The Senate also rejected amendments to subpoena Trump administration officials, including acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney; his senior adviser, Robert Blair; and top Office of Management and Budget official Michael Duffey. Each amendment was tabled on a 53-to-47 party-line vote.
Senators are hearing from House managers and Trump’s attorneys regarding a resolution proposed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) that seeks a swift trial. Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (N.Y.), have panned the proposal, arguing that it is part of an effort to “cover up” Trump’s dealings. In public appearances Tuesday, the House impeachment managers urged the Senate to reject McConnell’s rules.
The impeachment charges center on the allegation that Trump withheld military aid and a White House meeting to pressure Ukraine to investigate former vice president Joe Biden, a political rival, as well as his son Hunter Biden.
●White House calls for Trump acquittal in ‘rigged’ impeachment as Senate prepares for quick trial.
●Trump’s lawyers, Senate GOP allies work privately to ensure former national security adviser John Bolton does not testify publicly.
●Republicans rally behind Trump as Senate impeachment trial begins.
The Senate impeachment trial process | The impeachment managers | Which senators support removing Trump | Trump’s legal team brief | House Democrats’ response
Schumer offers seventh amendment as Senate returns from recess
Democrats pressed onward as the Senate returned from a brief recess, with Schumer offering his seventh amendment of the night.
In contrast to the earlier measures aimed at subpoenaing documents and witnesses, the latest amendment “would allow for the Senate to prevent the selective admission of evidence and to provide for appropriate handling of classified and confidential materials,” according to Schumer’s office.
An embarrassing moment for Trump’s legal team
Trump’s impeachment managers made little secret Tuesday that they’d rather put House Democrats on trial than Trump.
They repeatedly alleged mistreatment of Trump in his impeachment, rather than dwelling upon the evidence against him.
But in one instance, one of them badly overreached.
Read more here.
Blair, Duffey amendment is voted down
The Senate rejected the Democratic amendment to subpoena Blair and Duffey.
The amendment, like those that came before it, was rejected on a 53-to-47 vote.
The Senate is now in a brief recess, with Democrats readying a seventh amendment for when the chamber returns.
Senate rejects effort to subpoena Defense Department documents
The Senate once again voted to reject a Democratic amendment on a 53-to-47 vote. This amendment would have allowed the chamber to subpoena key Defense Department documents related to the impeachment inquiry.
The impeachment managers are now outlining the case for their sixth amendment, which would allow for subpoenas to be issued for the testimony of two other Trump administration officials, Blair and Duffey.
“As plentiful evidence confirms, officials throughout the government were stumped — literally stumped — about why the freeze was happening,” Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-Tex.), one of the impeachment managers, said. “They were thwarted when they tried to get explanations from Blair and Duffey. Consistent with President Trump’s effort to hide all evidence, Blair and Duffey have defied the House’s subpoenas at the president’s direction.”
Senate reconvenes to consider fifth Democratic amendment
The Senate reconvened Tuesday night to consider the fifth amendment offered by Schumer. This one would allow the Senate to subpoena Defense Department documents and records related to Trump’s efforts to pressure Ukraine.
Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), one of the impeachment managers, returned to the floor to introduce the amendment — but first, he said he wanted to get “something off my chest.”
“Counsel for the president and some other folks in this room have been talking a lot about how late it’s getting, how long this debate is taking,” Crow said.
He noted that it’s even later in other places, such as Europe, “where we have over 60,000 U.S. troops.”
“I don’t think any of those folks want to hear us talk about how tired we are, how late it is,” Crow said. “We have time to have this debate.”
McConnell halts proceedings in effort to condense votes on remaining amendments
McConnell halted the Senate trial proceedings at 9:29 p.m. in an apparent bid to negotiate an end to an hourslong debate over rules for the trial going forward.
McConnell’s move to put the Senate into a quorum call, a procedural move to pause the chamber’s proceedings, came after Schumer said he planned to call numerous additional amendment votes — possibly later into Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
Among the amendments, he said, would be to summon additional witnesses and documents as well as measures to more closely align the Trump proceedings with the 1999 Clinton trial.
“There will be a good number of votes,” Schumer said. “We are willing to do some of those votes tomorrow. There is no reason we have to do them all tonight and inconvenience the Senate and the chief justice. But we will not back off on getting votes on all of these amendments, which we regard as extremely significant and important to the country.”
McConnell, who has pushed to keep the trial on a rapid schedule, responded: “All of these amendments could be dealt with at the appropriate time” -- that is, after the opening arguments are made.
Senate rejects Democratic measure to subpoena acting White House chief of staff Mulvaney
On a 53-to-47 vote, the Senate rejected the fourth Democratic amendment, which would have allowed the chamber to subpoena Mulvaney.
The acting White House chief of staff had defied a House subpoena last year as investigators sought information on how $391 million in congressionally appropriated military aid to Ukraine was withheld at the same time Trump was pressuring a foreign leader to investigate his domestic political rivals.
Schiff says intelligence agencies are withholding Ukraine evidence on ‘instruction of others’
Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.), lead impeachment manager, said Tuesday that U.S. intelligence agencies are withholding evidence on Ukraine “on the instruction of others or with the advice of others.”
In an interview with CBS News’s Norah O’Donnell, Schiff said, “We have requested intelligence, relevant intelligence, concerning Ukraine as a part of our oversight ability.” But some spy agencies, he said, “have stopped cooperating.”
He indicated that they were withholding intelligence “on the issue of how Ukraine has responded to the pressure campaign” by Trump and his personal attorney, Rudolph W. Giuliani, to get Ukraine to announce publicly investigations into a political rival.
Such information, he said, ”would be very pertinent.”
“If there was more evidence that bears on that question and it’s being withheld by the intelligence community at the urging of the president, that is a corruption of the intelligence community,” Schiff said.
Schiff apparently was elaborating on comments he made on Sunday to ABC News’s “This Week,” in which he said that the intelligence community “is beginning to withhold documents from Congress on the issue of Ukraine.”
Schiff said that “the NSA, in particular,” was holding back “potentially relevant” documents that senators might want to see during the impeachment trial, which began in earnest Tuesday.
A spokeswoman for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said in an email Sunday that the “intelligence community is committed to providing Congress with the information and intelligence it needs to carry out its critical oversight role.”
Schumer to offer amendment to subpoena Defense Department materials
Schumer is expected to offer a fifth amendment Tuesday night following the vote on the motion to subpoena acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney.
The latest amendment would allow the Senate to subpoena Defense Department documents and records related to Trump’s efforts to pressure Ukraine.
Democrats play video of Trump saying he would ‘love’ to have officials testify
Trump made his first appearance in the impeachment managers’ presentation Tuesday night as Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) played a video of the president saying he would “love” to have members of his administration testify.
