The House Judiciary Committee released its report to accompany the two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump approved last week by its members on a party-line vote. The full House is expected to debate the articles on Wednesday. Should its members vote to impeach the president, the action then shifts to the Senate, whose members are charged by the Constitution to determine whether he should be convicted or acquitted.
The current rules that govern Senate impeachment trials are designed to make it easier for senators to reach a verdict one way or another. Specifically, the process is governed by a special set of 26 rules that is intended to ensure that it is conducted expeditiously. Rule VIII stipulates that the first order of business facing senators after they organize for a trial is to issue a writ of summons setting the date on which the president must respond to the accusations against him. (The Senate also sets the date on which the House Managers respond to the president's response.) Rule XXV even prescribes the text of the summons.
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