csmonitor--2020-01-14--House votes Wednesday to begin Trump's impeachment trial

The House is preparing to vote Wednesday to send the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump to the Senate to start the historic trial , several people told The Associated Press .
Speaker Nancy Pelosi was meeting privately Tuesday at the Capitol with House Democrats about next steps , ending her blockade almost a month after they voted to impeach Mr. Trump on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress .
Ms. Pelosi suggested the House vote on Wednesday to transmit the charges and name the House managers for the case , according to one Democratic aide @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The action will launch the rare Senate proceeding , only the third presidential impeachment trial in American history , a dramatic endeavor coming amid the backdrop of a politically divided nation and the start of an election year .
The trial would begin in a matter of days .
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is meeting behind closed doors later Tuesday with GOP senators as they negotiate the terms of the trial .
Senate Republicans are signaling they would reject the idea of simply voting to dismiss the articles of impeachment against Mr. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are considering whether to allow a vote on such a motion to dismiss and another to subpoena testimony from new witnesses .
`` I think our members , generally are not interested in the motion to dismiss .
They think both sides need to be heard , '' Senator Roy Blunt , R-Mo.
, who is part of the GOP leadership , said Monday .
Mr. Trump was impeached by the Democratic-led House last month on charges of abuse of power over pushing Ukraine to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden and obstruction of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ impeachment trial starting in a matter of days , senators are still debating the rules of the proceedings .
GOP senators are conferring privately about whether to allow a motion to dismiss the charges against the president or to call additional witnesses for testimony .
Mr. Trump suggested over the weekend he might prefer simply dismissing the charges rather than giving legitimacy to charges from the House , which he considers a `` hoax . ''
It was an extraordinary suggestion , but one being proposed by Trump allies with support from some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But it is clear Mr. McConnell does not have the votes needed from his GOP majority to do that .
Key Republicans , Senator Susan Collins of Maine and Senator Mitt Romney of Utah , said they , too , would oppose a motion to dismiss the charges .
Ms. Collins is leading an effort among some Republicans , including Mr. Romney and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska , to ensure the ground rules include plans to eventually consider voting to call witnesses .
`` My position is that there should be a vote @ @ @ @ @ @ @ called , '' Collins said .
Mr. Romney said he wants to hear from John Bolton , the former national security adviser at the White House , who others have said raised alarms about the alternative foreign policy toward Ukraine being run led by Mr. Trump 's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani .
`` I 've said I 'd like to hear from John Bolton , '' Mr. Romney told reporters Monday .
`` I expect that barring some kind of surprise , I 'll be voting in favor of hearing from witnesses after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been pushing Republicans , who have the majority in the Senate , to consider new testimony , arguing that fresh information has emerged during Pelosi 's monthlong delay in transmitting the charges .
Mr. McConnell is drafting an organizing resolution that will outline the steps ahead .
Approving it will be among the first votes senators take after they are sworn as jurors by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts for the Court of Impeachment .
Republicans control the chamber , 53-47 , and are all but certain to acquit Mr. Trump .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ witnesses who would prolong the trial .
He prefers to model Mr. Trump 's trial partly on the process used for then-President Bill Clinton 's trial in 1999 .
Senators say if witnesses are allowed , some Republicans may also try to subpoena Mr. Biden and his son , Hunter Biden , who served on the board of a gas company in Ukraine while his father was vice president .
Mr. Trump 's lawyer Rudy Giuliani has been pursing theories about the Bidens , but other Republicans are cool to embrace his work @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unfounded .
It takes just 51 votes during the impeachment trial to approve rules or call witnesses .
Just four GOP senators could form a majority with Democrats to insist on new testimony .
It also would take only 51 senators to vote to dismiss the charges against Mr. Trump .
Most Republicans appear willing to go along with Mr. McConnell 's plan to start the trial first then consider witnesses later , rather than upfront , as Democrats want .
