Trump impeachment: Trial extended after Senate votes to call witnesses
The impeachment trial of former US President Donald Trump has been extended after the Senate voted to allow witnesses.
The decision came after it emerged that Trump told a top Republican during the assault on the Capitol that the rioters were “more upset” about his election defeat than politicians.
The vote, which passed 55-45 in favour of calling witnesses, means a verdict in the trial is unlikely to come tomorrow, as previously expected.
Trump is facing impeachment proceedings over accusations he incited violence ahead of the storming of the Capitol on 6 January, during which five people died.
He is the first president to be impeached twice and the first to face trial after leaving office. If convicted, the Senate could vote to block him from running for office again.
However, a conviction is considered unlikely, as it would require at least 17 Republicans to vote to find Trump guilty, as well as all 50 Democrats.
Much of the trial has focused on how much Trump knew about what was happening in the Capitol as rioters rampaged through the building in a bid to halt the certification of Joe Biden’s election victory.
Herrera Beutler, one of the 10 Republicans in the House of Republicans who voted to impeach Trump, last night revealed that Trump had sided with the mob.
Recounting a conversation between the former president and top Republican Kevin McCarthy, Beutler quoted Trump as saying: “Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are.”
She said Trump had initially denied the rioters were his supporters, making the false claim that they were members of the left-wing Antifa movement.
New video footage emerged during the trial highlighting how close the mob came to US politicians when they broke into the Capitol following Trump’s call for his followers to march on Washington.