I fear you are exactly correct. The Republicans in the Senate know full well that an actual Senate trial will expose some of their own as complicit in the ongoing attempted coup. It may even have to vote on a resolution to exhume McCain from Arlington.
Chief Justice Roberts will preside. It takes 2/3 of the Senate to convict.
Roberts is likely compromised. The fireworks may begin with a disclosure of that bit prior to the trial.
Interesting that Scalia would have been Chief. Him being murdered paved the way a bit for a Roberts court.
Could 2/3 convict? Anything is possible. However, there would be a trial. Period. That’s in the Constitution. The articles are referred to the Senate. Senate is the jury. Roberts is the judge.
Where it will get interesting is in the TELEVISING of the proceedings. ‘National Security’ is going to be invoked any time anything of any exculpatory value is presented and the protection will be deemed as outweighing the merits of public access to the proceedings.
That last bit is where it gets potentially incendiary. Conviction in secret, where he gets removed from office and we’re told, ‘Trust us.’