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House managers deliver impeachment article against Trump, kicking off trial preparations

The trial is expected to begin the week of Feb. 8.
Image: House managers deliver article of impeachment
Clerk of the House Cheryl Johnson and House Sergeant-at-Arms Tim Blodgett lead the Democratic House impeachment managers as they deliver the article of impeachment against former President Donald Trump to the Senate on Monday.J. Scott Applewhite / Pool via AP

The House delivered its article of impeachment against former President Donald Trump to the Senate on Monday, kicking off preparations for the coming trial.

House impeachment managers held a ceremonial procession through National Statuary Hall and the Capitol Rotunda to the Senate on Monday evening to present the article of impeachment to the secretary of the Senate.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., named nine Democratic impeachment managers for the trial this month, with Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., leading the group. The eight other Democrats are Reps. Diana DeGette of Colorado, Joe Neguse of Colorado, David Cicilline of Rhode Island, Joaquin Castro of Texas, Eric Swalwell of California, Ted Lieu of California and Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania, along with Stacey Plaskett, the U.S. Virgin Islands' nonvoting delegate to Congress.

Raskin then read the article out loud to the chamber.

The House impeached Trump on Jan. 13 for a second time, charging him with "incitement of insurrection" for his role in the deadly Capitol riot this month. The article also cites Trump's Jan. 2 phone call urging Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to "find" enough votes to overturn the state's election results as part of his effort "to subvert and obstruct the certification of the results of the 2020 presidential election."

The Democratic-controlled House approved the article on a 232-197 vote; 10 Republicans sided against Trump. It was the most bipartisan vote on a presidential impeachment in history, doubling the five Democrats who voted to impeach Bill Clinton in 1998.

The presentation of the article will require the Senate to begin the process of holding a trial to determine whether to convict Trump and potentially bar him from ever running for any federal office again.

The Maryland lawmaker released a statement shortly after the article was delivered, vowing to "present overwhelming evidence of the facts of former President Trump’s incitement of the violent insurrection" on the Capitol.

None of the impeachment managers argued the case in Trump's first impeachment trial when the Senate acquitted him on charges of obstruction of justice and abuse of power.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told MSNBC's Rachel Maddow in an interview airing Monday evening that Trump must be held accountable for encouraging the rioters, which Schumer said was "the most despicable thing any president has ever done."

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"You can’t just sweep some of these egregious things under the rug," he said. "Plain and simple,"

Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the president pro tempore of the Democratic-controlled Senate, will preside over the trial because Trump is a former president.

"When I preside over the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, I will not waiver from my constitutional and sworn obligations to administer the trial with fairness, in accordance with the Constitution and the laws," he said in a statement.

The Senate trial is expected to begin the week of Feb. 8 under a deal struck between the parties. Senate Republicans had requested more time to allow Trump's lawyers to prepare. All 100 senators, who will oversee the trial and ultimately decide its outcome, will be sworn in on Tuesday afternoon.