The footage was from a December exchange with reporters ahead of a meeting between Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in London.
“So, when it’s fair — and it will be fair in the Senate — I would love to have Mike Pompeo,” Trump said. “I’d love to have Mick. I’d love to have Rick Perry and many other people testify.”
Klobuchar calls Cipollone comment about 2020 candidates ‘unnecessary’
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (Minn.), a Democratic presidential hopeful, said White House counsel Pat Cipollone was wrong when he said the Senate’s 2020 candidates would prefer to be in Iowa on the campaign trail.
Earlier in the day, Cipollone addressed the senators running for president, saying: “It’s a partisan impeachment that they’ve delivered to your doorstep in an election year. Some of you are upset because you should be in Iowa right now, but instead we’re here.”
“I thought it was kind of unnecessary when the president’s lawyer kind of poked at us for being there,” Klobuchar said. “That’s our job. He said, ‘Oh, they’d rather be in Iowa.’ No, we have a constitutional duty to do our job.”
Klobuchar said she would supplement her schedule with tele-town halls and that her husband and daughter were in Iowa in her stead.
Jeffries displays chart showing every previous impeachment trial has included witnesses
Jeffries displayed a chart Tuesday night emphasizing the Democratic request for witnesses during the Senate trial.
During his remarks outlining the case for the fourth Democratic amendment, Jeffries displayed a chart showing that witnesses were included in every one of the 15 impeachment trials of presidents, judges and others that have taken place in the Senate.
The number of witnesses ranged from three to 112, with the average number of witnesses per trial standing at 33, according to Jeffries.
“In at least three of those instances, including the impeachment of Bill Clinton, witnesses appeared before the Senate who had not previously appeared before the House,” Jeffries said.
GOP senator accuses managers of ‘dilatory tactics’
Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) accused the House impeachment managers of using “dilatory tactics” to prolong debate over the organizing resolution and said the Republican leadership still hopes to hold a final vote on the measure Tuesday night.
Speaking to reporters during a dinner break, Blunt said that “if it’s up to Leader McConnell,” the resolution will receive a vote before the Senate gavels out for the evening. But he predicted the floor action would last several more hours, as Democrats offer more amendments.
As of 8:30 p.m., House impeachment managers were arguing in favor of an amendment to seek evidence from Mulvaney. It is expected to be voted down, like similar amendments to subpoena documents from the White House, the State Department and OMB.
“Everybody knows how these votes are going to go,” Blunt said, adding: “I think [the impeachment managers] have already made almost all their presentations about three times.”
Senate returns from dinner to debate fourth Democratic amendment
The Senate returned from its brief recess to debate the fourth amendment offered by Democrats.
The amendment would allow the Senate to subpoena Mulvaney.
Jeffries made the Democratic case for the amendment in floor remarks Tuesday night.
“Mr. Mulvaney is a highly relevant witness to the events at issue in this trial. Mr. Mulvaney was at the center of every stage of the president’s substantial pressure campaign against Ukraine,” Jeffries said.
According to the evidence obtained by the House, Mulvaney played a “crucial” role in planning and executing the Ukraine scheme and carrying out the coverup, Jeffries said.
“President Trump’s complete and total obstruction makes Richard Nixon look like a choir boy,” he added.
White House voices support for changes to McConnell resolution
Eric Ueland, the White House director of legislative affairs, voiced support for the proposed changes to McConnell’s resolution governing the Senate trial.
“Yes, we’re very comfortable with the construct that’s been presented and we’re hopeful that it will be adopted as quickly as possible so we can get underway as quickly as possible ... so he can be acquitted as quickly as possible,” Ueland told reporters at the Capitol on Tuesday night.
Senate rejects Democratic measure to subpoena OMB emails
On a 53-to-47 vote, the Senate on Tuesday rejected Schumer’s third amendment.
The motion would have allowed the Senate to obtain Office of Management and Budget documents regarding the suspension of military aid to Ukraine.
The chamber is now in the midst of a dinnertime recess.
‘Lawyer lawsuits’ or ‘FOIA lawsuits’? Sekulow’s remarks prompt head-scratching
At one point in Tuesday’s proceedings, Jay Sekulow, an outside attorney for Trump, became indignant at what he described as a mention of “lawyer lawsuits” by Democrats.
“And by the way — lawyer lawsuits?” Sekulow scoffed. “Lawyer lawsuits? We’re talking about the impeachment of a president of the United States, duly elected, and the members, the managers are complaining about lawyer lawsuits? ... It’s disrespecting the Constitution of the United States to even say that in this chamber. Lawyer lawsuits!”
Schiff responded that he wasn’t quite sure what Sekulow was referencing, but that the Trump administration had repeatedly sought to thwart Democratic efforts in court to compel the inclusion of key witnesses and documents.
“Mr. Sekulow says something about ‘lawyer lawsuits,’” Schiff said. “Now, I have to confess, I wasn’t completely following the argument, but something about ‘lawyer lawsuits.’ ... [The Trump administration] is in court saying you can’t have lawyer lawsuits. So that argument cannot be made in both directions.”
The exchange prompted some to speculate that Sekulow may have misheard Rep. Val Demings’s (D-Fla.) repeated mentions of “FOIA lawsuits,” or Freedom of Information Act lawsuits, during her opening remarks.
Senators begin moving during manager’s remarks
More than a dozen senators left their seats or the Senate floor in the 6 o’clock hour as Crow argued in support of an amendment to subpoena documents from OMB.
After Schumer offered the amendment, McConnell said a 30-minute dinner break would have to wait until after debate and a vote.
At that point, senators on both sides of the aisle took the opportunity to stretch their legs or use the restroom, even as Crow spoke. The movement was notable, as senators are admonished to remain seated and silent during the proceedings and followed this practice throughout the day.
Among the senators who left their seats were Republicans Roy Blunt (Mo.), Shelley Moore Capito (W.Va.), Bill Cassidy (La.), Kevin Cramer (N.D.), Jerry Moran (Kan.), David Perdue (Ga.), Rob Portman (Ohio), Pat Roberts (Kan.), Ben Sasse (Neb.) and Todd C. Young (Ind.) and Democrats Klobuchar, Michael F. Bennet (Colo.), Ben Cardin (Md.), Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.), Mark R. Warner (Va.) and Ron Wyden (Ore.).
Crow references his military service in making case to subpoena OMB documents
Crow, a former Army Ranger who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, outlined the Democratic case for subpoenaing documents from the Office of Management and Budget.
The Colorado Democrat referenced his own military service — and the “memories that are seared in my brain” from that time — as he argued that Trump’s effort to withhold the aid from Ukraine matters.
“One of those memories was scavenging scrap metal on the streets of Baghdad in the summer of 2003 — that we had to bolt onto the side of our trucks because we had no armor to protect against roadside bombs,” Crow said. “So when we talk about troops not getting the equipment that they need when they need it, it’s personal to me.”
