franckreporter/iStockBy BENJAMIN SIEGEL and KATHERINE FAULDERS, ABC News
(WASHINGTON) — The House will deliver the impeachment article against former President Donald Trump to the Senate on Monday, formally launching trial proceedings next week, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor Friday.
Schumer’s announcement comes after a request from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to delay the trial until February and give Trump and his still-forming legal team time to prepare a defense.
Trump will be the first former president to face an impeachment trial. Some Senate Republicans have argued that the trial would be unconstitutional because the 45th president is no longer in office, a stance that could trigger a Senate debate and vote on the validity of the trial in the coming weeks.
“I have spoken to Speaker Pelosi who informed me that the articles will be delivered to the Senate on Monday,” Schumer said.
“The Senate will conduct a trial of the impeachment of Donald Trump. It will be a full trial, it will be a fair trial,” he added, without details on the length or format of the proceedings.
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