Washington - Here is what to look out for
next as the proceedings advance in US President Donald Trump's
impeachment trial in the Senate:
January 20
* The House has until noon (1700 GMT) to file its reply to
Trump's response to the Senate trial summons.
* Trump has until noon (1700 GMT) to file a trial brief that
would contain detailed arguments and materials from his lawyers.
Starting January 21
* If the White House has filed a trial brief on behalf of
Trump, the House has until noon (1700 GMT) to file a rebuttal
brief if it so chooses.
* The trial resumes at 1 p.m. (1800 GMT) and is expected to
continue six days a week, with the exception of Sundays.
* A vote could be held sometime during January 21 on Senate
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's proposed rules governing the
first phase of the trial, which would leave open the option of
voting later on whether witnesses would testify and new evidence
could be introduced.
* Democrats are expected to try to amend McConnell's rules
to stipulate that witnesses must be called, possibly leading to
extended debate over the rules of the trial.
* Once the rules governing the trial have been adopted,
Democratic House "managers" who form the prosecution team
would begin to present their case against Trump. It is unclear
whether that will start on Jan. 21 or slip to the next day. When
the House managers have finished, the president's team will
respond with its opening arguments. The arguments are expected
to take several days to present, with the senators, sitting as
jurors, listening.
* Following the opening arguments, senators would be given
time to submit questions to each side.
Late January to early February
* Democrats are expected to continue pushing to hear from
witnesses during the trial. If McConnell's resolution on initial
trial rules is adopted, as expected, senators would likely vote
some time after the trial has started on whether to introduce
witness testimony sought by the Democrats.
February 4
* Trump is scheduled to deliver the annual State of
the Union address to a joint session of Congress.