Donald Trump impeachment trial to begin today
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Donald Trump impeachment trial to begin today

DONALD TRUMP'S impeachment trial is set to begin in Washington DC at roughly 5pm (Irish time) today.

History will be made as Trump becomes the first ever US president to face trial in the Senate for a second time, as well as the first president to be tried after leaving office.

He was impeached on January 13 after being accused of inciting violence which lead to the Capitol riot on January 6.

Following an impassioned speech where he told fans of his to "fight like hell," swathes of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol Building in an attempt to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden's election victory.

Five people were killed in the riot, including one police officer.

The 74-year-old's legal team will reportedly argue that the Senate has no legal ground, constitutionally, to try a private citizen, which Trump has now become.

They will also insist that the Capitol riot was not incited by Mr Trump's speech on January 6, and that his words, which included: "If you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore," are protected by his right to free speech.

His team claims that those words weren't referencing violent acts but were actually about "the need to fight for election security in general".

Last week, Mr Trump revealed he wouldn't be testifying in court, while his lawyer, Bruce Castor, described proceedings as a "publicity stunt".

President Biden refused to be drawn on what he thought the outcome of the trial would be, simply remarking: "We'll let the Senate work that out."