US president says newly formed Pentagon task force will chart a path to ‘win competition’ with China.
The United States military is undertaking a comprehensive review of its strategic position against China, US President Joe Biden has announced, as tensions between Washington and Beijing rose this week over US navy exercises in the South China Sea.
In his first visit to the Department of Defense since taking office, Biden said on Wednesday that a new China task force would be formed at the Pentagon “to look at our strategy and operational concepts, technology and force posture and so much more”.
“We need to meet the growing challenges posed by China and keep peace and defend our interests in the Indo-Pacific and globally,” said Biden, who was joined by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Vice President Kamala Harris.
The task force will be made up of 15 civilian and military officials, who have yet to be named, and will be headed by Ely Ratner, a former national security adviser to Biden assigned to Austin’s staff, according to a defence department fact sheet.
“It will require a whole-of-government effort, bipartisan cooperation in Congress and strong alliances and partnerships. That’s how we will meet the China challenge and ensure the American people win the competition in the future,” Biden said.
Since taking office on January 20, Biden and his team have placed new emphasis on addressing the US strategic challenge from competition with China.
US-China tensions
Tensions with China rose under the previous US administrations of President Donald Trump and President Barack Obama, and the defence department has begun to shift focus and resources to the Pacific.
Two US naval strike groups conducted joint exercises in the South China Sea this week after a US warship sailed near Chinese-controlled islands in disputed waters.
The exercise came days after China condemned the sailing of the USS John S McCain destroyer near the Chinese-controlled Paracel Islands in what the US called a “freedom of navigation operation” – the first such mission by the US navy since Biden took office.
The busy waterway, through which as much as $5.3 trillion in global trade passes annually, is one of a number of flashpoints in the US-China relationship.
In my call with my counterpart in Beijing, Yang Jiechi, I made clear the U.S. will defend our national interests, stand up for our democratic values, and hold Beijing accountable for its abuses of the international system.
China has been infuriated by the US’s repeated forays in the South China Sea and has accused Washington of deliberately stoking tension.
China says it has irrefutable sovereignty over most of the South China Sea – a claim that has been declared to have “no merit” by the International Court of Arbitration at The Hague.
Last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Yang Jiechi, a senior Chinese official, that the US would “defend our national interests, stand up for our democratic values and hold Beijing accountable for its abuses of the international system”.
Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on January 29 the US must be prepared to impose costs on China for its treatment of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang, its crackdown on democracy advocates in Hong Kong and “bellicosity” towards Taiwan.
The prominent Saudi women's right activist Loujain al-Hathloul has been released from prison, her family says.
Ms Hathloul, 31, was instrumental in the movement to allow women to drive in the kingdom. She was detained in 2018, just weeks before the ban was lifted.
In December a court found her guilty of seeking to change the political system and damage public order.
She was sentenced to nearly six years in a maximum security prison, but two years and 10 months were suspended.
Another sister, Alia, wrote that "this is the best day of my life".
Ms Hathloul became a symbol of the suppression of dissent in Saudi Arabia following her detention in May 2018 along with about a dozen other female activists who had also campaigned for women to be allowed to drive.
Her family said she was initially held incommunicado for three months, and that she was subjected to electric shocks, whippings, and sexual harassment. They also alleged that that she was offered freedom if she agreed to say she was not tortured.
The Saudi government denied the allegations of torture, which her family said were recently dismissed by an appeals court.
Officials also insisted that she was not detained because of her activism, but rather her contacts with foreign diplomats, media and other organisations.
Loujain Al-Hathloul has become the face of dissent in the kingdom - a symbol of Saudi Arabia's crackdown on any form of protest.
More than any other female activist languishing in prison, her case has gained global prominence. Her outspoken family and a persistent campaign by human rights groups have kept the spotlight on her.
That's thrown a long dark shadow on the kingdom's efforts to publicise its new economic and social reforms.
