Nancy Pelosi holding back on Donald Trump impeachment trial

Democrat leader Nancy Pelosi has refused to say when she will trigger the Senate impeachment trial of US President Donald Trump.

Democrat leader Nancy Pelosi has refused to say when she will trigger the Senate impeachment trial of US President Donald Trump as Washington locks down ahead of the inauguration of Joe Biden as president.

Law enforcement agencies breathed a huge sigh of relief on Monday (AEDT) after large ­protests planned in state capitals around the nation failed to ­materialise.

Police and media outnumbered protesters in most state capitals after online calls by Trump supporters to attend rallies fizzled in the face of overwhelming security.

One of the larger protests, in Lansing, Michigan, attracted only around 100 people who were easily outnumbered by security officials. A small group of the protesters carried AR-15 semiautomatic ­rifles but there was no trouble. “It has all stayed peaceful. Everything has been calm,” Lansing mayor Andy Schor said.

National Guard soldiers rest on cots in the visitors centre of the US Capitol. Picture: Getty Images

In Washington, massive security measures continued as the city’s downtown was all but cut off from the public to prevent any large gathering of protesters who might seek to disrupt the inauguration on Thursday (AEDT).

It remained unclear when House of Representatives Speaker Ms Pelosi would trigger the Senate impeachment trial of Mr Trump by sending the article of ­impeachment to the Senate.

A trial could start as early as inauguration day but some Democrats are reluctant to let a trial interfere with Mr Biden’s inauguration or with his first few days as president when he plans to sign a raft of executive orders.

Democrat representative Adam Schiff who led the impeachment effort against the President over the Ukraine controversy said he did not know when a Senate trial might start.

“This is obviously the most serious crime against our country and constitution of any president in history, and the fact that it took place in the last month doesn’t make it less serious,” he said.

One of the House impeachment managers from last week, Joaquin Castro, admitted that one of the key motivations for ­convicting Mr Trump was to ensure that he would be banned from running for president in 2024.

Members of the anti-government group, The Boogaloo Boys, protest in Salem, Oregon. Picture: AFP.

“One of the other purposes of impeachment in this case is to make sure that President Trump is not able to run for federal office again, that he’s not able to seek the presidency,” he said.

In the new 50-50 Senate, which goes into session for the fist time on Thursday, Democrats need 17 Republicans to join them if they are to convict Mr Trump for his role in inciting his supporters to storm the Capitol building on January 6 while congress was meeting to certify Joe Biden’s win at the November 3 election.

The only hope for Democrats to convict Mr Trump appears to lie with Republican Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell — who will hand over to Democrat Chuck Schumer on Thursday — and is said to be undecided about whether he will vote to convict Mr Trump. If Senator McConnell, a former Trump loyalist, did choose to vote against the President, he could potentially bring a number of Republicans along with him.

Meanwhile, Mr Biden’s incoming chief of staff Ron Klain issued a grim warning on Monday (AEDT) that the surging coronavirus pandemic would get much worse over the coming month with 500,000 deaths likely before the end of February.

“The virus is going to get worse before it gets better,” Mr Klain said. “People who are contracting the virus today will start to get sick next month, will add to the death toll in late February, even March, so it’s going to take a while to turn this around.”

Infections and deaths from the virus are at record levels with around 250,000 new cases each day and deaths now topping 3000 on most days.

States have been frustrated that the supply of vaccines has been smaller than the Trump administration had promised, leaving many over-65s competing with each other to try to secure a vaccination before supplies run out.

Mr Klain said the new Biden administration was “inheriting a huge mess”. “But we have a plan to fix it. We think there are things we can do to speed up the delivery of that vaccine,’ he said.