Ms. Collins is pushing to have at least the promise of witness @ @ @ @ @ @ @ She and the others appear to be gathering support .
`` I 've been working to make sure that we will have a process that we can take a vote on whether or not we need additional information , and yes , that would include witnesses , '' Ms. Murkowski told reporters .
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told reporters the House vote might come Wednesday .
`` Could be , '' he said .
This story was reported by the Associated Press .
Associated Press writers Matthew Daly , Andrew Taylor , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .

Lisa Mascaro, Alan Fram, Mary Clare Jalonick, and Laurie Kellman

The House is preparing to vote Wednesday to send the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump to the Senate to start the historic trial, several people told The Associated Press.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi was meeting privately Tuesday at the Capitol with House Democrats about next steps, ending her blockade almost a month after they voted to impeach Mr. Trump on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
Ms. Pelosi suggested the House vote on Wednesday to transmit the charges and name the House managers for the case, according to one Democratic aide unauthorized to discuss the closed-door meeting.
The action will launch the rare Senate proceeding, only the third presidential impeachment trial in American history, a dramatic endeavor coming amid the backdrop of a politically divided nation and the start of an election year.
The trial would begin in a matter of days. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is meeting behind closed doors later Tuesday with GOP senators as they negotiate the terms of the trial.
Senate Republicans are signaling they would reject the idea of simply voting to dismiss the articles of impeachment against Mr. Trump as he has suggested. They are considering whether to allow a vote on such a motion to dismiss and another to subpoena testimony from new witnesses.
"I think our members, generally are not interested in the motion to dismiss. They think both sides need to be heard," Senator Roy Blunt, R-Mo., who is part of the GOP leadership, said Monday.
Mr. Trump was impeached by the Democratic-led House last month on charges of abuse of power over pushing Ukraine to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden and obstruction of Congress in the probe.
With the impeachment trial starting in a matter of days, senators are still debating the rules of the proceedings. GOP senators are conferring privately about whether to allow a motion to dismiss the charges against the president or to call additional witnesses for testimony.
Mr. Trump suggested over the weekend he might prefer simply dismissing the charges rather than giving legitimacy to charges from the House, which he considers a "hoax."
It was an extraordinary suggestion, but one being proposed by Trump allies with support from some GOP senators, including Mr. McConnell.
But it is clear Mr. McConnell does not have the votes needed from his GOP majority to do that.
Key Republicans, Senator Susan Collins of Maine and Senator Mitt Romney of Utah, said they, too, would oppose a motion to dismiss the charges.
Ms. Collins is leading an effort among some Republicans, including Mr. Romney and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, to ensure the ground rules include plans to eventually consider voting to call witnesses.
"My position is that there should be a vote on whether or not witnesses should be called," Collins said.
Mr. Romney said he wants to hear from John Bolton, the former national security adviser at the White House, who others have said raised alarms about the alternative foreign policy toward Ukraine being run led by Mr. Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani.
"I've said I'd like to hear from John Bolton," Mr. Romney told reporters Monday. "I expect that barring some kind of surprise, I'll be voting in favor of hearing from witnesses after those opening arguments."
Democrats have been pushing Republicans, who have the majority in the Senate, to consider new testimony, arguing that fresh information has emerged during Pelosi's monthlong delay in transmitting the charges.
Mr. McConnell is drafting an organizing resolution that will outline the steps ahead. Approving it will be among the first votes senators take after they are sworn as jurors by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts for the Court of Impeachment.
Republicans control the chamber, 53-47, and are all but certain to acquit Mr. Trump. Mr. McConnell is hesitant to call new witnesses who would prolong the trial. He prefers to model Mr. Trump's trial partly on the process used for then-President Bill Clinton's trial in 1999. Senators say if witnesses are allowed, some Republicans may also try to subpoena Mr. Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, who served on the board of a gas company in Ukraine while his father was vice president.
Mr. Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani has been pursing theories about the Bidens, but other Republicans are cool to embrace his work. The claims against the Bidens are unfounded.