Saudi officials say they aren't bowing to outside pressure. But it's also clear they want this issue off the agenda now that there's a new team in the White House emphasising human rights.
This week also saw the announcement of reforms to the Saudi legal system. But there are other issues in this file, including the even longer shadow of the murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Saudi officials insist their strategic importance in the region will outweigh all other issues.
Ms Hathloul and 10 other women were put on trial at a criminal court in Riyadh in March 2019. However, the case was adjourned several times.
At the end of October 2020, Ms Hathloul started a hunger strike to protest against the conditions of her detention, including not being allowed regular contact with her family.
The following month, her charge sheet was amended and her trial was transferred to a court specialising in handling terrorism cases.
On 28 December, the Specialised Criminal Court found Ms Hathloul guilty of "acts criminalised according to article 43 of the counterterrorism and terror finance law", Saudi media reported.
The acts allegedly included "inciting change to the basic ruling regime; serving a foreign agenda inside the kingdom by using the internet with the objective of damaging public order; and collaborating with a number of individuals and entities who have committed criminalised acts".
Ms Hathloul denied the charges, but the judge ruled that she had "confessed willingly without being under duress".
And while the judge suspended part of her sentence of five years and eight months, paving the way for her early release, he warned that "if she commits any crimes within the next three years, the suspension will be annulled". He also banned her from leaving Saudi Arabia for five years.
"Loujain al-Hathloul's release after a harrowing ordeal in prison in Saudi Arabia - lasting nearly three years - is an incredible relief, but long overdue," said Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International's deputy Middle East director.
"Nothing can make up for the cruel treatment she has suffered, nor the injustice of her imprisonment."
Lina al-Hathloul stressed that "the fight is not over".
"I am not fully happy without the release of all political prisoners," she added.
Lead manager Jamie Raskin quickly picked up where he left off on Tuesday, using Trump's own words on the day of the Capitol insurrection to tie him to the unrest.
Trump was no "innocent bystander" on 6 January, he said, he was the "inciter-in-chief". Over many months, Trump had "praised, encouraged and cultivated violence."
Reuters
The Democratic congressman said Trump's "remember this day forever" tweet while the Capitol was being ransacked were not words of sadness, but of celebration. Accusing the former president of watching the chaos unfold on TV "like a reality show", he went on to say: "This is a day that will live in disgrace in American history, unless you ask Donald Trump."
And if the Senate doesn't convict Trump and prohibit him from holding office in the future, Raskin concluded, such violence will happen again.
From here, the managers laid out the details of their case, including more videos and accounts. But Raskin has set the stage.
A full-bore attack on Trump's election claims
The Democrats want the senators to pass judgement on whether a president can call into question American electoral processes the way Trump did.
Such actions, Congressman Joaquin Castro said in his presentation, are dangerous to a democracy.
This is going to put Trump's legal team in a delicate situation.
They have reportedly advised the former president that his best defence is to focus on the constitutionality of the trial and his freedom of speech, not to rehash arguments that the election was fixed. But the Democrats are using their time in front of the Senate to launch a full-bore attack against the president's claims. He may demand that his team have a response.
The move also may not sit well with some of the Republican senators - like Josh Hawley of Missouri and Ted Cruz of Texas - who vocally supported Trump's election fraud claims. The Democrats were never going to win their support for conviction, but for a few hours they might make them uneasy in their seats.
Will it change any Republican minds?
Senator Hawley certainly didn't want to give the impression of feeling uncomfortable - he sat with his feet on a chair in the chamber's second-floor gallery. Meanwhile, Rand Paul of Kentucky was seen doodling on a notepad.
Those were a few of the more visible indications that, for at least some of the senators sitting in judgement of the former president, the day's proceedings may not have much relevance.
Hawley and Paul were among the 44 Republicans who voted on Tuesday evening to dismiss the case against Trump as unconstitutional. Given that they believe the entire trial is illegitimate, it would stand to reason to think they have concluded that whatever happens over the next few days is irrelevant. And it only takes 34 Republicans sticking by Trump to assure that he will be found not guilty.
