In the first decision of the Senate impeachment trial, 44 Republicans voted to declare the proceedings unconstitutional, signaling the two-thirds majority needed to convict is far from being achieved and Donald Trump is likely to be acquitted for a second time in 13 months.
The vote at the end of the trial's first stage — mostly expected except for one new GOP defector — allowed the spectacle to proceed to an evidentiary phase starting Wednesday.
Both sides laid out their strategies in Tuesday's opening.
Democrats will keep up their emotional bombardment of images and video seeking to sway Senate jurors with evoked memories of the horrific violence, suggesting Trump must have provoked it.