It takes just 51 votes during the impeachment trial to approve rules or call witnesses. Just four GOP senators could form a majority with Democrats to insist on new testimony. It also would take only 51 senators to vote to dismiss the charges against Mr. Trump.
Most Republicans appear willing to go along with Mr. McConnell's plan to start the trial first then consider witnesses later, rather than upfront, as Democrats want.
Ms. Collins is pushing to have at least the promise of witness votes included in the organizing resolution. She and the others appear to be gathering support.
"I've been working to make sure that we will have a process that we can take a vote on whether or not we need additional information, and yes, that would include witnesses," Ms. Murkowski told reporters.
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House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told reporters the House vote might come Wednesday. "Could be," he said.
This story was reported by the Associated Press. Associated Press writers Matthew Daly, Andrew Taylor, and Padmananda Rama contributed to this report.


csmonitor--2020-01-15--Trump impeachment and the Parnas papers: Three questions

But as political scientist Jonathan Bernstein wrote Wednesday , House Republicans who have voted to exonerate President Trump , and Senate Republicans who plan to , have to be worried , at least a bit .
“ Because if new ugly details are still emerging , who ’ s to say that more won ’ t turn up later ?
” Bernstein points out .
On their own the details of the communications between Mr. Parnas and his associates are very unlikely to change votes in the upcoming Senate trial or public opinion about impeachment proceedings .
But perhaps the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ papers deals with alleged threats against Marie Yovanovitch , the former U.S. envoy to Ukraine .
The documents appear to strike a blow to President Trump 's main defense throughout the impeachment process that has been that whatever he did , he was trying to benefit the United States as a whole , not himself .
In a letter to President-elect Volodymyr Zelenskiy , Mr. Giuliani twice says that he is President Trump ’ s “ private counsel.
” A batch of documents released by House Democrats on Tuesday shed new light on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Ukraine .
The note is an ink scribble on letterhead from the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Vienna .
On the first page , at the top , there ’ s a highlight star , and then a summary of the enterprise ’ s main point : “ get Zalensky to Announce that the Biden case will Be Investigated.
” The writer ?
Lev Parnas , a former associate of Rudolph Giuliani , President Donald Trump ’ s personal lawyer .
The note is part of a batch of documents provided by Mr. Parnas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that provide new details about who wanted what , and what they asked for in return , during President Trump ’ s pressure campaign on Ukraine .
If nothing else , the material has roiled the impeachment process against the president on the eve of his Senate trial , increasing pressure for senators to hear new witnesses and view new documents during their proceedings .
The new documents also contain menacing messages regarding Marie Yovanovitch , the former U.S. envoy to Ukraine since removed by President Trump .
Whether the messages reflected a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ambassador Yovanovitch , directed by Robert Hyde , a Trump donor now running for U.S. Congress in Connecticut , remains unclear .
But the material may help explain why she was removed suddenly from her post and told to immediately return to the United States as a matter of her own security .
Here are three questions about the newly released documents .
Who was Rudy Giuliani working for in Ukraine ?
One of President Trump ’ s main defenses throughout the impeachment process has been that whatever he did , he was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ whole , not himself .
This is meant to counter the charge that he was urging Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden ’ s role in the country , and son Hunter Biden ’ s job at the energy company Burisma , for his personal political benefit .
In his July 25 call with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of Ukraine , for instance , Mr. Trump said “ do us a favor.
” He has insisted that the “ us ” refers to the U.S .
Some of the documents released Tuesday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ note scribbled by Mr. Parnas , for instance , refers only to “ Announce ” in regards to an investigation of the “ Biden case.
” There ’ s no mention of actually carrying it out , or engaging in any larger fight against bribery and graft in a nation dogged by those problems in the past .