That must be at least a bit frustrating for the Democratic impeachment managers, who have at least so far constructed a meticulous, cohesive case against the president, while Trump's defenders largely stumbled through their one appearance.
To use a sports metaphor, the Democrats are playing a flawless game and their opponents are struggling, but when they look up at the scoreboard they're still losing.
Trial by tweet
On the same day that Twitter announced that its ban of Donald Trump's account is permanent and irreversible even if he were to win back the presidency in 2024, the former president's tweets were taking centre stage in his impeachment trial.
Jamie Raskin, the lead impeachment manager, once again displayed Trump's post-riot message that "these are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots".
After Raskin's opening statement, a series of impeachment managers spent large chunks of their presentations reading out Trump's tweets - prosecuting him with his own words.
There's a certain amount of irony in the fact that Trump's political rise was facilitated, in part, through his savvy use of social media to establish his unscripted authenticity, set the news cycle and bypass the filters of mainstream news.
Now, weeks after his Twitter account has been shuttered, his tweets are Exhibit A to Z in an attempt to permanently end his political career.
Three people believed to have been stranded on an uninhabited island in the Bahamas for 33 days have been rescued, the US Coast Guard says.
An aircrew was on a routine patrol when it spotted the group frantically waving a makeshift flag on Anguilla Cay.
The Cuban nationals told officials they had survived largely on coconuts.
One of the crew members involved in the rescue efforts told the BBC he was "amazed that they were able to survive for so long".
The group was first spotted on the island located between the Florida Keys and Cuba on Monday.
Coast Guard official Riley Beecher told the BBC that he was out on patrol when "something caught the attention of my eye". When he came back round at a lower altitude, he realised that there were people on the island in distress.
The crew was not equipped to carry out an immediate rescue, but food, water and a radio were dropped to them so they could communicate.
"Unfortunately we didn't have any fluent Spanish speakers but in my broken Spanish I was able to discern that they were from Cuba and that they needed medical assistance. They made sure to stress that they had been on the island for 33 days," Lt Beecher said.
The group of two men and one woman told Coast Guard officials that they swam to the island after their boat sank.
Justin Dougherty said the group later told him they were "able to get nourishment from coconuts".
"At first glance the island doesn't seem to have much, but there is some shrubbery there and some trees so they were able to stay out of the elements somewhat," he said.
US media reports say they also survived on rats and conch shells.
The trio were finally airlifted from the island by helicopter on Tuesday and taken to a medical centre in Florida, though they have no reported major injuries.
They have since been transferred to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Coast Guard says.
Members of the rescue team told the BBC they had never witnessed a situation like it before.
"I've never come across anyone who's been [stranded] for anywhere like that length of time before," Lt Dougherty said.
Prosecutors in the US state of Georgia are investigating attempts by former President Donald Trump to overturn results from last November's election.
Mr Trump was recorded telling the state's top election official to "find" more than 11,000 votes, enough to give him victory there.
The official is heard replying that Georgia's results are correct.
Joe Biden's win in Georgia and other swing states secured him the presidency.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis sent a letter asking state officials to preserve documents including those relating to the phone call and saying that a criminal investigation was being carried out.
A powerful undersea earthquake has struck north of New Zealand - leaving a tsunami warning in its wake.
The 7.7 magnitude quake hit east of New Caledonia, between Australia and Fiji, north of New Zealand - and was at a depth of 10km, according to the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre.
Waves reaching up to a metre above tide level are possible for some coasts of Fiji, New Zealand and Vanuatu, the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) has warned.
It followed at least three other earthquakes in the South Pacific region with magnitudes ranging from 5.7 to 6.1 in a span of just over an hour.
