It takes a supermajority — 67 votes — to convict. Anything else leads to acquittal. Neither verdict could be appealed to a court.
Trump doesn't have to worry about being removed from office, but if he's convicted, the Senate could then hold a second vote to disqualify him from ever holding national office again. That penalty would need a simple majority of 51 votes to pass.
The entire Senate hears the case, but has more power than a typical civil or criminal jury.
In addition to being able to vote on procedures and evidence, senators can submit questions and objections to the presiding officer. And while judges strive to pick unbiased civil and criminal juries, that's not the case here. The Senate is currently evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans.
If there's a 50-50 split on a trial issue, Vice President Kamala Harris could act as a tiebreaking vote. While a vice president is typically excluded from involvement in a presidential impeachment trial because of
issues, Trump's status as a former president renders that issue moot.
There are
, who essentially act as the prosecutors in the case. The roster is entirely different from the first impeachment trial. Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., is the lead manager. He's joined by Reps. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., David Cicilline, D-R.I., Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., Ted Lieu, D-Calif., Joe Neguse, D-Colo., and Madeleine Dean, D-Pa., as well as Delegate Stacey Plaskett, D-U.S. Virgin Islands.
The former president will also have a different roster of lawyers than he had in his previous trial, and different lawyers than he had originally lined up. He
last month with the first three lawyers who were set to represent him and is being represented by attorneys David Schoen, Bruce Castor Jr. and Michael van der Veen.
Schoen is a civil and criminal defense lawyer who previously represented
, whom Trump granted a full pardon during his final weeks in office.
Castor is a former Pennsylvania district attorney who declined to prosecute the
. Cosby was
after a different prosecutor pursued the case.
Van der Veen is a Philadelphia-based personal injury and criminal defense lawyer.
