WASHINGTON — On Tuesday, the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump is scheduled to begin in Washington.
ABC News will air a Special Report coverage at approximately 12:30 p.m. ET for the start of the proceedings. Watch it live in the media player below:
Trump faces an unprecedented second impeachment trial. Adding to the historic nature of the proceeding is that he is no longer in office and the members of the Senate who will decide his fate are among the victims in the Capitol siege, which he is accused of instigating.
The House of Representatives voted 232-197 on Jan. 13 to impeach Trump for an unprecedented second time for his role in the Jan. 6 riot and breach of the Capitol, which occurred as a joint session of Congress was ratifying the election of President Biden.
The extraordinary step of a second impeachment, which charged Trump with incitement of insurrection, took place just days before Trump was set to leave office. Only two other presidents -- Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton -- have been impeached and none have been convicted.
Unlike Trump’s first impeachment in 2019 (in which no Republican voted to impeach), 10 members of the House GOP, including conference chair Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., voted for impeachment and denounced the president’s actions. Democratic House impeachment managers argued in a brief ahead of his trial, which starts in earnest Feb. 9, that Trump bore "unmistakable" responsibility for the siege and called it a "betrayal of historic proportions."
