile Mr Biden, left, is aiming to win the backing of Congress for a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package.

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