News / Politics

Biden worried Trump’s trial could torpedo his agenda

Saturday, 30 January 2021 1:58 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 30 January 2021 1:59 PM ]

US President Joe Biden arrives at the White House in Washington, DC, on January 29, 2021. (AFP photo)

US President Joe Biden is worried that former President Donald Trump’s upcoming impeachment trial poses some risks to his presidency as it could torpedo his early agenda.

Biden has asked Senate Democratic leaders to keep the trial short and don’t let it derail his agenda, The Hill reported on Saturday.

“He's going to let the Senate do what it needs to do,” said one Biden ally close to the White House. “We always knew this was going to happen. We always knew this would be the position we're in now with Republicans. And now he's going to respect the process and let it play out.”

Biden has not backed Trump’s second impeachment but hasn’t sought to stand in its way either amid outrage in the Democratic Party over Trump’s involvement in the January 6 violent march on the Capitol in which five people lost their lives.

The Democratic-controlled US House of Representatives introduced an article of impeachment last week to the Senate that charges Trump with high crimes and misdemeanors for whipping up an insurrection and disrupting the peaceful transfer of power.

Trump is the only US president who has been impeached twice by the House and will be the first to face trial after leaving the White House.

Conviction in the Senate could result in a vote to bar him from running for office again, but the conviction is unlikely as only a few Republican senators may vote for impeachment, despite lingering anger among some Republicans over his recent actions.

A two-thirds majority vote would be required for his conviction which would require at least 17 Republican votes if every Democrat votes to convict Trump.

This week five Republicans voted against tabling a motion calling the trial unconstitutional made it certain the Senate will not win the two-thirds vote necessary for conviction.

“We already know the outcome before it starts and that’s frustrating to everybody,” said a Senate Democratic aide after this week’s vote on the motion sponsored by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.).

Bolton: Trump's impeachment trial is ‘badly conceived, poorly executed’

Former White House national security adviser John Bolton has said that a “badly conceived, poorly executed” impeachment trial of Donald Trump will fail convict him.

The US House impeached Trump over his role for the invasion on the Capitol on January 6 that left five people dead, including a member of law enforcement.

Trump was blamed for inciting an insurrection when the lawmakers were busy certifying the victory of Joe Biden in the disputed 2020 presidential election. Trump believes Biden did not win the election fairly, and that the vote was rigged to deprive him of second term.

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