Impeachment trial format introduced

WASHINGTON—Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Tuesday he has enough Republican votes to set the rules for President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial. The rules, modeled after President Bill Clinton’s 1999 impeachment proceedings, would allow the House to present its case against Trump and the president’s legal team to respond. After that, any Republican could move to end the trial and call for a final vote on the charges. Democrats could also ask to introduce new evidence or call witnesses.

When will the trial start? That’s still unclear because House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has yet to transmit the articles of impeachment to the Senate or name representatives to present the House’s case. The delays, an attempt to gain some leverage over the trial rules, do not appear to have influenced McConnell or Senate Republicans.

Dig deeper: Read my description of the articles of impeachment in The Sift.