More to the point , the documents contain a letter to President-elect Zelenskiy dated May 10 , 2019 , in which Mr. Giuliani requests a brief meeting – “ no more than a half-hour of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s first paragraph , the former New York City mayor says not once , but twice , that he is President Trump ’ s “ private counsel , ” and will be representing President Trump as a private citizen , not the chief executive of the United States .
“ This is quite common under American law because the duties and privileges of a President and a private citizen are not the same , ” Mr. Giuliani wrote .
This makes it harder for the president to argue that in his contacts with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ States in general , particularly as he urged other officials dealing with Ukraine to just work with Mr. Giuliani , as testimony from U.S .
Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland and others made clear during the House impeachment inquiry .
The May 19 letter also said explicitly that President Trump had “ knowledge and consent ” of Mr. Giuliani ’ s actions .
“ There is no fobbing this off on others .
The president was the architect of this scheme , ” said House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ danger ?
Perhaps the most shocking revelation contained in the Parnas papers deals with alleged threats against Ms. Yovanovitch ’ s personal safety .
Encrypted messages to Mr. Parnas from Mr. Hyde , a former Marine , implied that the ambassador was under surveillance , with her communications possibly tapped , and that Mr. Hyde and his associates were just waiting for a go-ahead to do her personal harm .
“ They will let me know when she ’ s on the move , ” said Mr. Hyde at one point , referring @ @ @ @ @ @ @ They are willing to help if you/we would like a price , ” Mr. Hyde added .
Listed as head of a GOP consulting firm , Mr. Hyde is a new face in the impeachment story .
His social media is full of pictures of him with President Trump , House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy , and other Republican Party leaders .
A lawyer for Mr. Parnas , Joseph Bondy , denied that his client was involved in any scheme to follow or harm the U.S. ambassador , and said that the emails @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mental state.
” Mr. Hyde himself deflected them on Wednesday with expletive-filled posts indicating the emails were composed in jest .
However , if senior officials learned of the emails and took them seriously , it could explain why Ms. Yovanovitch was removed abruptly from her post and told to take the next plane out to the U.S. as a matter of her own safety .
The document cache also contains messages written in Russian from Yuri Lutsenko , Ukraine ’ s top prosecutor at the time , to Mr. Parnas , in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out Ms. Yovanovitch if he wants cooperation on the Bidens .
Mr. Lutsenko was an ally and appointee of then-President Petro Poroshenko , who lost to President Zelenskiy in an election in spring 2019 .
He loathed Ms. Yovanovitch because she had been critical of him and supported an independent anti-corruption bureau .
“ And here you can ’ t even remove one fool , ” Mr. Lutsenko wrote to Mr. Parnas at one point , referring to Ms. Yovanovitch .
“ She ’ s not a simple fool ... but she ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Parnas replied .
What happens next ?
On their own the details of the communications between Mr. Parnas and his associates are very unlikely to change votes in the upcoming Senate trial or public opinion about impeachment proceedings .
( If serious , the threats to Ambassador Yovanovitch could have important legal and political ramifications of their own . )
But as political scientist Jonathan Bernstein wrote Wednesday , House Republicans who have voted to exonerate President Trump , and Senate Republicans who plan to , have to be worried , at least @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ugly details are still emerging , who ’ s to say that more won ’ t turn up later ?
” Bernstein points out .
Since President Trump was impeached by the House on Dec. 18 , 2019 , The New York Times has published an extensive look at the maneuvering behind the withholding of U.S. military aid to Ukraine , moving responsibility for the decision closer to the Oval Office .
The legal site Just Security obtained hundreds of pages of unredacted emails related to the aid decision , documenting alarm in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the White House was forcing the Department of Defense into collaboration on an aid block about which DoD officials had legal concerns .
Now there are the Parnas papers .
Mr. Parnas has only recently been legally cleared to hand over material to Congress , his lawyers note .
House officials note that more will likely be made public soon .

But as political scientist Jonathan Bernstein wrote Wednesday, House Republicans who have voted to exonerate President Trump, and Senate Republicans who plan to, have to be worried, at least a bit. “Because if new ugly details are still emerging, who’s to say that more won’t turn up later?” Bernstein points out.
