McConnell Wants Impeachment Trial in February, Trump Hires New Lawyer
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) arrives at the U.S. Capitol and walks to his office on January 06, 2021 in Washington, DC. Congress held a joint session today to ratify President-elect Joe Biden's 306-232 Electoral College win over President Donald Trump. A group of Republican senators said they would reject the Electoral College votes of several states unless Congress appointed a commission to audit the election results. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is proposing to start Donald Trump's impeachment procedure next month to give the former president a chance to review the case.

House lawmakers voted 232 to 197 to impeach Trump last week for allegedly inciting the Capitol riot on Jan. 6 that claimed five people's lives.

House Democrats earlier suggested moving immediately to trial as President Joe Biden begins his time in office. The Democrats said that a full decision is necessary so the country and the Congress can move on.

However, McConnell told his fellow GOP colleagues on a call on Thursday that a delay would give Trump time to prepare his legal team and ensure proper procedures, according to an Associated Press report.

In a statement released on Thursday evening, the senator provided a timeline that would see the House transmitting the impeachment article on Jan. 28, launching the first phase of the trial.

McConnell said the Senate would then give Trump's defense team and House prosecutors two weeks to file briefs, adding that arguments in the trial would likely begin in mid-February.

Indiana Sen. Mike Braun echoed McConnell's statement, saying that the trial might not begin until in the middle of February.

"Due to the fact that the process as it occurred in the House evolved so quickly, and that it is not in line with the time you need to prepare for a defense in a Senate trial," Braun said in the report.

Trump Prepares for the Upcoming Impeachment Trial

As part of his preparation for the Senate impeachment trial, Trump has tapped South Carolina-based lawyer Butch Bowers to represent him in the trial.

Reuters reported that Bowers served in the U.S. Justice during former president George W. Bush's administration.

One source familiar with the matter said that Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a Trump ally, recommended Bowers for the post. Graham noted that Bowers has already agreed to represent Trump in the case.

According to a Democrat former South Carolinian politician, Bakari Sellers, Bowers was known to be a very good lawyer. CNBC reported that Bowers previously defended former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford when he faced a possible impeachment for leaving the state without notice to visit his Argentine mistress.

Trump's other lawyers had already refused to represent him in his second impeachment trial. One of Trump's lawyers, Rudy Giuliani, said he was a witness which prohibited him from defending Trump in the Senate impeachment trial. Bowers remained mum on the report.

There is no assurance that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will agree to McConnell's proposed timeline. Schumer's spokesperson Justin Goodman said they received McConnell's proposal, and they will review it before discussing it with him.

Other Lawmakers May Be Charged

Meanwhile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi earlier said that any lawmakers found to have assisted rioters in the attack on the U.S. Capitol may be charged criminally.

Democrats have raised suspicions that some Republicans might have assisted the rioters logistically in the days leading up to the violent event, The Hill reported.

Pelosi said that allegations would be investigated and could lead to prosecutions of sitting lawmakers.

On Wednesday, some 30 Democrats called for an investigation into suspicious behavior and access facilitated by some GOP members the day before the Capitol breach.

In a letter to the acting House and Senate sergeants-at-arms and the Capitol Police, the group said rioters who attacked the Capitol seemed to have a detailed knowledge of the Capitol complex's layout.