President Trump’s impeachment trial for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress continued today.
The Senate carried out a second day of questions and answers for the House impeachment managers and Trump’s legal team. Tomorrow the Senate expects to call for a vote on whether to allow witnesses and testimony in the trial. A new poll finds eighty percent of Americans support allowing witnesses.
One dramatic moment in today’s trial hearing came when Chief Justice John Roberts refused to read aloud a question from Senator Rand Paul that reportedly named the anonymous whistleblower whose report triggered the investigation. Paul then illegally left the Senate chamber and held a press conference naming the whistleblower.
Today House Impeachment Manager Val Demings answered a Republican question on whether Joe and Hunter Biden should be called as fact witnesses.
Trump’s legal team had been arguing that the House had refused to issue subpoenas during their inquiry a month ago. But when the House impeachment managers refuted that claim, the Trump legal team changed their argument, saying that the subpoenas had been issued, but were not legitimate. Trump’s lawyer Patrick Philbin today, arguing that because house managers played video excerpts of some statements, that no further witnesses are needed.
The video clips that Philbin is referencing were presented during opening arguments, and there was no possibility for senators to question the witnesses whose video clips were presented.
The House impeachment managers also addressed the question of whether Trump calling on the Ukrainian Prime Minister to investigate Joe Biden was a legitimate use of foreign policy, something that Trump legal advisor Alan Dershowitz had claimed yesterday.
Here’s the head of the House Intelligence Committee Adam Schiff.
Here’s Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown from Ohio responding to questions from reporters during a break.
Representative Adam Schiff was also forced to address smears made against members of the House intelligence committee in relation to the trial – here’s Chief Justice John Roberts reading the question from several Republican Senators.
Trump’s legal team has come under fire for their contradictory legal arguments and arguing that Presidents should have the right to push foreign policy objectives to assist their re-election campaigns. Patrick Philbin also argued that it’s ok for Presidents to accept information on their political rivals from foreign governments – an argument that contradicts centuries of legal precedent.
The Senate will convene tomorrow to decide whether to call witnesses, or whether the trial should come to an end.
- KBOO