Calls to delay Donald Trump impeachment trial as former president appoints defense lawyer Bowers
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9.39am GMT
One lawyer you might have expected to see plying his trade for the president at the impeachment trial is Rudy Giuliani, who has stood by the president through thick and thin.
However, there are reports the two have fallen out over unpaid legal bills, and in any case Giuliani has recused himself from the impeachment process because he appeared at the same event where former president Donald Trump is accused of whipping up the mod that ransacked the US Capitol. Giuliani famously suggested in his speech that day that “trial by combat” should be used to settle the election, which he later claimed was a reference to Game of Thrones.
Related: Rudy Giuliani: lawyers call for Trump’s personal attorney to lose law licence
9.29am GMT
One of the reasons Mitch McConnell has given for trying to delay the trial of former president Donald Trump is to give him more time to prepare. Reuters this morning are reporting that Trump has at least taken the step of beginning to put together his legal defense team.
Trump has hired South Carolina-based lawyer Butch Bowers to represent him at the Senate trial. While relatively unknown on the national stage, Bowers has represented former Republican governors in South Carolina and served in the US Justice Department under Republican former President George W. Bush.
9.23am GMT
Yesterday Republican Mitch McConnell proposed delaying Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, and Democrat House speaker Nancy Pelosi decline to confirm when the article of impeachment will be sent from the House to the Senate. However, whenever it happens, Tom McCarthy reports that the verdict will rest in the hands of Republican Senators:
A two-thirds majority of voting senators – 67 if all 100 members vote – is still required to convict the president, and the Democratic caucus will number only 50 senators. Thus they would need 17 Republicans to join them to convict Trump.
Related: Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial rests in the hands of Republican senators
9.13am GMT
Hi, and welcome to our live coverage of US politics on Friday. Here’s a quick catch-up on where we are, and what we might see today…
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