1、CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Legal SidebarLegal Sidebari i Obtaining Witnesses In an Impeachment Trial: Compulsion, Executive Privilege, and the Courts January 21, 2020 The Constitution grants the Senate wide-ranging discretion in the exercise of its “sole Power
2、to try all Impeachments.” Beyond the requirements that the Constitution expressly sets forth (Senators sitting in an impeachment trial must be under oath; a two-thirds vote is required to convict; and the Chief Justice presides over a presidential impeachment), the remaining details of any impeachme
3、nt trial largely lay with the Senate. One procedural choice in the impending trial of President Donald Trump that has received sustained attention is whether the Senate will hear from witnesses, and if so, how many and in what form. The past presidential impeachment trials provide two very different
4、 approaches. During the trial of Andrew Johnson, the Senate took live testimony from more than 40 witnesses, subjecting most to examination by House Managers (acting as prosecutors in the impeachment trial) and the Presidents counsel. In contrast, the Senate took a more constrained approach in the t
