President on Trial
The impeachment trial of President Donald Trump began on January 21 in Washington, D.C. It’s being held in the U.S. Senate. All 100 senators are the jury. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts is the judge.
On December 18, the House of Representatives impeached Trump, charging him with abuse of power and obstruction
obstruction
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the act of making it difficult for something to happen
(noun)
She's on trial for the obstruction of a criminal investigation.
of Congress. Now, seven members of the House will present evidence in the Senate trial. They will argue that it’s enough to remove the president from office.
A team of lawyers will defend the president. They will argue that the evidence does not call for his removal. Senators must be silent during the trial but can submit written questions.
At the end, senators will vote. If at least 67 find Trump guilty, he will be removed from office. This is unlikely to happen. Trump is a Republican, and Republicans have a majority in the Senate. Many have indicated they will support Trump.
This is the third impeachment trial in U.S. history. The first was for Andrew Johnson, in 1868, and the second was for Bill Clinton, in 1999. Neither was removed from office.
It’s unclear how long Trump’s trial will last. Clinton’s trial lasted about five weeks.
Stop and Think! Why would a news story include historical information? This story, for example, includes information about past impeachments. Is this useful to readers? Explain.
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