‘A Senate of courage or cowardice’: Pelosi holding out hope Democrats can sway GOP on Trump’s impeachment

Senate impeachment trial will start on 9 February

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has held out hope Democrats will be able to sway their Republican colleagues in the Senate to impeach Donald Trump, despite current votes indicating the move will likely fail.

She expressed this hope during a Thursday press briefing after a reporter said all signs currently point to Mr Trump being acquitted, again, by the US Senate.

"They don't know that. What does that mean? They don't know yet. They don't know that. They haven't heard the case," Ms Pelosi said about the upcoming impeachment trial ending with an acquital.

"We'll see if it's going to be a Senate of courage or cowardice," she added.

House impeachment managers have accused the former president of inciting a mob on 6 January, which resulted in the deadly riots at the US Capitol.

The allegations are detailed in a memo sent to the Senate. Mr Trump is accused of whipping the crowd "into a frenzy" on that day and then aiming them "like a loaded cannon" to the US Capitol.

The Senate trial will begin on 9 February with the House impeachment managers presenting their case.

Managers will present their case in "the court of the Senate, they will make their case in a court of public opinion, they will make their case for history and posterity," Ms Pelosi said.

The chances of the Democratic-led Senate reaches enough votes to impeach Mr Trump remain slim, specifically because only 10 Republican senators voted to allow for the impeachment trial to proceed.

Some legislators have considered moving forward with censure instead, which could prevent the former president from running for any political office in the future. But Ms Pelosi, among other members of Congress, have taken the stance that the impeachment trial should still continue, even if it fails in the end.

"Why bother? Why bother? Ask our Founders why bother. Ask those who wrote the Constitution, ask Abraham Lincoln, ask anyone who cares about our democracy why we are bothering. You cannot go forward until you have justice," she said on Thursday.

On Tuesday, Mr Trump's lawyers released a 14-page brief officially responding to the article of impeachment that charges the president of inciting a riot. The lawyers denied all the allegations put forth by the House impeachment managers against Mr Trump, stating he did not incite the crowd on 6 January "to engage in destructive behaviour."

Democrats will need two-thirds of the Senate to vote to convict the former president.