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The U.S. Senate voted on Feb. 9 to authorize the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, overruling an argument by the defense alleging the Senate doesn’t have jurisdiction to try Trump because he’s now a private citizen. Over the course of four hours, House impeachment managers and Trump’s attorneys presented their arguments for and against the constitutionality of the trial. In the end, 44 Republican senators voted in favor of dropping the trial because it’s illegitimate, seven votes short of the majority needed to stop the proceedings at the gate.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said he reached a deal with Senate Republicans on Monday on the framework for the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump. “All parties have agreed to a structure that will ensure a fair and honest Senate impeachment trial of the former president,” Schumer said on Monday.

YouTube and Vimeo have removed a video from MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell that alleged election fraud during the Nov. 3, 2020, election from their platforms. The two video-hosting platforms took down copies of the video, called “Absolute Proof,” and Facebook placed labels on posts made by Lindell, a staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump.

Over at the White House, the press secretary appeared to make fun of the Space Force—a new, legitimate branch of the U.S. military. Which makes this a great time to ask the question: what exactly is its purpose?

The White House press secretary appeared to confirm that President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden still holds a stake in a Chinese private equity firm. “He has been working to unwind his investment,” press secretary Jen Psaki said during a Friday press conference when asked about Hunter Biden’s stake in Bohai Harvest RST Shanghai Equity Investment Fund Management, commonly known as BHR Partners.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday scheduled several high-profile contest-of-election lawsuits, including ones brought by attorneys Sidney Powell and Lin Wood, and the Trump campaign, for consideration at its Feb. 19 conference. According to a case listing, the lawsuits include Sidney Powell’s Michigan case (20-815), the Trump campaign’s Pennsylvania lawsuit (20-845) and Wisconsin lawsuit (20-882), the Pennsylvania lawsuit brought by Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) (20-810), and Lin Wood’s Georgia case (20-799).

Facebook this week banned a Second Amendment group without providing notice or a clear explanation, the group’s president said. The Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL) Facebook page was taken offline on Tuesday. “We were banned without notice or exact reason,” Philip Van Cleave, president of the group, told The Epoch Times via email.

Former President Donald Trump’s team dismissed a request for the former president to testify under oath at the pending Senate impeachment trial. But Trump lawyer David Schoen, in response, claimed Raskin was attempting a “public relations stunt” by sending the letter to the former president. “There is no such thing as negative inference in this unconstitutional proceeding,” he added. “Your letter only confirms what is known to everyone: you cannot prove your allegations against the 45th president of the United States, who is now a private citizen.” In suggesting that Trump will not attend the trial to testify, Schoen argued...

There is a new push in Texas to have the state leave the union and create an independent country. To learn more about this movement we’ve invited to speak with us Daniel Miller, president of the Texas Nationalist Movement. These stories and more in this episode of Crossroads. Crossroads is an Epoch Times show available on Facebook and YouTube.