US senators are set to vote on whether Donald Trump will be held accountable for inciting the deadly attack at the Capitol after a speedy impeachment trial.
Closing arguments are set for the historic impeachment trial as senators arrive for a rare Saturday session, all under the watch of armed National Guard troops still guarding the building.
The outcome of the fast-tracked proceedings are expected to reflect a nation divided over the former president and the future of his brand of politics in America.
READ MORE: Trump impeachment: Senators to hear opening arguments
The nearly week-long trial relived some of the graphic scenes from the January 6 Capitol riot and its consequences for the US in ways that senators, most of whom fled for their own safety that day, acknowledge they are still coming to terms with.
Acquittal is expected in the evenly divided Senate, a verdict that could heavily influence not only Mr Trump's political future but that of the senators sworn to deliver impartial justice as jurors as they cast their votes.
House prosecutors have argued that Mr Trump's rallying cry to go to the Capitol and "fight like hell" for his presidency just as Congress was convening to certify Joe Biden's election was part of an orchestrated pattern of violent rhetoric and false claims that unleashed the mob.
READ MORE: Donald Trump impeachment: What happens next and who are the key players?
Five people died, including a rioter who was shot and a police officer.
Defence lawyers countered in a short three hours on Friday that Mr Trump's words were not intended to incite violence and impeachment is a "witch hunt" designed to prevent him from serving in office again.
While it is unlikely the Senate will return the two-thirds vote needed to convict, several senators appear to be still weighing their vote. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell will be widely watched for cues, but he is not pressuring his side of the aisle and is telling senators to vote their conscience.
Mr Trump is the only president to be impeached twice, and the first to face trial charges after leaving office.
Unlike last year's impeachment trial in the Ukraine affair - a complicated charge of corruption and obstruction over his attempts to have the foreign ally dig up dirt on then-rival Mr Biden - this one brought an emotional punch over the unexpected vulnerability of the nation's tradition of peaceful elections.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel