(CNN) President Joe Biden on Monday offered his most extensive comments since taking office on former President Donald Trump's impeachment trial, telling CNN, "I think it has to happen." Biden made the comment during a brief one-on-one interview with CNN in the halls of the West Wing. The contours of Trump's Senate trial are starting to take shape as the ceremonial elements get underway, with the Senate's longest-serving Democrat expected to preside over the trial and Democrats still weighing whether to pursue witnesses during proceedings that could take up a chunk of February. Chief Justice John Roberts will not be presiding like he did for Trump's first impeachment trial, according to two sources familiar with the matter. As the fourth Senate impeachment trial of a president in US history gets underway, there are still two big looming questions over the Democrats' impeachment case: Whether they will seek witnesses and how long the trial will take.

Source: The Nation January 26, 2021 11:48 UTC