Trump impeachment trial put off until early February

Senate leaders agreed on Friday to push back the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump by two weeks.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the trial is set to begin during the week of Feb. 8, which will allow the Senate to move quickly on key Biden appointees and other tasks while giving House lawmakers who will prosecute the case and Trump’s team more time to prepare for the trial.

SCHUMER: "The January 6th insurrection at the Capitol, incited by Donald J. Trump was a day none of us will ever forget. We all want to put this awful chapter in our nation's history behind us. But healing and unity will only come if there is truth and accountability, and that is what this trial will provide."

The House of Representatives is due to formally deliver to the Senate on Monday the impeachment charge accusing Trump of inciting an insurrection, following the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6th.

The compromise on the timeline was praised by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell who had asked the House to delay sending the charge and called on Schumer to postpone the trial until mid-February to give Trump more time to prepare a defense.

The evenly split Senate will need a two thirds majority to convict Trumpand a separate vote to permanently bar him from holding public office ever again.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Friday found a slim majority of Americans believe Trump should be convicted and barred from holding public office. But the numbers were split along party lines.