We have issued a NATIONAL ADVISORY: TSUNAMI ACTIVITY following the magnitude 7.7 earthquake near SOUTHEAST OF LOYALTY ISLANDS. We expect New Zealand coastal areas to experience strong and unusual currents and unpredictable surges at the shore
— National Emergency Management Agency (@NZcivildefence) February 10, 2021
The US Tsunami Warning System said a tsunami watch was now in effect for New Zealand, Fiji, Vanuatu and other Pacific islands.
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The New Zealand Civil Defence National Emergency Management Agency issued an official national advisory.
It said: "We expect New Zealand coastal areas to experience strong and unusual currents and unpredictable surges at the shore."
The region is prone to earthquakes because it sits along the Pacific Ring Of Fire, a horseshoe-shaped series of seismic fault lines around the ocean.
Trump is the first president in history to face charges after leaving office, but prosecutors insist the nature of his alleged "most grievous constitutional crime" demands his conviction post-presidency.
But his team of advisors appear furious with the defence his lawyer Bruce Castor put forward during a bizarre 48-minutes in the Senate yesterday.
Alan Dershowitz, who defended Mr Trump in his first impeachment trial last year, said he could not understand what Mr Castor had been hoping to achieve.
Follow our Donald Trump live blog below for up to the minute updates on the impeachment...
CAPITOL RIOTERS 'JERKS' - SARAH PALIN
Trump supporter Sarah Palin says the January 6 rioters in Washington D.C. planned "to storm the capitol, and be jerks".
The former Alaska governor argued with the UK's Piers Morgan on live TV over who was to blame for the deadly insurrection.
Morgan pointed out that Trump, ever since losing the election, "had perpetuated an absolute lie about widespread fraud, which has never been proven at all.
"He whipped his mob into a frenzy, he told them to 'stop the steal' and as the elected members of Congress were actually ratifying the election, he ordered them to march down to the capital and stop the steal.
"It sounded to me like the president wanted to stop the democratic election being ratified. That I'm afraid is a criminal action isn't it?" An unimpressed Palin replied yesterday: "Why are you generalising?"
SARAH PALIN: RIOTERS TO BLAME FOR ACTIONS, NOT TRUMP
Sarah Palin has said that the Capitol rioters were "blaming the president for their own actions".
She told Piers Morgan in the UK yesterday: "I think that's a symptom of a societal problem where people just cannot take responsibility for their stupid and criminal act."
When told on Good Morning Britain that Donald Trump had told those rallying that he would walk with them to the Capitol and urged them to show strength, Palin replied: "He never said go out and break laws, act like idiots, vandalize the people's house - he didn't say anything of the sort."
The former Alaska governor said it was "bull" that Trump had instigated or encouraged "criminal activity".
She added: "Those who were rioters - and they were horrible - they were there already, they were standing at the back of the rally, rooting on patriotically the president's speech, no, they knew what they were going to do."
CONTINUED
While Owens believes Trump’s trial is not motivated by the insurrection last month, Democratic impeachment managers argue that the former president incited the deadly riot.
In an 80-page brief laying out their case, Democrats accused Trump of trying to “extend his grip on power by fomenting violence against Congress.”
Trump’s lawyers David Schoen and Bruce Castor argued that there is no legal justification to have an impeachment trial for a president who is no longer in office.
During the trial, Schoen played a video montage of Democrats calling for Trump’s impeachment from the very start of his presidency.
"In this unprecedented snap impeachment process,” Schoen said.
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'BIZARRE'
Conservative political commentator Candace Owens on Tuesday afternoon ripped ex-President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial as having nothing to do with the Capitol riot.
Owens sounded off on Twitter shortly after the Senate voted 56-44 to reject arguments by Trump’s lawyers that holding a trial of a former president is unconstitutional.
The staunch Trump supporter said the impeachment trial was as absurd as President Joe Biden’s decision to keep National Guard troops stationed at the Capitol.
“I don’t know what’s more bizarre,” Owens tweeted.
