Senator Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Argued Sunday that the Senate has a “constitutional responsibility” to hold the indictment of former President Donald Trump.
“There is a clear precedent for the Senate to proceed at an indictment hearing as soon as articles are sent, even after an official leaves office, and so my analysis here begins and ends with my constitutional responsibility,” the Democrat said. senator told Fox News. Sunday. ‘
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‘I do not think our work ends just because the president has partially left office because accusation is not only accompanied by the provision to remove an official from office, but to disqualify them for the future office, so that there is still a consequence for President Trump was found guilty. ‘
The Senate will hold an indictment against Donald Trump for the second time on Tuesday after the House voted last month to indict the former president.
The House voted to charge Trump with a vote of 232 to 197 on the charge of inciting an uprising, with 10 Republicans joining all Democrats. It would take 17 Republicans to join all 50 Senate Democrats in convicting Trump of the article on the accusation, a outcome that is highly unlikely.
Late last month, Senator Rand Paul, R-Ky., Instituted a point of order claiming that it was unconstitutional for the Senate to hold an indictment over a former president. It was defeated 55-45, and five Republicans joined all 50 Senate Democrats, meaning 12 additional Republicans would have to change their position to pass the conviction.
Murphy argued Sunday that Trump’s indictment “does not stop” the rest of the Senate’s affairs, saying that “the Senate can run and chew gum at the same time.”
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“We will next week,” he told host Chris Wallace. “We will start on Monday by confirming another nominated cabinet by the president.”
“We’ll probably hold hearings and committees next week to get other nominees moving forward,” Murphy continued. “And because last week we continued the process on the COVID bill that will save this country’s economy, we’ll also spend next week writing that legislation.”
He emphasized that “the Senate will do all three things next week.”
“We are going to do our constitutional responsibility and hold a trial,” Murphy said, noting that “it will not take very long.” He further said that the Senate will also “continue candidates and we will continue to bring COVID relief legislation to the fore.”
“The Senate can do all these things and we will do them,” he continued.
If Trump is convicted, the Senate could vote again to stop Trump from ever holding public office again.
The Senate has never heard an indictment for a president who was no longer in office, but Democrats argue that removing Trump from the sphere of government is the main goal.
Wallace asked Murphy on Sunday if he believed Trump had incited the crowd to attack the U.S. capital on January 6.
“While the riot was going on, the president had a chance to stop it, and he spurred it on knowing what was happening at the Capitol,” Murphy argued. “So I think the issue is absolutely clear, both during the protest in the White House and during the riot itself, the president took steps to make it worse, not better.”
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He added that he was of the opinion that, if all the evidence had been presented, ‘there would be no choice but to convict,’ noting that he thought the ‘conviction would be a dual vote’. .
Fox News’ Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.