WASHINGTON, D.C., USA — On Wednesday night, the House of Representatives passed two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump. The case will head to the U.S. Senate for trial sometime in early 2020.
Ahead of the trial, one of Ohio's U.S. Senators who will be a juror in the case has spoken out. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) made the following statement after the impeachment of the president for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress:
“This is a solemn day for our country and an important one for the future of our democracy. We are following the process laid out by the founders in the Constitution, and every Senator owes it to the American people to be an impartial juror focused on the facts. I will listen to the evidence and weigh the facts of the case before coming to any decision. I urge my colleagues, of both parties, to do the same.”
Brown's counterpart, Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), has yet to make a statement since President Trump's impeachment, but did tell the Cincinnati Enquirer earlier this month that barring any new evidence, he would vote not guilty.
“From what I’ve seen so far, I don’t see the evidence that leads to an impeachable offense,” Portman said at the time, adding he has spent hours reading transcripts of testimony before U.S. House committees, has analyzed Trump’s phone calls to the Ukranian president and has carefully weighed the issues and evidence.
A two-thirds vote is required to convict President Trump, meaning a total of 20 Republicans would have to break party lines.