Crow pointed to several reported excerpts from the OMB emails, noting that they offer “stark examples of the chaos and confusion that the president’s scheme set off across our government.”
“The Senate has an opportunity to obtain and review the full record that could further demonstrate how and why the president was holding the aid,” he said.
Tick, tock, tap, tap — Timekeeping in silence
About five and a half hours into the impeachment trial, many senators were showing some serious signs of wear – despite having already taken two breaks. And one who appeared to doze off during the proceedings took it upon himself afterward to try to enforce the time.
Schiff had 13 minutes on the clock when he started his last argument in favor of an amendment to subpoena the State Department for outstanding documents. With about two minutes to go, his deputy investigations director held up a sign that read “2,” signaling that he should wrap up.
And then Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) started tapping on his wristwatch.
While it was not clear whether Risch was trying to get the attention of Schiff or Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., in the silent room, the incessant “tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap” was the loudest thing other than Schiff’s voice.
Lawmakers, when they are allowed to speak, are fond of reminding their colleagues when they have gone over their allotted time — and Risch in particular is used to being a timekeeper, as he is the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and can enforce the clock on his committee colleagues.
When his tapping didn’t work after about 30 seconds, Risch desisted — but still sat there with his watch-arm raised, emphatically staring at his wrist, the impeachment equivalent of sign language.
About another 30 seconds later, Risch began tapping again — and this time, Roberts seemed to better agree with his timekeeping, hitting his gavel to end Schiff’s speech.
Senate rejects Democratic measure to subpoena State Department documents and records
On a 53-to-47 vote, the Senate on Tuesday rejected Schumer’s second amendment.
The amendment would have allowed the Senate to obtain State Department documents and records that the Trump administration refused to provide during the House impeachment probe of Trump and his dealing with Ukraine.
The Republican majority successfully moved to block Schumer’s measure.
Democrats will offer motion to subpoena OMB documents related to Ukraine aid
Schumer’s third amendment Tuesday will be a motion to have the Senate subpoena Office of Management and Budget documents regarding the suspension of military aid to Ukraine.
In a statement, Schumer’s office said the OMB “is in possession of highly relevant records and communications related to the charges against the president.”
Earlier this month, Just Security’s Kate Brannen reported on unredacted emails showing that OMB and the Defense Department discussed the withholding of aid to Ukraine.
In one email on Aug. 30, for instance, Michael Duffey, OMB’s associate national security programs director, wrote that there was “clear direction from POTUS to continue to hold,” using an acronym for the president of the United States.
Senator blasts ‘draconian’ restrictions on journalists covering impeachment trial
Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) on Tuesday voiced his “extreme concern and discomfort” about restrictions placed on members of the press covering the impeachment trial of Trump, which reporters say has already inhibited their ability to question senators.
In the letter addressed to Senate Sergeant at Arms Michael Stenger, who imposed the new security requirements, Heinrich said, “to place limitations on the press is to place limitations on the American people’s ability to learn about the character and conduct of their elected leaders.”
Read more here.
Slumber claims its first victim — James Risch
The Democratic case to subpoena the State Department didn’t make much of an impression on one key Republican senator, James E. Risch of Idaho, who appeared to be asleep for a significant portion of it.
Shortly after 5:30 p.m., Risch — chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which oversees the State Department — could be seen from the press gallery motionless, with his eyes closed and head slumped against his right hand.
Risch was the first lawmaker seen by Washington Post reporters to clearly have fallen asleep, about four hours after the trial proceedings began Tuesday.
When Demings cued up video of testimony from U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, Risch briefly perked up, but quickly closed his eyes again.
The apparent snooze ended about 15 minutes later, at 5:52 p.m., after Demings summarized another video clip.
‘The president is engaged in this coverup because he is guilty and he knows it,’ Demings says
Demings, an impeachment manager and former police officer, reviewed the two articles facing Trump, noting that the president wanted Ukraine to announce “investigations that everyone in this chamber knows to be bogus.”
“The president didn’t even care if an investigation was actually conducted, just that it was announced,” Demings said. “Why? Because this was for his own personal and political benefit.”
On the second article, Demings said that Trump ordered “his entire administration — every office, every agency, every official — to defy every subpoena served in the House impeachment inquiry.”
“President Trump did not take these extreme steps to hide evidence of his innocence or to protect the institution of the presidency,” she said. “As a career law enforcement officer, I have never seen anyone take such extreme steps to hide evidence allegedly proving his innocence, and I do not find that here today. The president is engaged in this coverup because he is guilty and he knows it.”
Demings also outlined some of the evidence Democrats have used to make their case against Trump, pointing to the statements of several administration officials and other associates of the president.
CNBC, Fox Business Network to air interviews with Trump on Wednesday
Trump will sit for two TV interviews Wednesday morning at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Both CNBC and Fox Business Network are expected to air their interviews with Trump in the 5 a.m. hour.
Senators aren’t allowed anything but water, milk during floor proceedings
Not only are those taking part in Trump’s impeachment trial barred from speaking or having their phones during the hours and hours of debate, they also face strict rules on what beverages they’re allowed to drink in the chamber.
One could imagine, then, that on the short breaks they’re given, many run straight for the coffee machine.
According to Riddick’s Senate Procedure — a lengthy tome that one former senator described as “the nearest thing to the Bible that the Senate has” — those in the Senate chamber may drink only water or milk.
Water has long been allowed, but the milk precedent was set in 1966, the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call reported. No milk is allowed in the House, according to a Washingtonian report.
The rules on what lawmakers are allowed to drink are strictly enforced on both sides of the Capitol: In 2018, freshman Rep. Conor Lamb (D-Pa.) was stopped by a guard when he tried to walk onto the House floor while holding a cup of coffee.
After hours of listening, senators get a say
Senators took the first votes of the Trump impeachment trial from their seats, rising at the clerk’s call of their name to vote “aye” or “nay.” The vote came shortly after 4:30 p.m., about three hours after debate began, and proceeded along strict party lines.
Those two words are likely to be the only words most senators are permitted to say on the record during the trial.
The vote, on a motion to table a Democratic subpoena request, came after arguments from Democratic managers Zoe Lofgren and Schiff, rebutted by Deputy White House Counsel Patrick Philbin.
Watching from the wings of the House floor were three members of the Trump advocacy team, GOP Reps. Louie Gohmert (Tex.), Mark Meadows (N.C.) and Lee Zeldin (N.Y.).
Senate rejects Democratic effort to subpoena White House for Ukraine documents
On a 53 to 47 vote, the Senate on Tuesday rejected an amendment from Schumer focused on Mulvaney and any “documents, communications and other records” kept by the White House, including the National Security Council.
