First impeachment trial of Donald Trump
The first impeachment trial of Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States, began in the U.S. Senate on January 16, 2020, and concluded with his acquittal on February 5. After an inquiry between September and November 2019, President Trump was impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives on December 18, 2019; the articles of impeachment charged him with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. It was the third impeachment trial of a U.S. president, preceded by those of Andrew Johnson and of Bill Clinton.
| First impeachment trial of Donald Trump | |
|---|---|
Chief Justice John Roberts presides over the first impeachment trial of Donald Trump | |
| Date | January 16 – February 5, 2020 (2 weeks and 6 days) |
| Accused | Donald Trump, 45th President of the United States |
| Presiding officer | Chief Justice John Roberts |
| House managers: |
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| Defense counsel: |
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| Outcome | Acquitted by the U.S. Senate, remained in the office of President of the United States |
| Charges | |
| Cause | Allegations that Trump sought help from Ukrainian authorities to favor him in the 2020 U.S. presidential election |
| Trump–Ukraine scandal |
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| Events |
| People |
| Companies |
| Conspiracy theories |
The Republican majority voted on January 21 to reject 11 amendments proposed by Democrats which requested subpoena authority to introduce testimony from current and former White House officials, as well as Trump administration documents which were not provided to House investigators.
The prosecution made its opening arguments on January 22–24, and the defense made its arguments on January 25–28. This was followed by a period of questions, answers, and debate on January 29–31. On January 31, a majority of 51 senators (all Republicans) voted against allowing subpoenas to call witnesses or documents.
On February 5, the Senate acquitted Trump on both impeachment articles, as neither article obtained the support of a two-thirds supermajority of senators. Fifty-two Republican senators voted against the charge of abuse of power, and all fifty-three voted against the charge of obstruction of Congress. Mitt Romney became the first U.S. senator in history to cast a vote to convict and remove a president of his own political party from office.
On January 13, 2021, the House of Representatives voted to start a second impeachment trial of Donald Trump, following the January 6 United States Capitol attack. The Senate acquitted Trump a second time on February 13, 2021.