9:37 a.m. ET, December 21, 2019
House Democrats are privately preparing for a Senate trial
From CNN's Manu Raju
Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images
Even though it’s uncertain when President Trump’s impeachment trial is expected to start, House Democrats are privately preparing for a trial to begin as soon as the week of Jan. 6.
Staff for the key House committees, in consultation with Democratic leadership, are expected to work over the holiday recess in the event the trial starts early in the new year, per two sources with knowledge of the work.
Where things are right now: In order for a trial to take place, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi needs to send over the articles to the Senate.
But she says she needs to understand what the process will be like in the Senate to determine which impeachment managers to name to prosecute their case. The House needs to vote on the impeachment managers before the articles are sent over, Democrats say. The earliest House vote would be Jan. 7.
But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer are at an impasse over the rules for a trial, with Schumer wanting a deal struck up front on witnesses and documents and McConnell saying those decisions should come later and they should agree to just the nuts-and-bolts of the trial initially.