The White House had stonewalled the House impeachment probe, denying access to documents and witnesses.
After it was voted down, the Senate moved on to debate Schumer’s second amendment requesting relevant documents and records kept by the State Department.
Lofgren argues for subpoenaing documents now
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), the only one of the House managers to have also played a role in the impeachment proceedings against Presidents Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton, was the first to take over the podium from lead manager Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), to make the case for why the Senate should issue subpoenas for additional documents from the White House.
Lofgren pleaded the bulk of her case to the Republican side of the room, turning her body in varying degrees to the right side where the GOP sits, as she argued — sometimes sternly, sometimes smiling — that it was vital that the Senate not only adopt a motion to subpoena White House documents, but that “it should be adopted now.”
Lofgren pointed out to senators that the White House was sitting on at least hundreds of pages of materials pertaining to communications with the Ukrainians, the decision to withhold military aid, and the concerns that several staffers at the National Security Council reported to lawyers there — all of which, she stressed, were relevant to the current case.
She played video from the testimony of various witnesses from the House’s impeachment inquiry, including that of NSC employee Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman and Vice President Pence staffer Jennifer Williams, who reported that they submitted notes about discrepancies in the transcript of Trump’s July 25 call, and former NSC senior Russia and Europe director Fiona Hill, who spoke with an NSC lawyer — pointing out those materials had not been shared with Congress.
“Attorney-client privilege cannot shield information about misconduct,” Lofgren argued, stressing that the “most important” information would be held at the White House — and that senators should see it, regardless of what it might say.
This isn’t Lofgren’s first turn on the floor managing an impeachment case: In 2010, she and Schiff were managers in the impeachment of ousted Judge Thomas Porteous.
Former senator Jeff Flake, actress Alyssa Milano watching trial
Former Arizona Republican senator Jeff Flake was in the VIP section of the public gallery, sitting in the front row for about 20 minutes, watching the proceedings.
Flake, who retired from the Senate as one of Trump’s fiercest critics, sat on the side of the gallery overlooking his former Republican friends.
In late December, Flake wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post in which he called on his former GOP colleagues to ask themselves what they would have said if President Barack Obama engaged in the same behavior as Trump.
“I know the answer to that question with certainty, and so do you,” Flake wrote on Dec. 20. “You would have understood with striking clarity the threat it posed, and you would have known exactly what to do.”
Sitting about five seats away from Flake, also in the front row VIP section, was Alyssa Milano. Milano, an activist, also attended the confirmation hearings of Brett M. Kavanaugh.
Milano tweeted four hours ago a photo of her ticket to the gallery, writing, “I’m in the Senate Chamber for the removal trial. This is what democracy looks like. They’re taking my phone. I’ll update later.”
Warm greetings from Republicans for Trump’s legal team
Senate Republicans made special efforts to greet members of Trump’s legal team during a brief recess Tuesday afternoon, highlighting the close ties between the defense and members of the GOP conference.
As McConnell called the break, the House impeachment managers quickly left the floor. But Trump’s lawyers lingered as Republican senators approached them for handshakes and conversation.
Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) made an almost complete circuit around the table, greeting each member of the team, as McConnell spoke to Cipollone.
Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) smiled as he approached Bondi, the former attorney general of Florida.
Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) spoke to Sekulow.
Sens. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), John Barasso (R-Wyo.) and Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) also spoke to members of Trump’s team.
As the lawyers left the floor, several groups of senators had gathered to debrief.
Near the center of the chamber, Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and an animated James E. Risch (R-Idaho) spoke for several minutes.
This group drew special attention from a handful of reporters still in the gallery, given the special role Collins, Murkowski and Alexander could play in the debate over witness testimony. But none of their conversation was audible to the press.
Trump ally Rep. Louie Gohmert visits Senate trial
Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Tex.) might not have been named to Trump’s anti-impeachment team — but he crossed the Capitol anyway to visit the trial.
As Cipollone delivered his remarks, Gohmert entered the back of the Senate chamber through the Republican cloakroom and was guided to a seat on the perimeter, where he watched the proceedings alone and in silence.
Gohmert was a vocal defender of the president during the impeachment process in the House, delivering some of the inquiry’s most provocative comments.
The White House announced Monday that eight of Gohmert’s colleagues would assist Trump’s legal team during the Senate trial — Reps. Douglas A. Collins (R-Ga.), Mike Johnson (R-La.), Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz.), Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), John Ratcliffe (R-Tex.), Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) and Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.).
Schiff says Trump lawyer ‘mistaken’ on the facts
The trial moved to two hours of debate on Schumer’s amendment, which would have the Senate subpoena White House documents related to the charges against Trump.
Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.), one of the House impeachment managers, took the floor first. He began by rebutting some of the claims made by the president’s lawyers, including Cipollone’s assertion that Republicans were not allowed in the closed-door impeachment depositions.
“Every Republican on the three investigative committees” was allowed to participate, Schiff said, calling Cippolone “mistaken” on the matter.
Schiff also said he expects Republicans to make more attacks on himself and other managers such as House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) in an effort to distract from the issues at hand.
“You’ll hear more of that,” Schiff said. “I’m not going to do them dignity of responding to them.”
He also used a vulgarity to describe the McConnell resolution.
“We don’t want to talk about how — pardon the expression — assbackwards it is to have a trial and then ask for witnesses, and so we’ll attack the House managers, because maybe we can distract you for a moment from what’s before you,” he said, delivering a paraphrase of his view of the GOP argument.
Cipollone takes a dig at some Democratic senators running for president
Cipollone took a dig at the 2020 candidates forced to step off the campaign trail to act as jurors in the Senate trial.
“Some of you are upset because you should be in Iowa right now,” he said.
Several senators cast glances toward Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). He watched Cipollone’s remarks with his elbows on the arms of his chair, hands folded in front of his face, peering out from above what looked like fists. Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr. (D-Pa.) threw a knowing look at Klobuchar, his neighbor. She looked back, then resumed taking notes.
On Twitter, Klobuchar shot back: “No. This is my constitutional duty. And I can do two things at once.”
Sanders (I-Vt.) told reporters before walking into the Senate chambers before the trial began that he is balancing campaigning and impeachment duties “with much difficulty.”
“We have a great group of volunteers in Iowa, New Hampshire knocking on doors in very, very cold weather and we’re going to be dependent on them,” Sanders said. “I have to do my constitutional responsibility and I’m here.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) had few words as she arrived on Capitol Hill for the first day of debate in the Senate trial.
“The people of America want us to get rid of this president, and Mitch McConnell is trying to rig the rules so that Donald Trump can stay in office — this is wrong,” Warren said, before walking briskly down a hallway.