On their own the details of the communications between Mr. Parnas and his associates are very unlikely to change votes in the upcoming Senate trial or public opinion about impeachment proceedings.
But perhaps the most shocking revelation contained in the Parnas papers deals with alleged threats against Marie Yovanovitch, the former U.S. envoy to Ukraine.
The American impeachment drama has taken a fresh turn with the release of new documents. Here’s a look at what they mean and what their importance might be.
The documents appear to strike a blow to President Trump's main defense throughout the impeachment process that has been that whatever he did, he was trying to benefit the United States as a whole, not himself. In a letter to President-elect Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Mr. Giuliani twice says that he is President Trump’s “private counsel.”
A batch of documents released by House Democrats on Tuesday shed new light on President Donald Trump’s pressure campaign on Ukraine.
The note is an ink scribble on letterhead from the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Vienna. On the first page, at the top, there’s a highlight star, and then a summary of the enterprise’s main point: “get Zalensky to Announce that the Biden case will Be Investigated.”
The writer? Lev Parnas, a former associate of Rudolph Giuliani, President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer. The note is part of a batch of documents provided by Mr. Parnas and released by House Democrats on Tuesday that provide new details about who wanted what, and what they asked for in return, during President Trump’s pressure campaign on Ukraine. If nothing else, the material has roiled the impeachment process against the president on the eve of his Senate trial, increasing pressure for senators to hear new witnesses and view new documents during their proceedings.
The new documents also contain menacing messages regarding Marie Yovanovitch, the former U.S. envoy to Ukraine since removed by President Trump. Whether the messages reflected a real surveillance and targeting campaign against former Ambassador Yovanovitch, directed by Robert Hyde, a Trump donor now running for U.S. Congress in Connecticut, remains unclear. But the material may help explain why she was removed suddenly from her post and told to immediately return to the United States as a matter of her own security. Here are three questions about the newly released documents.
Why We Wrote This The American impeachment drama has taken a fresh turn with the release of new documents. Here’s a look at what they mean and what their importance might be.
Who was Rudy Giuliani working for in Ukraine?
One of President Trump’s main defenses throughout the impeachment process has been that whatever he did, he was trying to benefit the U.S. as a whole, not himself. This is meant to counter the charge that he was urging Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden’s role in the country, and son Hunter Biden’s job at the energy company Burisma, for his personal political benefit.
In his July 25 call with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of Ukraine, for instance, Mr. Trump said “do us a favor.” He has insisted that the “us” refers to the U.S. Some of the documents released Tuesday call this into question. The first note scribbled by Mr. Parnas, for instance, refers only to “Announce” in regards to an investigation of the “Biden case.” There’s no mention of actually carrying it out, or engaging in any larger fight against bribery and graft in a nation dogged by those problems in the past.
More to the point, the documents contain a letter to President-elect Zelenskiy dated May 10, 2019, in which Mr. Giuliani requests a brief meeting – “no more than a half-hour of your time.” In the letter’s first paragraph, the former New York City mayor says not once, but twice, that he is President Trump’s “private counsel,” and will be representing President Trump as a private citizen, not the chief executive of the United States.
“This is quite common under American law because the duties and privileges of a President and a private citizen are not the same,” Mr. Giuliani wrote. This makes it harder for the president to argue that in his contacts with Mr. Zelenskiy he was representing the United States in general, particularly as he urged other officials dealing with Ukraine to just work with Mr. Giuliani, as testimony from U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland and others made clear during the House impeachment inquiry.
The May 19 letter also said explicitly that President Trump had “knowledge and consent” of Mr. Giuliani’s actions.
“There is no fobbing this off on others. The president was the architect of this scheme,” said House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff on Wednesday.
Was Ambassador Yovanovitch really in danger?
Perhaps the most shocking revelation contained in the Parnas papers deals with alleged threats against Ms. Yovanovitch’s personal safety.
