US President Donald Trump's impeachment trial starts in the US Senate by January 21, 2020, and the Decorum Guidelines have been revealed. The attendees would be prohibited to utilize their digital devices while the impeachment trial is going on. Laptops and tablets were also prohibited in the document.
According to a report by CNN, the Decorum Guidelines for US President Donald Trump's impeachment trial prohibits the use of electronic devices during the proceedings. Senators and other participants would be compelled to leave their phones, tablets, and laptops before they would be permitted into the hearing premises.
According to Senator John Coryn, there would be cabinetry in the cloakroom of the House of Representatives where the lawmakers would be required to turn over their devices. The report claimed that this would mean that there would be no Tweets during the proceedings. It was also revealed that the senators are also prohibited from sharing developments and details of the trial to their neighbors while the chamber is in session.
Senator Lisa Murkowski shared her agreement with the policy and claimed that the prohibition would urge the senators to pay attention to the proceedings. She added that they would be compelled to sit in their chairs and remained focus on the matter at hand. She also highlighted that such focus us important, old-fashioned, and necessary due to the gravity of the issues involved with the public interest.
It was also revealed that it has long been prohibited for the lawmakers to share photos from the inside of the chambers, reported The Verge. It was perceived that this would mean the press might also be withheld from covering the proceedings than usual. It was revealed that they would only be allowed entry within the second floor of the press gallery and are also prohibited from accessing their electronic devices.
To ensure compliance with the said long-standing policy, security personnel would sweep the premises with a magnetometer every time an attendee would enter and exit the premises. Moreover, it was also announced that the press would not be allowed to walk with the senators in the building.
The said policy became a long-standing one based on a 2016 incident where members of the House of Representatives and Senate started a live stream during a gun control sit-in. Since then, phone use had been strictly banned within the House and that House Speaker Paul Ryan would impose harsh penalties against those who fail to comply with the rules.
