Senate Republican leader proposes postponing Trump's impeachment trial

WASHINGTON: Mitch McConnell, the US Senate Republican leader, has proposed that former President Donald Trump's impeachment trial should be delayed until mid-February so as to give him enough time to prepare a defense.

On a conference call with Republican senators on Thursday, McConnell suggested "Trump should have at least as much time as the president had in previous trials, which means he would like to postpone the proceeding until the second week of February", reports Xinhua news agency.

"It would have been the 10th or 11th (of February) or somewhere in there," Senator Mike Braun, who was on the call, said. McConnell on Thursday said he hadn't heard back from Democrats on postponing the trial. "Not yet, we're going to continue to talk about it," he said.

"At this time of strong political passions, Senate Republicans believe it is absolutely imperative that we do not allow a half-baked process to short-circuit the due process that former President Trump deserves or damage the Senate or the presidency," McConnell said in a statement.

Earlier this month, McConnell told Republican senators that under the Senate's impeachment rules, a trial is required to begin the day after the House managers present the articles of impeachment to the upper chamber. (IANS)

Also Read: Won't be part of Trump's defence at Senate trial: Rudy Giuliani

Also Watch: Over 50 members of BPF, BSU, GSP join BJP