How much power does Sen. Mitch McConnell have in President Trump’s impeachment trial?

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020, will be a monumental day in American history.

This is only the third time a U.S. president has been impeached, but how President Donald Trump's trial will be conducted is still unclear.

Dr. Dewey Clayton, a political science professor at the University of Louisville, said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell would like to follow the Clinton model, in which the House makes its case, and then the president's attorneys give their defense.

But will witnesses be called? That could land in the hands of Republicans.

“If four of the Republicans vote — and there is discussion that some want to hear witnesses — if they actually vote with the Democrats, that would actually force McConnell’s hand,” Clayton said.

But that doesn't mean the senator from Kentucky has no power.

“Sen. McConnell could actually call for a dismissal at any point in time if he gets the majority of the vote to do that," Clayton said. "He could actually do that.”

But Clayton doesn’t think that will happen.

This trial also comes at a unique time when Democrats are campaigning to run against Trump in the presidential race. Four of those candidates — Sens. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar and Michael Bennet — will all be sitting in on the trial. Some have called for the senators to recuse themselves.

“Yes, they are running for president, but nonetheless, their duty now as an elected senator and their constitutional duty is to sit and listen to the evidence that’s presented,” Clayton said.

If convicted of either charge — abuse of power or obstruction of congress — Trump will be removed from office. A conviction needs a two-thirds majority vote. Republicans have control of the Senate with 53 seats.

If there is a conviction, Clayton said there is no appeal process.