Is is possible for Donald Trump to get an impartial impeachment trial? The answer is complicated

Donald Trump has been impeached by the House of Representatives, but he needs to be convicted in the Senate before there are any real consequences.

Some argue he won’t get a fair trial like he would in a court of law, but the nature of a Senate trial is more complicated than that.

Here’s why.

There are ‘no rules’

A trial in the Senate is very different to what you’d expect to see in a courthouse.

“When it comes to impeachment, the rule is that there are virtually no substantive rules,” Republican Senator John Kennedy said.

“It’s not a criminal trial,” he said, adding there were “no standards of proof” and “no rules of evidence”.

The rules of an impeachment trial are…