“The fact that D.C is still basically under military occupation and Biden’s confirmed plans to keep the national guard here through to March, or the fact that there are still people who believe this has anything to do with January 6th.”
JOSH MANDEL 'BOILING MAD' OVER TRUMP IMPEACHMENT
Republican Josh Mandel, a Marine vet and ex-state treasurer, says he will make a third run for the US Senate in Ohio, taking a pro-Trump message in a bid for the seat being vacated by Republican Rob Portman.
Mandel, 43, planned to launch his campaign on Wednesday against the backdrop of a second round of impeachment proceedings.
"This impeachment of President Trump is a complete sham and got my blood boiling to the point where I decided to run for the US Senate", Mandel said.
He said he believes charges against Trump are unfounded and the proceeding is unconstitutional.
SECURITY CORDON REMAINS IN PLACE AFTER DEADLY RIOT
Security is remaining extremely tight at the US Capitol.
A dramatically changed place as a result of the January 6 attack, the iconic building remains fenced off with razor wire and protected by armed National Guard troops on patrol.
Meanwhile, a banner has been hung over a bridge, reading 'Convict or be Complicit', in view of the Capitol in Washington.
Credit: Reuters
DONALD TRUMP UNLIKELY TO BE CONVICTED
NBC political reporter Tracie Potts says that there were six Republicans who voted to let the impeachment trial go ahead, when the Senate agreed to hear the case for convicting the former president, Donald Trump.
But Democrats "have a real uphill battle - they need to hold on those six, and convince 11 additional Republicans to vote against their party's head", she added.
While Democrats won Tuesday’s vote, it also signaled that they will not likely have the votes for an eventual conviction, since they would need a minimum of 17 Republicans to vote with them, points out the Associated Press.
Democrats say they know they are arguing the case uphill, but they are holding out hope that they will convert more Republicans by the final vote.
TRUMP ACCUSED OF 'LAYING GROUNDWORK FOR RIOT'
From Washington, NBC political reporter Tracie Potts says that the impeachment trial is expected to stretch for "eight hours a day".
She added that it's expected to take a "couple of days" for the Democrats to present their case against former president Donald Trump.
Then, there'll be a couple of days for his defense to present their side.
"What we're hearing is that the House managers - the prosecution - will argue not only did the former president's words contribute to the riot, they are also going to try to make the case that he had been laying the groundwork for this type of attack for weeks," she adds.
TRUMP 'SCREAMING AT TV' OVER IMPEACHMENT LAWYER'S RAMBLING
Donald Trump was "furious" and "beyond angry" over his defense team’s showing on the first day of his second impeachment trial, two sources told Fox News late on Tuesday.
The former president watched the proceedings from Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Florida.
The sources said he was really fired-up about his attorney Bruce Castor, who was described as rambling.
He was "screaming" at his TV during Castor's confusing, long-winded opening statement, say media reports.
"Multiple people tell me Trump was basically screaming as Castor made a meandering opening argument that struggled to get at the heart of the defense team's argument," reported CNN's chief White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins.
LAWMAKER'S DAUGHTER FEARED SHE WOULD DIE IN RIOT
Maryland Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin told the Senate how his terrified daughter and son-in-law thought they would die in the Capitol riots.
The politician emotionally described lawmakers on the House floor being instructed to put on gas masks.
"And then there was a sound I will never forget, the sound of pounding on the door like a battering ram.
"The most haunting sound I ever heard, and I will never forget it," he added.
Raskin said his daughter and son-in-law were locked in a nearby office, hiding under a desk placing what they thought were their final texts and whispered phone calls. "They thought they were going to die", he said.
DISTRESSING VIDEO FOOTAGE SHOWN FOR IMPEACHMENT
The Senate was yesterday shown powerful - and distressing - new video footage of the deadly January 6 Capitol riot.