Cipollone blasts Schiff for not letting courts weigh in on subpoenas
Cipollone called out House Democrats, and Schiff in particular, for avoiding a court decision on a key witness in the impeachment inquiry. Cipollone was referring to a closely watched case involving a House subpoena for Charles Kupperman, a former national security aide to Trump and deputy to former national security adviser, John Bolton.
Kupperman filed a novel lawsuit asking a federal judge in D.C. to decide whether he should comply with the subpoena or follow White House orders to defy it. House lawyers then made a strategic decision in November to withdraw the subpoena and asked the judge to dismiss the case.
“They come here and ask you to do the work that they refused to do for themselves,” Cipollone said in response to Schiff’s call for the Senate to allow additional witness testimony. “They withdrew the subpoena. They evaded a decision.”
House Democrats, concerned about likely delay from a lengthy judicial process, decided instead to move forward with an impeachment vote, and to look to the outcome of a separate case involving former White House counsel Donald McGahn.
A federal appeals court in Washington could rule at any time on whether McGahn must comply with a Congressional subpoena.
In Kupperman’s case, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon dismissed the lawsuit after both the Justice Department and the House agreed that the legal dispute was no longer a live issue.
Republicans take aim at Schiff
The president’s lawyers and the top Republican in the House took aim at Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.), the lead impeachment manager, early in Tuesday’s proceedings, previewing their party’s line of attack during the trial.
Cipollone incorrectly claimed that Schiff did not allow Republicans into the closed-door impeachment depositions that were held late last year, even though lawmakers of both parties attended the depositions.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) also blasted Schiff, tweeting a video of himself describing the California Democrat as “a modern-day Joe McCarthy.”
Schiff has been a favorite target of Trump, who has sharply criticized the House Intelligence Committee chairman for delivering a parody of his phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Inside the chamber, lots of note-taking
Most senators are taking notes, and each has their own favored way of doing it. Some senators have opted for yellow pads of paper to jot down their notes — this is the favored method of Sens. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.)
Others, such as Sens. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) were taking notes in bound books instead.
Reporters can only observe about two-thirds of the senators from any part of the press gallery. Of those visible, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) chose the tiniest note-taking medium: a series of official-looking bookmark-style cards, each about three inches wide.
But notebooks aren’t the only things covering the senators’ desks: Several also appear to have brought reference materials with them, most in three-ring binders.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) had the fattest binder in view, while Senate leaders McConnell and Schumer had virtually nothing on their desks.
Trump attorney incorrectly claims Mueller report found ‘no obstruction’
Jay Sekulow, an outside attorney for Trump, began his floor remarks with several inaccurate statements.
Sekulow incorrectly claimed that the report issued last year by former special counsel Robert S. Mueller III found “no obstruction” — when in actuality, Mueller declined to weigh in on the question of whether Trump obstructed justice, citing long-standing Justice Department precedent.
Sekulow also claimed that the White House was not allowed to have a counsel present during the impeachment hearings spearheaded by the House Judiciary Committee. In fact, the White House was allowed to participate but declined to do so.
Schiff attempts to use Trump’s own words against him
As he continued a lengthy argument against McConnell’s resolution, Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.), the lead impeachment manager, showed video clips of Trump in an attempt to turn the president’s own words against him.
In one clip shown to senators, Trump said that he would “love” to have several top officials testify, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney.
“The bluster of wanting these witnesses to testify is over,” Schiff said.
He also showed a clip of Trump saying that Article II of the Constitution gives him “the right to do whatever I want as president.”
That was evidence, Schiff suggested, of Trump’s mind-set when it comes to preventing lawmakers from seeing documents relevant to his conduct toward Ukraine.
“The trial should not reward the president’s obstruction,” Schiff said.
Amid his arguments against the resolution, Schiff also pressed the substance of the case against Trump, saying it was a grave abuse of power to have withheld congressionally approved military aid to Ukraine.
Trump sends first tweet since trial got underway
About 45 minutes after the Senate trial began, Trump sent out a simple tweet in all caps: “READ THE TRANSCRIPTS!”
Trump has argued since the early days of the impeachment probe that the transcript of his July 25 call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky absolves him of wrongdoing because he didn’t explicitly ask for a quid pro quo when he asked for an investigation into the Bidens.
Trump is at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where it is after 8 p.m.
Schiff says vote on organizing resolution is most important facing Senate
Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.), the lead House impeachment manager, argued against McConnell’s organizing resolution, saying it needs to be changed to ensure that House managers can obtain documents relevant to Trump’s conduct toward Ukraine as well as relevant witnesses.
In his remarks, Schiff said the vote on the resolution would be even more important than the vote senators will take on Trump’s guilt.
“I believe the most important decision in this case is the one you’ll make today,” he said. “Will the president and the American people get a fair trial?”
Under McConnell’s resolution, decisions about documents and witnesses would be put off until after House managers and Trump’s lawyers make opening arguments and senators have an opportunity to ask questions of both sides.
Schiff said that order makes no sense.
Earlier in his remarks, Schiff said the impeachment charges against Trump are the most serious brought against any president.
If the House proves its case, he said, senators will have to answer this question: “Does the commission of these high crimes and misdemeanors require the conviction and removal of the president?”
“We believe it does,” he added.
Resolution changed to relax timetable, ease admission of evidence
McConnell’s resolution setting terms for the trial was changed to relax the timetable for arguments and ease the admission of evidence, according to two Republican aides.
The 24 hours of arguments from impeachment managers and the White House will now take place over three days instead of two, and evidence will be automatically admitted unless someone objects, the aides said.
Sen. Susan Collins (Maine), a pivotal swing Republican vote on procedural matters, had raised concerns privately about both the evidence provisions and the truncated number of days that both the House impeachment managers and the president’s lawyers would have to argue their cases.
Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) was also among the Republican senators who argued during a party lunch Tuesday that the opening arguments should be stretched out over three days if it were to mirror the Clinton trial rules.
White House counsel argues that Trump ‘has done absolutely nothing wrong’
In a brief opening statement, Cipollone cast the impeachment trial as “a fair process” and urged senators to support McConnell’s resolution.
“We believe that once you hear those initial presentations, the only conclusion will be that the president has done absolutely nothing wrong and that these articles of impeachment do not begin to approach the standard required by the Constitution, and in fact they themselves will establish nothing beyond those articles,” Cipollone said.
“It is long past time to start this proceeding, and we are here today to do it,” he added, accusing Democrats of having delayed sending the articles to the Senate for 33 days.
Cipollone made no mention of the letter sent earlier Tuesday in which the House impeachment managers suggested that he might have a conflict that should keep him from representing Trump in the trial.
Inside the Senate chamber, a bitter trial begins with friendly greetings
The trial, preceded by moments of extreme partisan rancor, kicked off with some small gestures of comity.
Members of the House prosecution team, including lawyers Norm Eisen, Barry Berke and Daniel Goldman, as well as House general counsel Doug Letter, crossed the Senate well to greet their trial counterparts on the White House prosecution team, led by Cipollone and Sekulow.
