BREAKING: Vote passes for Trump impeachment trial to proceed

The impeachment proceedings began in the Senate on Tuesday, with the Senate addressing the question as to whether it is constitutional to impeach a former president. The votes, coming at the end of four hours of debate on the issue, resulted in a 56 to 44 decision, meaning that that impeachment proceeding will proceed.

The vote broke down along primarily partisan lines, with six Republicans voting with Democrats that it is constitutional for the Senate to try a former president for impeachment. Cassidy, Collins, Murkowski, Romney, Sasse, Toomey all voted with their Democrat colleagues, and Cassidy changed his vote from the previous time this question was before the Senate.

Tuesday saw a four hour session during which both the House Speaker appointed Impeachment Managers will made their case for the constitutionality of the trial, and Trump's attorneys made their case that the trial isn't constitutionally valid at all.

David Schoen, speaking in Trump's defense, said that the entire proceeding lacked any reasonable measure of due process.

"Denial of due process in this case," Schoen said, "of course starts with the House of Representatives. In this unprecedented snap impeachment process, the House of Representatives denied every attribute of fundamental Constitutional due process that Americans correctly have come to believe is part of what makes this country so great.

"How and why did that happen?" Shoen asked.

"It is a function of the insatiable lust for impeachment in the House for the past four years," he said, and then played a series of clips of Representatives calling for Trump's impeachment over and over and over again over the past four years.

Beginning Wednesday at 12 pm, each side will be given 16 hours over a period of four days in which to state their case. The Impeachment Managers will seek to show that Trump was guilty of "incitement."

After that, senators will then have four hours to pose questions, followed by an additional four hours of debate on whether or not witnesses will be permitted to bring evidence, or whether documented evidence will be presented. The Impeachment Managers don't seem to think that witnesses are necessary since Congress themselves were witnesses to the Capitol riot.

This is a breaking story and will be updated.