The Senate trial of former President Trump for one article of impeachment — incitement of the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6 — starts Tuesday with a debate over whether or not the Constitution allows for prosecution of a president once he leaves office. The debate comes about a year after the Senate acquitted then-President Trump on two counts of abuse of power and obstruction.
Senators will convene in the same chamber that they had to evacuate from after a mob breached the building and threatened then-Vice President Pence and top congressional leaders. That siege, just one month ago, left five dead, including a U.S. Capitol police officer.
The building is still surrounded by a 7-foot tall security fence and National Guard troops have joined the Capitol police to provide a more muscular defense in and around the Capitol complex. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, senators may spread out in the chamber to sit in the public galleries which have been closed for months to tours.
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