The pleasantries extended, to a point, to the elected officials in the room. Cipollone and Sekulow heartily greeted Republican members of the Senate, including McConnell and other members of the GOP leadership team. And Cipollone, at one point, met eyes with Schumer and offered a brief greeting.
However, the House managers — including lead prosecutor Adam Schiff — stayed largely on their side of the well, milling around the cramped arc-shaped table mirrored across the aisle for the White House team.
About 20 minutes after the proceedings were set to begin, ushers brought a half-full Senate gallery to its feet as Roberts entered to begin the proceedings.
“The Senate will convene as a court of impeachment,” he said, and the senators took their seats for a long afternoon, evening, and possibly late night of debate.
Roberts swears in Sen. Inhofe
Roberts, who is presiding over the Senate trial, began Tuesday’s proceedings by swearing in Sen. James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.).
Inhofe missed last week’s swearing-in because he was in Oklahoma to be with a family member facing a medical issue.
“Do you solemnly swear that in all things appertaining to the impeachment of Donald John Trump, president of the United States, now pending, you will do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws, so help you God?” Roberts asked.
“I do,” Inhofe replied.
White House dismisses concerns about Cipollone
The White House dismissed concerns raised Tuesday by House impeachment managers about Cipollone representing Trump in the Senate trial given that he witnessed some of the conduct at issue.
“The Democrats are an utter joke — they have no case, and this latest political stunt proves it,” said White House spokesman Hogan Gidley.
In a letter earlier Tuesday, the managers said that Cipollone should disclose “all facts and information as to which you have firsthand knowledge that will be at issue in connection with evidence you present or arguments you make in your role as the President’s legal advocate.”
“The idea that the counsel to the president has to turn over protected documents and confidential information is ludicrous, and to imply he can’t represent the president of the United States in an impeachment proceeding is completely absurd,” Gidley said.
Schumer takes aim at McConnell timeline, media restrictions
In floor remarks Tuesday afternoon, Schumer sharply criticized the restrictions on reporters covering the Senate proceedings, contending that while some may not want the events of the trial to become public, “we do.”
“The press is here to inform the American people about these pivotal events in American history,” Schumer said.
He reiterated that Democrats will put forward amendments and took aim at McConnell for pushing an expedited timeline for the trial that Schumer said “will result in a rushed trial with little evidence in the dark of night — literally in the dark of night.”
“We are staring down an erosion of the sacred democratic principles for which our founders fought a bloody war of independence. … The McConnell rules seem to be designed by President Trump for President Trump,” the Senate minority leader said. “It asks the Senate to rush through as fast as possible and makes getting evidence as hard as possible.”
McConnell defends organizing resolution as ‘straightforward’
In remarks on the Senate floor before the trial resumed, McConnell defended his organizing resolution as “straightforward” and “imminently fair” and said he would resist any amendments.
He chided House Democrats for “agitating” to hear additional witnesses in the Senate trial, arguing that they could have sought through the courts to compel them to testify in the House impeachment proceedings.
“Nobody will dictate procedure to United States senators,” McConnell said.
McConnell reiterated his view that senators should not decide about hearing witnesses and admitting documents until after they have heard opening arguments from the House impeachment managers and Trump’s lawyers, and have had an opportunity to ask questions of both sides.
“The Senate will decide those questions later in the trial,” McConnell said.
House Democrats respond to Trump’s impeachment trial brief
In a 32-page response, House Democrats dismissed Trump’s impeachment trial brief, arguing that the president’s filing is “heavy on rhetoric and procedural grievances, but entirely lacks a legitimate defense of his misconduct.”
“It is clear from his response that President Trump would rather discuss anything other than what he actually did,” the House impeachment managers wrote in their response.
Trump’s “view that he cannot be held accountable, except in an election he seeks to fix in his favor,” underscores the need for the Senate to remove him from office, the managers wrote.
They argued that a failure to convict the president would have dire consequences for democratic governance.
“If the Senate does not convict and remove President Trump, he will have succeeded in placing himself above the law,” they wrote. “Each Senator should set aside partisanship and politics and hold President Trump accountable to protect our national security and democracy.”
Cruz says questions about Cipollone’s representation of Trump are ‘absurd’
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) pushed back Tuesday on concerns raised by House managers about Cipollone serving as a Trump attorney during the impeachment trial given that he had witnessed some of the conduct at issue.
The White House counsel works for the office of the president and is not one of Trump’s personal attorneys.
“Democrats’ opening salvo in impeachment: they demand Trump get rid of his lawyer, Pat Cipollone,” Cruz said in the first of several tweets. “Absurd request. Unlike the House, the Senate will have a FAIR trial. That means we won’t deny the President his lawyer ON THE DAY the trial starts. The Sixth Amendment provides the accused the right ‘to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.’”
Top Senate Republican opposes private deliberations over Senate rules
Amid the partisan uproar over the trial rules proposed Monday by McConnell, senators might never actually debate them. That’s because they can’t, under Senate rules for impeachment trials, unless the Senate votes to deliberate in closed session.
A top Senate Republican, GOP Conference Chairman John Barrasso (Wyo.), said Tuesday that he would oppose any such move — signaling that Republicans are not willing to negotiate any changes to the McConnell rules.
“I have no interest at all in going into private session,” he said in a brief interview, adding that he thought Schumer would use any closed session to further the Democratic “coverup” narrative. “Senator Schumer had plenty of chances to negotiate in the last month and a half. … He had plenty of time, refused to do it, and it doesn’t sound like he is interested at all in coming to some fair and open process.”
Going into a closed session would mean the cameras would go off and the press would be barred. It could occur if a partisan fight over changing the resolution drafted by McConnell potentially drags on late into the night and senators need to discuss in private how to resolve the impasse, according to Democratic and Republican aides.
Schumer is planning on offering amendments to the resolution, but Democrats have not indicated exactly how many votes they would try to force.
When the Senate convenes Tuesday afternoon, the arguments over the rules will be presented by Trump’s lawyers and the House impeachment managers. Senators are required to remain silent.
Schumer says he will offer amendments to rules resolution
Schumer said he will offer amendments to the resolution on trial rules proposed by McConnell “to fix its many flaws.”
Speaking at a news conference with fellow Democrats, the Senate minority leader said he will start with an amendment to subpoena documents regarding Trump’s conduct toward Ukraine and subsequent amendments on calling witnesses.
He said the documents are equally important as the witnesses and could shed light on the circumstances under which military aid to Ukraine was withheld.
“No one can argue that these documents are not directly related to the charges against President Trump,” Schumer said.
With his amendments, Republicans will face a choice “right off the bat,” he said.
