House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is poised to send the articles of impeachment against President Trump to the Senate, setting in motion his long-awaited trial.
But don’t expect the Senate proceedings to mirror what happens in a court of law.
The Constitution gives the Senate “the sole Power to try all Impeachments” but is silent about the trial’s mechanics. In practice, Senate proceedings have come to differ dramatically from court trials on everything from the admissibility of evidence, the form of punishment and the possibility of appeal. Continue reading.