Emmi Explains: What’s going on with Trump’s second impeachment trial?

Yahoo News Producer Emmi Vélez explains exactly what is happening with former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial.

Video transcript

EMMI VELEZ: Wait, he's getting impeached again? Huh? He's already been fired. So why is he back in the news? Former President Donald Trump is now the first and only president in American history to be impeached not once, but twice. On January 13, the House approved an article of impeachment accusing him of inciting an insurrection against the government.

They say that urging his supporters to stop Congress from certifying the results of Biden's 2012 election win, Trump is responsible for what happened on January 6 at the Capitol. Five people died, and Joe Biden still became the president. Now the impeachment is going to trial by the Senate.

But since Trump's already out of office, you might be asking yourself, why are they even bothering? This month, House impeachment managers laid out their case against Trump. They say that he was singularly responsible for the deadly attack and must be convicted and banned from ever holding public office again. And that would totally put an end to any Trump 2024 talk.

But Trump's lawyer denied that he incited the attack. They say that he's protected by the First Amendment and that his remarks before the riot had nothing to do with the attack on the Capitol. They also say that there's no point in impeaching since he no longer holds a public office.

But the chance that Trump will be convicted by the Senate seems pretty unlikely. 17 Republicans would have to join all 50 Democrats in voting for Trump's conviction. And at the end of January, all but five Republican senators voted against the impeachment, saying that holding a trial after the president has left office is unconstitutional.

This suggests that the Senate will likely vote to acquit him, which means he may just run again in 2024. And maybe, just maybe, could be impeached a third time. Well, third time's the charm.