“This is a historic moment,” he said. “The eyes of America are watching. Republican senators must rise to the occasion.”
Most Americans want witnesses called, poll finds
Most Americans want the Senate to call witnesses, but they are split on whether White House officials should be compelled to testify.
More than 75 percent of those polled by Monmouth University support the calling of witnesses, but only 51 percent say administration officials who defied subpoenas to testify in the House hearings should be forced to testify in the Senate, and even fewer — 40 percent — say Trump should be compelled to appear.
Americans are also split over whether the House managers should be allowed to present new evidence during the trial, with a slight majority of 57 percent supporting doing so, and 34 percent saying their arguments should be limited to what was discovered in their initial probe.
Despite Trump’s impeachment, his approval ratings have remained stagnant, hovering at 40 to 44 percent in Monmouth’s polling over the past year. This most recent poll has him at 43 percent.
McConnell rules make fair trial ‘impossible,’ Schiff says
Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.), the House Intelligence Committee chairman and lead impeachment manager, continued the Democratic broadside against proposed Senate rules governing the impeachment trial in remarks to reporters Tuesday.
The rules McConnell released Monday evening and a lack of witnesses would make it “impossible to have a fair trial,” Schiff said. “Not just difficult, but impossible.”
Flanked by the six other impeachment managers, Schiff said the proposed rules do not live up to McConnell’s own standard of following the precedent established in the 1999 impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton.
While the House record was incorporated into the Clinton trial at its outset, under McConnell’s proposal for the Trump trial, the Senate must vote to include it after opening arguments — a “profound departure” from the Clinton precedent, Schiff said.
“We can see why this resolution was kept from us and the American people” until late Monday, Schiff said. “This is nothing like the process in the Clinton trial.”
Cornyn suggests Senate Democrats seeking presidency want a speedy trial as well
When it comes to Trump’s trial, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) suggested Tuesday that some Democratic presidential candidates may join Republicans in seeking “to get it done as quickly as possible.”
Four senators running for the Democratic nomination are sitting as jurors in the trial, meaning their time on the campaign trail will be largely curtailed ahead of the first nominating contests in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Cornyn made his comments during an interview on Fox News in which he also pushed back on claims by Democrats that a speedy trial amounts to a coverup of Trump’s conduct.
“It strikes me that they’re a little nervous,” Cornyn said.
Democrats increase pressure on Sen. Susan Collins
Democrats intent on unseating Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine want to make the Senate impeachment trial as much an indictment of her as it is of Trump.
With the trial beginning in earnest Tuesday, an activist group plans to broadcast videos of Collins on a billboard truck outside the Capitol contrasting her comments during the 1999 Clinton impeachment trial and today, particularly regarding whether to call witnesses.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee created a website called “What Changed Susan?” to highlight her comments in favor of needing more evidence then vs. now.
Collins, a moderate Republican in a state that leans Democratic, is in the most difficult reelection battle of her career. Maine is a state Republicans are eager to hold as they defend seats in Arizona, Colorado and North Carolina, and it’s one Democrats would need to flip to take over the Senate.
Read more here.
House managers question whether Cipollone should represent Trump
In a letter Tuesday to Cipollone, the House impeachment managers suggested he may have a conflict that should keep him from representing Trump in the Senate trial.
The House managers noted several instances in which it appeared that Cipollone was aware of Trump’s conduct toward Ukraine for which the president has been impeached.
“In light of your extensive knowledge of these key events, your personal representation of President Trump threatens to undermine the integrity of the pending trial,” the managers said. “You may be a material witness to the charges against President Trump even though you are also his advocate.”
The managers, led by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), said that at a minimum, Cipollone should disclose “all facts and information as to which you have firsthand knowledge that will be at issue in connection with evidence you present or arguments you make in your role as the President’s legal advocate.”
Ratcliffe predicts no witnesses in Senate trial
Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Tex.), one of the House members aiding Trump’s legal team, predicted Tuesday that there will be no witnesses in the Senate trial.
Ratcliffe argued during an appearance on Fox News that the House impeachment proceedings were so flawed that new witnesses would not “inject fairness” into the process.
“I don’t think there are going to be any witnesses called,” Ratcliffe said. “The Senate isn’t going to be able to fix what happened in the House.”
Ratcliffe also did not rule out that he and other House members helping Trump’s legal team could make arguments on the floor. While the plan is for them not to appear, “you never know what’s going to happen during a trial,” he said.
In Davos, Trump dismisses impeachment as ‘a hoax’
After delivering a speech to the gathering, Trump was holding a bilateral meeting with the new European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, when a reporter shouted a question about a potential motion to dismiss in the impeachment trial.
“That whole thing is a hoax,” Trump replied. “It goes nowhere because nothing happened. The only thing we’ve done is a great job. … That whole thing is a total hoax, so I’m sure it’s going to work out fine.”
House impeachment managers urge Senate to reject McConnell rules
The seven House impeachment managers issued a statement Tuesday calling on the Senate to reject McConnell’s proposed trial rules, saying it could produce “no trial at all.”
“The McConnell Resolution goes so far as to suggest it may not even allow the evidence gathered by the House to be admitted,” the statement said. “That is not a fair trial. In fact, it is no trial at all.”
The House managers also decried what they characterized as a “White House-driven and rigged process, with a truncated schedule designed to go late into the night and further conceal the President’s misconduct.”
“There should be a fair trial — fair to the President, yes, but equally important, fair to the American people. Any Senator who wants the same, should reject the McConnell Resolution,” the managers said.
The managers are Reps. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.), Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Val Demings (D-Fla.), Jason Crow (D-Colo.) and Sylvia Garcia (D-Tex.).
Pelosi blasts trial rules as ‘a cover-up’ for Trump
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) blasted McConnell’s proposed resolution on trial rules, saying it calls for an “absurdly compressed schedule” that amounts to “a cover-up for the President.”
“Leader McConnell’s process is deliberately designed to hide the truth from the Senate and from the American people, because he knows that the President’s wrongdoing is indefensible and demands removal,” Pelosi said in a statement. “No jury would be asked to operate on McConnell’s absurdly compressed schedule, and it is obvious that no Senator who votes for it is intending to truly weigh the damning evidence of the President’s attacks on our Constitution.”
Pelosi also accused McConnell of repeatedly lying in recent weeks when he said the rules for the Trump impeachment trial would mirror those for the trial of President Bill Clinton in 1999.
“For weeks, he has insisted that he will adhere to the rules used during the Clinton impeachment trial and that ‘fair is fair’ — but his proposal rejects the need for witnesses and documents during the trial itself,” Pelosi said. “In contrast, for the Clinton trial, witnesses were deposed and the President provided more than 90,000 documents.”
McConnell has proposed decisions about witnesses and documents be put off until after senators hear opening arguments and have an opportunity to present questions to both sides.
