Senate votes to call witnesses in Trump trial, delaying final verdict

By Arul Louis New York, Feb 13 : The second impeachment trial of former US President Donald Trump resumed on Saturday with the Senate voting to call witnesses as requested by the Democratic prosecution, upending the expectations that the process would wind up quickly.
Jamie Raskin, the lead prosecutor, asked to call Republican Representative Jaime Herrera Beutler who had claimed that a fellow Republican had told her that when he spoke to Trump about the rioters breaking into the Capitol, the latter appeared to condone the attack.
The Senate voted 55-45 to allow calling witnesses. One of the strong supporters of Trump, Lindsey Graham, joined the Democrats and party dissenters to support calling the witnesses, possibly laying the ground for Trump’s lawyers to do the same.
The move opens the way for an extended trial that was expected to wind up on Saturday with the closing arguments and a vote on the charges against Trump, allowing it to proceed with President Joe Biden’s agenda.
Trump’s lawyer Michael van der Veen said that he wants to call at least 100 witnesses, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Beutler said on Friday night that Kevin McCarthy, the Republican leader in the House of Representatives, had told her that when he asked Trump “to publicly and forcefully call off the riot”, he replied, “Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are.”