General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Impeachment Juror Susan Collins Has Lunch With Donald Trump [View all]onenote
(42,703 posts)It's all empty formality. Always has been. Lindsay Graham says he won't read the evidence. Well, there is no requirement that he do so and no way of ascertaining whether any Senator has read, or listened to anything. Indeed, there is no rule that the Senate trial can only be held if 100 percent of the Senators are present. A Senator can skip the trial and still vote. In the Clinton impeachment, the trial began with the submission of written pre-trial statements and then oral opening statements. Then, after some questioning of the prosecution and defense lawyers, but before any witnesses were called (and indeed before it was decided whether any witnesses would be called), motions to dismiss the articles of impeachment were made by Robert Byrd and were voted down on what was essentially a strict party line vote, with every Democrat except Feingold voting to dismiss at that early stage of the proceedings. The actual vote on whether or not to convict did not occur for another two weeks.
So, there is nothing any "legal eagles" can do about the way a Senate impeachment trial is conducted.