Schumer takes issue with compressed opening arguments
Schumer took issue Tuesday with McConnell’s plan for opening arguments to be compressed into two days, asserting that would lead to arguments being presented well into the night, when few Americans are watching.
“His resolution creates a trial that is rushed, with as little evidence as possible and done in the dark of night,” Schumer said during an appearance on MSNBC. “Why are they trying to do things at 2 in the morning? … If their case is so strong, why are they afraid to present it in the light of day?”
More broadly, Schumer accused McConnell of “totally, totally, totally going along with Trump’s coverup, hook, line and sinker.”
He argued that a “farce” of a trial would embolden Trump and future presidents to engage in more misconduct.
“I worry about what this president will do in the next 10 months and what future presidents will do,” Schumer said. “This is very serious stuff, and to not have a fair trial is wrong.”
Senators gird for spirited arguments Tuesday on trial rules
Senators are girding for a spirited arguments from both sides over the rules that will guide Trump’s historic impeachment trial after it resumes at 1 p.m.
McConnell’s organizing resolution, which he circulated late Monday afternoon, offers each side 24 hours to make its opening arguments, starting on Wednesday but compressed into two session days.
Under McConnell’s proposal, senators will be allowed 16 hours to question the opposing sides after House impeachment managers and Trump’s lawyers make their cases.
After that, the sides will debate for a maximum of four hours on whether to consider subpoenaing witnesses or documents at all, followed by a vote on whether to do so. If a majority of senators agree, then there will probably be motions from both sides to call various witnesses, with subsequent votes on issuing subpoenas.
On Tuesday afternoon, Schumer is expected to move to amend the rule package to allow for witnesses and documents at the front end of the trial. On Monday, he called McConnell’s proposal “a national disgrace.”
A simple majority of senators — 51 votes — is needed to approve the resolution and other motions in the Republican-controlled Chamber.
Schiff says calling Hunter Biden would be ‘illegitimate abuse of the trial’
Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.), one of the seven House impeachment managers, pushed back in an interview broadcast Tuesday against Republicans’ suggestions that Hunter Biden should be called as a witness in the impeachment trial.
Some GOP senators have suggested if Democrats get to call witnesses they want — including former national security adviser John Bolton and acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney — Republicans should be able to call the Bidens. Hunter Biden served on the board of a Ukrainian energy company while his father was vice president.
“Hunter Biden … can’t tell us anything about whether the president withheld military aid, whether he withheld that aid to coerce Ukraine to conduct political investigations or why he wouldn’t meet with the president of Ukraine,” Schiff told CBS. “The only purpose in putting him on their list is they wish to trade material witnesses like Mr. Bolton and Mulvaney and others for other ones that will allow them to continue to attack a political opponent. That’s an illegitimate abuse of the trial.”
Eight House allies to aid Trump legal team
The White House announced late Monday that eight of the president’s most ardent House Republican defenders would join the impeachment team in an adjunct capacity to “help expeditiously end this brazen political vendetta.”
One of them, Rep. Douglas A. Collins (Ga.), went on the offense Tuesday morning against Democrats, claiming their characterization of McConnell’s proposed trial rules as a “coverup” amounts to the “height of a temper tantrum.”
During an appearance on Fox News, Collins also argued that Democrats are primarily interested in imposing “the stain” of impeachment on Trump to aid their fortunes in the November election.
“They’re talking about it more as a political stain,” Collins aid.
The other GOP lawmakers aiding Trump are Reps. Mike Johnson (La.), Jim Jordan (Ohio), Debbie Lesko (Ariz.), Mark Meadows (N.C.), John Ratcliffe (Tex.), Elise Stefanik (N.Y.) and Lee Zeldin (N.Y.).
“Throughout this process, these Members of Congress have provided guidance to the White House team, which was prohibited from participating in the proceedings concocted by Democrats in the House of Representatives,” White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said in a statement.
The House asked Trump to participate, but he declined to have lawyers represent him in impeachment proceedings before the House Judiciary Committee.
Trump trumpets American ‘prosperity’ 4,000 miles from Washington
DAVOS, Switzerland — Trump trumpeted what he called “America’s extraordinary prosperity” on his watch, taking credit for a soaring stock market, low unemployment, and a “blue collar boom” in jobs and income, in a presidential turn on the world stage also meant to make impeachment proceedings in Washington look small.
Trump ran through economic statistics with a salesman’s delivery, crowing about growth during his three years in office that he said bested his predecessors and defied his skeptics.
“America is thriving, America is flourishing, and yes, America is winning again like never before,” Trump told an audience of billionaires, world leaders and figures from academia, the media and the kind of international organizations and think tanks for whom Trump’s “America First” nationalism is anathema.
Trump is making his second visit to the World Economic Forum, which for its 50th anniversary this year is focusing on climate change and sustainability. A sign at the entrance to the press center notes that paint for this year’s installation was made from seaweed, and carpets from recycled fishing nets. The Trump administration is withdrawing the United States from the Paris climate agreement.
Read more here.
Dershowitz calls CNN’s Anderson Cooper and Jeffrey Toobin ‘bullies’ as they question him on flip-flop
Those infuriating framers of the Constitution left behind only the thinnest inkling of their real thoughts about impeachment of the president and said nothing explicit about whether removal from office requires commission of a crime. Almost all the law professors who have researched the matter have concluded that the answer is no — no crime necessary.
It’s been the overwhelming consensus, impeachment scholar Philip C. Bobbitt of Columbia Law School told The Washington Post on Monday. And among those who accepted it was Alan Dershowitz, the fabled defense lawyer, now Harvard Law School professor emeritus and part of Trump’s impeachment defense team.
“It certainly doesn’t have to be a crime,” he said in a television interview in 1998, during the impeachment controversy surrounding President Bill Clinton. “If you have somebody who completely corrupts the office of the president and abuses trust and who poses great danger to our liberty, you don’t need a technical crime.”
Now, he has a different view. “Without a crime, there can be no impeachment,” he said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, foreshadowing the formal brief presented Monday by Trump’s legal team to the Senate.
Then he got into one of his famous verbal brawls on CNN on Monday night. Host Anderson Cooper and the network’s chief legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin, confronted Dershowitz about his changed opinion. The resulting exchange wasn’t pretty.
Read more here.
Poll finds 69 percent of Americans want new witnesses in trial
Sixty-nine percent of Americans say that Trump’s impeachment trial should include testimony from new witnesses who did not testify in the House impeachment inquiry, according to a poll for CNN conducted by SSRS.
Democrats are pressing for testimony from several witnesses who declined to take part in the House proceedings, including former national security adviser John Bolton and acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney.
The CNN poll found that Republicans are divided on that prospect: 48 percent say they want new witnesses, while 44 percent say they do not.