AUSTIN, Texas — Impeachment and the trial that follows can be hard to understand. After all, the trial of President Donald Trump is only the third impeachment trial of a president in our nation's history.
KVUE asked you to post your questions about the trial on social media. Here are the answers.
"How long will it take?"
There is no set time limit on how long the Senate trial can or must last, but once the trial starts, senators aren't allowed to do anything else. Both parties have incentives to get the trial wrapped up quickly. President Trump wants the trial to be finished before his State of the Union address on Feb. 4. And there are four Democratic senators running for president (Sen. Michael Bennet, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren) who would like to get back to campaigning before the Iowa caucus on Feb. 3. So, most experts predict the trial will last about two weeks.
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"What kind of trial is it that doesn't allow material witnesses to testify?"
Witness testimony has been a talking point throughout the impeachment process, going back to the House committee hearings, with Republican lawmakers not being allowed to call witnesses and the White House blocking witnesses from testifying and refusing to supply documents. Early on, there was talk that the Senate trial wouldn't include witnesses – but that's not set in stone. Under the proposed rules, each side will make its case in opening statements over 24 hours, split across three days. That will be followed by up to 20 hours of questions and arguments from the senators. After all of that, the Senate will decide if it will hear witnesses.
"Are the jurors [senators] allowed to have cell phones, laptops and whiskey at their desk?"
The jurors are not allowed to have any electronic devices at their desks during the hearing and they can't even talk to one another. Senate pages will be allowed in to bring notes, but that's it.
As for beverages, they are only allowed to have water and milk. Coffee isn't even allowed, so there's definitely no whiskey.
You can find more questions and answers about the Senate trial here.
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