Is Impeachment “Dead on Arrival” in Senate After Vote on Constitutionality? (Sekulow Recap)

After forty-five U.S. Senators voted yesterday that the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump is unconstitutional, is the Left’s trial dead on arrival?

Today on Sekulow, we discussed the latest developments as the impeachment of President Trump has moved over to the U.S. Senate. The trial is still scheduled to proceed, but they are way short of the votes they need.

Senator Rand Paul (KY) said the following after the vote yesterday:

We had forty-five people, forty-five Republican Senators, say that the whole charade is unconstitutional. So what does that mean? It means that impeachment, the trial, is dead on arrival.

Even Senator Tim Kaine (VA), a Democrat, seems to think an impeachment trial may be a waste of their time. He said:

To do a trial knowing you’ll get fifty-five votes at the max, seems to me to be not the right prioritization of our time right now.

So is the impeachment really dead on arrival? Here is how I broke it down: Forty-five Republicans voted against the constitutionality of the trial. They believe that it is unconstitutional to try a former President. And, legally, we think they are absolutely right. The Chief Justice will not be present for the trial, which the Constitution demands. All of this demonstrates that President Trump will not be convicted.

Yet despite yesterday’s vote, the trial is still scheduled. Only five Republicans voted along with the Democrats, a total of fifty-five votes, in favor of proceeding with this pointless trial. In order for a conviction to be secured in a Senate impeachment trial, you need sixty-seven votes. They are way short of the seventeen Republican votes that they need to convict President Trump in the Senate, before they can even hold a vote to bar him for running from public office again.

Another thing to think about is that the five Republicans who voted to continue with the trial may not necessarily vote to convict President Trump. The five who voted to proceed with the trial are Senators Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Mitt Romney, Ben Sasse, and Pat Toomey.

This Senate impeachment trial is going to be a waste of everyone’s time and the taxpayers’ money. It is a total sham. President Trump is no longer in office and the trial is unconstitutional. This is nothing more than a political stunt.

The full broadcast is complete with much more discussion of yesterday’s events regarding the U.S. Senate impeachment trial of President Trump, as well as what’s to come. ACLJ Senior Advisor for National Security and Foreign Policy Ric Grenell joined us with his analysis as well.

Watch the full broadcast below.