Historic Trump impeachment trial begins in US Senate

The historic impeachment trial of Donald Trump opened Thursday in the US Senate, as lawmakers took a solemn oath to be "impartial" in deciding whether to force the 45th US president from office.

In a hushed chamber, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, clad in a traditional black robe, raised his right hand as he was sworn in to preside over the trial. He then administered the oath to senators in turn, to convene the third court of impeachment in American history.

Roberts asked if they swore to deliver "impartial justice" according to the US Constitution, and 99 lawmakers -- one was absent -- responded in unison: "I do."

Earlier in the day in a deeply symbolic moment, the two articles of impeachment -- charging Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress -- were read out on the Senate floor.

The Senate Sergeant of Arms Michael Stenger issued a warning as proceedings got underway.

"Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye," Stenger said, commanding senators to "keep silent, on pain of imprisonment."

Adam Schiff, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee who will serve as lead prosecutor for the trial, read the charges accusing Trump of "high crimes and misdemeanors."

Trump has ridiculed the impeachment process for months, and he responded to the opening of the trial by once more branding it a "hoax."

"I think it should go very quickly," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

"It's totally partisan," Trump said. "I've got to go through a hoax, a phony hoax put out by the Democrats so they can try and win an election."

The Democratic-controlled House, in an overwhelmingly partisan vote, impeached Trump on December 18 over his dealings with Ukraine and subsequent efforts to obstruct the investigation into the affair.

Impeachment rules require a two-thirds Senate majority to convict and remove a president, and Trump's acquittal is widely expected in the Republican-dominated Senate.

Justice Roberts, 64, was appointed to the nation's top court by president George W. Bush, and will preside over the duration of the trial, which is expected to last two weeks.

After the senators' swearing in, the Senate adjourned until 1:00 pm (1800 GMT) on Tuesday, when the prosecution begins laying out its case against the president.

One senator -- Republican James Inhofe -- was absent due to a family medical emergency but said he would be sworn in "with no delay" on Tuesday, when Trump's impeachment trial begins in earnest.

'Senate's time is at hand'
Trump is accused of abuse of power for withholding military aid to Ukraine and a White House meeting for the country's president in exchange for an investigation into his potential presidential election rival Democrat Joe Biden.

The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office concluded in a report released Thursday that the White House violated federal law by putting a hold on the congressionally-approved funds for Ukraine.

"Faithful execution of the law does not permit the President to substitute his own policy priorities for those that Congress has enacted into law," according to the GAO, a congressional watchdog.

The second article of impeachment relates to Trump's refusal to provide witnesses and documents to House impeachment investigators in defiance of congressional subpoenas.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has been extremely critical of Trump's impeachment by the House and Democrats have accused him of planning to oversee a "sham" trial in the Senate.

McConnell has said he would coordinate the defense of Trump in the Senate with the White House.

"It was a transparently partisan performance from beginning to end," McConnell said of the House impeachment. "But it's not what this process will be going forward.

"The House's hour is over," the Republican senator from Kentucky said. "The Senate's time is at hand."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Trump had given the House no option.

"It is a sad day for America," Pelosi told reporters. "We were given no choice."

Trump's actions undermined national security, were a violation of his oath of office and "jeopardized the integrity of our elections," she said.

For weeks Pelosi held back on delivering the articles to the Senate as she pressured McConnell to agree to subpoena the witnesses and documents that the White House blocked from the probe.

McConnell has refused to commit, saying the issue will only be decided after the trial's opening arguments and questioning.

A Trump administration official told reporters they expect the trial to last no longer than two weeks, suggesting McConnell could use his 53-47 Republican majority to stifle calls for witnesses and quickly take the charges to a vote.

Aside from Schiff the prosecution team will include Judiciary Committee chair Jerry Nadler; House Democratic Caucus chair Hakeem Jeffries; Zoe Lofgren, a veteran of two previous impeachment investigations; and three others.