On day one of the impeachment trial, Democrats laid out their case, again accusing Donald Trump of incitement.
The politicians were show 13 minutes of video - a mix of what the president said ahead of the storming, and new footage that hadn't been revealed before.
It showed cops being beaten up and the building being smashed, to remind senators - who act as jurors in the trial - the level of threat they faced on that day as they were hiding in their offices.
WHAT HAPPENS AT TODAY'S IMPEACHMENT TRIAL?
The official opening arguments will today begin in Donald Trump’s impeachment trial.
On Tuesday an emotional first day ended with the Senate voting to hear the case for convicting the former president of inciting the riot at the US Capitol - even though he is no longer in office.
On Wednesday, House Democrats prosecuting the case and Trump’s attorneys will lay out their opposing arguments before the senators, who are serving as jurors.
PIERS MORGAN CLAIMS PRESIDENTIAL POWER 'CORRUPTED' TRUMP
British TV presenter Piers Morgan claims he believes that presidential power ended up "corrupting" his ex-pal, Donald Trump, and changing him for the worse.
Morgan became good friends with Trump while on his Apprentice show 12 years ago.
He spoke glowingly of his then friend, before he gained leadership of the US.
Morgan explained to viewers in the UK that Trump was previously known for being a good friend to others, and showing kindness and empathy before he became president - "quite the opposite" to his latter year in the top job.
MARY TRUMP BLAMES DONALD'S BEHAVIOUR ON TOUGH GRANDFATHER
Donald Trump's estranged niece, Mary, an author and psychologist, has pinned the blame for his inability to cope with the Covid pandemic and election result on his tough-talking dad, the late Fred Trump.
Appearing on Good Morning Britain, she told Piers Morgan that the crisis had prompted the 'worse shift in him'.
She explained: "We see my grandfather's influence, that was the result of two things - my grandfather's insistence on the power of positive thinking, so at the beginning [of the pandemic] Donald could not allow himself to be associated with anything negative, even if it was a pandemic that was out of his control and had nothing to do with him.
"And then after the pandemic was out of control, Donald couldn't admit he was wrong.
"With the election result, the worst thing you could be in my family, according to my grandfather, was a loser - so there was no way Donald was ever going to accept the results of an election that didn't have him as the winner."
PIERS MORGAN SAYS GOOD PAL DONALD TRUMP 'COULDN'T COPE WITH CRISES'
British TV host Piers Morgan has told viewers in the UK that the past year has "brought out the very worst in Donald Trump.
"I have known him for a long time, always got on well with him, I saw him for what he was - a very loud, bombastic, dynamic character who always had to be the centre of attention.
"He loved a good fight.
"But when he was hit with a real crisis he fell apart - coronavirus for example - he was heading for an easy [presidential] victory before the pandemic... and his inability to accept the election result.
"The narcissism and hatred of losing that [election] brought out the devil in him."
MARY TRUMP DIAGNOSES UNCLE AS SUFFERING 'SEVERE DISORDERS'
Psychologist and author Mary Trump was this morning asked by Piers Morgan if her uncle Donald was her patient, "what she would be diagnosing?"
She replied: "I have avoided diagnosing Donald, simply because it is a technical process... but the most important thing is his behavior, which is clearly pathological.
"This is somebody who cannot tell the truth; this is somebody who has demonstrated over the course of our horrible experiences with Covid-19 that he has no empathy and will do whatever it takes to get what he wants - everybody else be damned.
"I don't think he is a sociopath, but he has a very complex co-morbidity.
"This is a man who probably has several personality disorders and whatever these psychological disorders are, they severely impact his ability to function in this world."
TRUMP'S NIECE SHOCKED BY CAPITOL INSURRECTION
Donald Trump's niece, Mary Trump, has told Piers Morgan that the video shown on the opening day of the former president's impeachment trial "was quite extraordinary, and gave a minute-by-minute account of the horrors that unfolded on January 6".
