McConnell tells Republican senators he does not yet have the votes yet to block witnesses

Trump described impeachment as a “deranged partisan crusade” by “do-nothing Democrats” who want to force him from office.

Speaking at a rally in Wildwood, N.J., the president cycled through a number of frequent talking points about Democrats who he argued are “trying to overturn” the results of the 2016 election.

“Which is worse: the impeachment hoax or the witch hunts from Russia?” Trump said to laughs.

“We will make sure that they face another crushing defeat,” he said of Democrats, predicting that Republicans will win back the House in November. “... They can’t win an election, so they’re trying to steal an election.”

Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) called on Bolton to hold a news conference to deliver his perspective for senators.

Speaking on Fox News, Graham addressed Bolton directly, noting that he recommended the former national security adviser to Trump and that he and Bolton have a “very shared worldview.”

“John, you’ve kind of thrown the country into a ditch here,” Graham said. “Just come forward and say what on your mind. Hold a news conference, and we’ll consider what you’ve got to say if you think it’s that important.”

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) emphasized that she has no intention of skipping out on the impeachment trial in favor of the Iowa caucuses on Monday.

“There are some things that are more important than politics,” Warren told PBS. “I took an oath of office to uphold the Constitution. ... I will be there as long as the trial needs me.”

Warren argued that the trial is about “trying to protect the integrity of the election process.”

“Remember exactly what’s been alleged here. What’s been alleged is, this is a president who was trying to interfere with an election, not just something else going on fraudulently, but trying to interfere with an election,” she said.

Trump senior adviser Jared Kushner told CNN that Trump’s impeachment trial is a “nuisance” that “really doesn’t take a lot of our time,” referring to the White House staff.

Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, praised the White House’s legal defense before the Senate and accused Democrats of “going crazy” with their allegations of an impeachable quid pro quo involving Ukraine.

Kushner was on CNN to discuss Trump’s long-awaited Middle East peace plan, which granted Israel most of what it sought. The interview turned to impeachment at the end; Kushner did not speak about the possibility of Bolton testifying.

McConnell indicated in a closed-door meeting with Senate Republicans that he did not yet have enough votes to defeat an effort, expected later this week, to call additional witnesses and evidence in the trial.

His remarks were confirmed by people familiar with them who spoke anonymously to discuss a private meeting. At least four Republicans would have to vote with all Democrats in the key vote later this week to allow witnesses. The vote will be on whether witnesses should be called. Votes on specific witnesses would come later.

Here’s how the next few days will go.

On Wednesday afternoon, the next phase of the trial begins — a chance for senators to ask questions of the prosecution and defense. They’ll spend up to eight hours a day asking questions, alternating between Republican and Democratic senators. Here’s the catch: The Senate rules passed in the 1980s outlining how to do a trial say senators have to ask these questions in writing (to avoid grandstanding). The chief justice will read them out loud.

Thursday will be the same as Wednesday. During the Bill Clinton trial, more than 100 questions were asked.

Trump’s defense team ended an extended opening argument Tuesday in which it laid out that Trump had legitimate reasons to ask Ukraine for specific investigations.

But it spent almost no time vouching for the actual investigations he wanted.

To the extent that Trump’s team tried to argue that the investigations were legitimate, it focused mostly on the idea that Hunter Biden’s employment at a Ukrainian gas company was problematic. It spent considerably less time arguing for the theory that Trump actually raised with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky on their phone call: that then-Vice President Joe Biden sought to help his son by pushing out Ukraine’s top prosecutor.

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), one of a handful of GOP senators Democrats think can be convinced to vote to allow witnesses to testify, told reporters that he won’t make a decision until after the question period.

“I think the path forward is, we’ve got two days of questions and answers. That’ll take Wednesday and Thursday. As far as I’m concerned, after I finish hearing the answers to the questions and consider the record — I’ve heard the arguments of both sides — then I’ll make a decision about whether we need more evidence in terms of documents and witnesses,” Alexander said, leaving a closed-door meeting with GOP senators.