The U.S. Senate opened an impeachment trial against President Donald Trump on Thursday.
USA Today reports: The seven House managers were recognized at 12:06 p.m. and escorted to the well of the Senate. The lead manager, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., read the articles aloud. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts will be summoned to preside at the trial and will be sworn in at 2 p.m. Then senators will be sworn in. The ceremonial start of the trial came amid heightened security throughout the Capitol. As the managers carried the articles through the Rotunda, the area beneath the central dome that is typically full of tourists on a weekday, was entirely cleared of people except for reporters and a few lawmakers who came to watch.
More from CNN: The third Senate impeachment trial of a US president in history convened on Thursday with the reading of the two impeachment articles charging President Donald Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. … The outcome of the trial is all but determined, as the two-thirds vote required to remove the President would need 20 Republican senators to break ranks. But that doesn’t mean the trial itself won’t have twists and turns — and potentially some surprises — as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell navigates the demands of his Senate conference, pressures from Democrats and the whims of Trump and his Twitter account.
