Thursday will be the beginning of a new phase in the impeachment process, as the Senate lays the procedural groundwork for the trial of President Trump, only the third such proceeding in American history.
The House voted on Wednesday to send the two articles of impeachment to the Senate, naming seven impeachment managers, who marched across the Capitol to hand-deliver the final version of the articles charging Mr. Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, outlined how the Senate trial would unfold.
While a number of important steps will take place, Mr. McConnell indicated on Wednesday that the Senate planned to focus on other matters for the rest of this week — including moving forward on the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, slated for a vote on Thursday morning — and that the more substantive part of the trial would begin in earnest on Tuesday, after a holiday weekend.
The basics
What we’re expecting to see: The seven House managers will return to the Senate chamber to read aloud the articles of impeachment. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. will make the trip across the street to the Capitol from the Supreme Court to be sworn in as the presiding officer of the trial and administer oaths to all 100 Senators, who will raise their hands and swear to do “impartial justice,” then take turns signing a book attesting to their oath.
When we’re likely to see it: The managers are expected to arrive for the reading at noon, and Chief Justice Roberts is expected around 2 p.m. The oath-taking and book-signing will follow.
How to follow it: The New York Times congressional team will be following all of the developments on Capitol Hill and reporters at the White House will get the latest on the next steps for Mr. Trump and his allies. Visit nytimes.com throughout the day for live coverage.
How will the president respond?
By Senate rules, once Chief Justice Roberts is sworn in, a summons is to be issued to the president, who will have the opportunity to address the charges laid out in the articles of impeachment. The Senate is also expected on Thursday to set due dates for trial briefs from the House managers and the president’s counsel, providing some clarity on when initial filings must be submitted.
Once summoned, Mr. Trump is expected to respond in written form. The response may be read out over the course of several days.
New details to consider
At the same time that the articles of impeachment were being signed and delivered on Wednesday, new details related to the impeachment inquiry emerged from a trove of evidence released by House Democrats concerning Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani and his associates.
Documents included in the release offered new insights into how one of the associates, Lev Parnas, a Soviet-born businessman, helped advance Mr. Giuliani’s pressure campaign in Ukraine. The Times on Wednesday also published the details of an interview with Mr. Parnas in which he provided more information about his efforts.