According to the memo, the Senate, which is currently in recess, will not reconvene for substantive business until January 19, meaning that the upper chamber may start impeachment proceedings the day before President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated at the earliest.
The same day or next day, House impeachment managers would exhibit the articles.
"The Senate Impeachment Rules provide that at 1 pm the day after the Managers exhibit the articles before the Senate, the Senate must proceed to their consideration. The Senate trial would therefore begin after President Trump’s term has expired — either one hour after its expiration on 20 January, or twenty-five hours after its expiration on 21 January," the memo read.
A possibility for the Senate to convene earlier than January 19 will require consent of all 100 Senators, which is highly unlikely in the Republican-controlled chamber.
The Democrat-led House of Representatives is set to introduce articles of impeachment against Trump on Monday in the wake of the Capitol Hill riot, when thousands of the president’s supporters stormed the Capitol building in a bid to prevent Congress from certifying Biden’s election victory.
The attack came after Trump urged his followers to "fight" to reverse the outcome of the alleged fraud-ridden vote.