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Agence France-Presse

Obama takes oath of office to begin second term

WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama took the oath of office Sunday to begin his second term at a simple ceremony stripped of the hope and historic promise that greeted his inauguration four years ago.

Pageantry will come on Monday, when Obama retakes the oath in public at the US Capitol, but the stark swearing-in ritual at the White House epitomized the diminished resonance of a presidency forged in tough economic times.

"I, Barack Hussein Obama, do solemnly swear..." Obama said, promising to "faithfully execute the office of President of the United States" and to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Obama, with a slight smile, took the oath with his right hand raised, and his left on a family Bible held by his wife Michelle, wearing a blue dress, to match the decor of the oval White House Blue Room hosting the ceremony.

Chief Justice Roberts, who stumbled when swearing in Obama to open his first term in 2009, slowly read each line of the oath out loud, before the president repeated phrases first intoned by George Washington, 224 years ago.

Watched over by portraits of former presidents including Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, Obama hugged his wife and children Malia, 14, and Sasha, 11, before quipping: "I did it" to his youngest daughter.

In tune with her social media age, Michelle Obama later sent a personal tweet saying: "Barack just took the official oath at the @WhiteHouse & used my grandma's bible for the ceremony. I'm so proud of him. -- mo."

Obama, 51, will embark on a second term at a time of deep partisan division in Washington, and will face foreign crises testing his legacy, including Iran's nuclear program and resurgent Islamist militancy in North Africa.

Senior aide David Plouffe said the president would use his second inaugural address Monday before an expected 500,000 plus crowd -- much smaller than in 2009 -- to stress the national truths Americans share.

"He is going to talk about how our founding principles and values can still guide us in today's modern and changing world," Plouffe said on the ABC News show "This Week."

"He is going to say that our political system does not require us to resolve all of our differences or settle all of our disputes, but it is absolutely imperative that our leaders try and seek common ground."

Obama took the oath of office on Sunday to comply with the US Constitution, which dictates his first term ends at noon on January 20.

Tradition states that when that date falls on a Sunday, a private swearing-in is followed on Monday by the public festivities, including the second oath taking, the address, parade and glittering inaugural balls.

Vice President Joe Biden was sworn in before his boss at an early morning ceremony at his official residence, before the two laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery.

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor -- picked by Obama during his first term to be the first Hispanic judge to sit on the top court -- made her own slice of history by leading Biden as he took the oath.

As his first term waned, Obama worshipped at a prominent African American church in Washington, where the Reverend Ronald Braxton adapted the "Forward" motto of the president's re-election campaign to the story of Moses.

"Forward was the only option," said Braxton.

Obama's second inauguration, which comes courtesy of an election win over Republican Mitt Romney in November, lacks the historical echoes of January 20, 2009, when he was sworn in as the first black American president.

Since then, a graying Obama has struggled to accelerate a weak economic recovery, failed to meet hugely elevated expectations for his presidency and waged a political war of attrition with Republicans.

He begins anew with several fierce budget battles looming in Congress, and his "Yes We Can" rhetoric soured by sarcasm over the blocking tactics of Republicans in the partisan brouhaha paralyzing government in Washington.

Abroad, the US confrontation with Iran is fast-headed to a critical point with the specter of military action becoming ever more real the longer diplomacy over Tehran's nuclear program remains stuck in neutral.

And terror strikes that killed Americans in Benghazi and Algeria call into question Obama's election year sound bite that "Al-Qaeda is on the run," despite the killing of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in 2011.

Muscle-flexing by China and rising tensions in contested waters with its neighbors, as well as North Korea's nuclear belligerence, will meanwhile test the president's signature pivot of US diplomacy to Asia.

Obama knows that for second term presidents, power quickly wanes and political potholes await.

The second term "curse" often strikes: Richard Nixon resigned, Bill Clinton was impeached, George W. Bush's image was shattered by Iraq and Hurricane Katrina and Ronald Reagan's legacy was marred by the Iran-Contra scandal.

source: abs-cbnnews.com