The US Senate cannot conduct a "fair or serious" trial of impeached US President Donald Trump in the short time frame before he leaves office next week, the Senate's Republican leader said Wednesday.
"Given the rules, procedures, and Senate precedents that govern presidential impeachment trials, there is simply no chance that a fair or serious trial could conclude before President-elect (Joe) Biden is sworn in next week," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement.
Trump was impeached Wednesday, triggering a Senate trial. But "even if the Senate process were to begin this week and move promptly, no final verdict would be reached until after President Trump had left office," added McConnell, who has said he would not reconvene the chamber before its scheduled resumption January 19, one day before the inauguration.
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