GOP chairman says Senate impeachment trial could last 6-8 weeks

Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) predicted the Senate’s handling of potential articles of impeachment could take up to two months.

“We basically hear the case, and then we have to come to a verdict. That will probably be a six- or eight- weeks process,” Burr said at an event at Wake Forest University with Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.).  

{mosads}Burr’s comments come as the House is set to enter the public phase of its impeachment inquiry into whether President Trump tied aid to Ukraine to the country opening an investigation into Vice President Biden and his son Hunter Biden. 

An eight-week time frame would be longer than the Senate’s roughly five-week trial of former President Clinton. 

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) previously told GOP senators that one potential timeline would be for the House to vote on impeachment articles by Thanksgiving and for the Senate to wrap up its trial by the end of the year. 

Now, the House is aiming to hold an impeachment vote by Christmas, which would set up a Senate trial for next year.