Speaking to Good Morning Britain on Wednesday, she was asked for her thoughts on whether her uncle should be convicted.
She replied: "I don't want to come to any conclusions before the Democrats have had the chance to present all of the evidence, but I will say that their opening salvo was quite compelling.
"It wasn't just that day - this [riot] was set in motion by the big lie that Donald and his party had been telling since Joe Biden won the election."
TRUMP LAWYERS TRIED TO HAVE TRIAL THROWN OUT
Yesterday, senators voted 56-44 in favour of the constitutionality of the historic trial, rejecting a bid by Trump's lawyers to throw it out on grounds that a former president cannot be tried by lawmakers.
Both sides presented their opening cases, with Democrats arguing that Trump broke his oath in a bid to retain power after losing the November election to Joe Biden.
Refusing to accept his defeat, Trump made 'false claims' about vote rigging and repeatedly pressured officials, including then vice president Mike Pence, to try and stop the transfer of power, it was said.
32 HOURS TO MAKE A CASE
So far, only six Republicans have agreed that the trial is even constitutional in the first place.
Following Tuesday's opening statements from Democratic "impeachment managers" and Trump's lawyers, both sides will flesh out their cases from today, with the Democrats going first.
Under impeachment rules, each side is allowed up to 16 hours over two days to present their case.
It'll kick off at 5pm GMT.
Senators will also be given a total of four hours for questioning.
LAWMAKERS WILL SET OUT THEIR CASE TODAY
Democratic lawmakers prosecuting Donald Trump are set to detail their case against him today.
It's acknowledged that their bid to convince Republican senators they should impeach the former president is a 'long shot'.
Trump's second impeachment trial opened yesterday, with Democrats showing harrowing video footage of his supporters' January 6 assault on the US Capitol.
The riots left five dead.
Trump faces a single charge of inciting the insurrection after he told enraged Republican supporters near the White House to "fight like hell."
Securing a conviction is highly unlikely, as the Democrats would need 17 Republican senators to vote with them to make a two-thirds majority.
TRUMP ACCUSED BY DEMOCRATS OF BETRAYING AMERICA
A group of nine House Democratic impeachment managers will prosecute the ex-President’s case.
They have accused Donald Trump of betraying the country and the Constitution by fomenting acts of violence after falsely claiming the presidential election had been “stolen” from him by vote fraud.
“The House did not impeach President Trump because he expressed an unpopular political opinion,” House managers wrote earlier this month.
“It impeached him because he wilfully incited violent insurrection against the government.”
ONLY SIX REPUBLICANS JOINED DEMOCRATS IN VOTING TO CONTINUE TRUMP TRIAL
Only six Republicans joined every Democrat in voting in favor of proceeding with the trial.
It is a sign that the trial may be doomed.
TRUMP IMPEACHMENT TRIAL: WHAT TO KNOW
Trump’s legal team challenged the legal foundation of his post-presidency trial, and said the proceedings will “tear this country apart”
The Senate adopted the rules for the trial by a vote of 89 - 11
The Senate is unlikely to achieve the two-thirds vote required to convict Trump, according to news outlets
BREAKING: MAJORITY OF SENATE SAYS TRUMP IMPEACHMENT TRIAL 'IS CONSTITUTIONAL'
A majority of the US Senate on Tuesday voted to hold a full impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump when they backed Democrats' argument that the proceeding is allowed under the U.S. Constitution.
Trump's lawyers argued that as a former president, the Senate has no legal standing for holding a trial on the House of Representatives' impeachment charge that he incited an insurrection while in office.
IMPEACHMENT TRIAL TO CONTINUE THROUGH WEEKEND - REPORT
Here we go: The resolution is clear. The plan is that senators will go straight through the weekend on impeachment including Sunday. It's possible this trial could be over by Sunday/Monday if there aren't witnesses. Stay tuned. pic.twitter.com/Dx5WNm0U0E