Encrypted messages to Mr. Parnas from Mr. Hyde, a former Marine, implied that the ambassador was under surveillance, with her communications possibly tapped, and that Mr. Hyde and his associates were just waiting for a go-ahead to do her personal harm.
“They will let me know when she’s on the move,” said Mr. Hyde at one point, referring to alleged compatriots in Ukraine. “They are willing to help if you/we would like a price,” Mr. Hyde added.
Listed as head of a GOP consulting firm, Mr. Hyde is a new face in the impeachment story. His social media is full of pictures of him with President Trump, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, and other Republican Party leaders.
A lawyer for Mr. Parnas, Joseph Bondy, denied that his client was involved in any scheme to follow or harm the U.S. ambassador, and said that the emails reflected Mr. Hyde’s “dubious mental state.” Mr. Hyde himself deflected them on Wednesday with expletive-filled posts indicating the emails were composed in jest.
However, if senior officials learned of the emails and took them seriously, it could explain why Ms. Yovanovitch was removed abruptly from her post and told to take the next plane out to the U.S. as a matter of her own safety.
The document cache also contains messages written in Russian from Yuri Lutsenko, Ukraine’s top prosecutor at the time, to Mr. Parnas, in which he urges Mr. Parnas to force out Ms. Yovanovitch if he wants cooperation on the Bidens. Mr. Lutsenko was an ally and appointee of then-President Petro Poroshenko, who lost to President Zelenskiy in an election in spring 2019. He loathed Ms. Yovanovitch because she had been critical of him and supported an independent anti-corruption bureau.
“And here you can’t even remove one fool,” Mr. Lutsenko wrote to Mr. Parnas at one point, referring to Ms. Yovanovitch.
“She’s not a simple fool ... but she’s not getting away,” Mr. Parnas replied.
What happens next?
On their own the details of the communications between Mr. Parnas and his associates are very unlikely to change votes in the upcoming Senate trial or public opinion about impeachment proceedings. (If serious, the threats to Ambassador Yovanovitch could have important legal and political ramifications of their own.)
But as political scientist Jonathan Bernstein wrote Wednesday, House Republicans who have voted to exonerate President Trump, and Senate Republicans who plan to, have to be worried, at least a bit.
“Because if new ugly details are still emerging, who’s to say that more won’t turn up later?” Bernstein points out.
Get stories that
empower and uplift daily. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads.
Since President Trump was impeached by the House on Dec. 18, 2019, The New York Times has published an extensive look at the maneuvering behind the withholding of U.S. military aid to Ukraine, moving responsibility for the decision closer to the Oval Office. The legal site Just Security obtained hundreds of pages of unredacted emails related to the aid decision, documenting alarm in the Pentagon at the action and concern that the White House was forcing the Department of Defense into collaboration on an aid block about which DoD officials had legal concerns.
Now there are the Parnas papers. Mr. Parnas has only recently been legally cleared to hand over material to Congress, his lawyers note. House officials note that more will likely be made public soon.


csmonitor--2020-01-15--House votes to send impeachment articles to Senate

The U.S. House voted Wednesday to send two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump to the Senate and approve House prosecutors for only the third impeachment trial in American history .
The nearly party-line vote moved Mr. Trump 's impeachment from Speaker Nancy Pelosi 's Democratic-run House to the Republican-majority Senate , where Mr. Trump expects acquittal , even as new evidence is raising fresh questions about his Ukraine dealings .
The vote was 228-193 , coming at the start of a presidential election year and one month after the House impeached Mr. Trump .
The president is charged @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Ukraine to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden , using military aid to the country as leverage .
Mr. Trump was also charged with obstructing Congress ' ensuing probe .
`` We are here today to cross a very important threshold in American history , '' Ms. Pelosi said , addressing the House before the vote .
Earlier , she declared : `` This is what an impeachment is about .
The president violated his oath of office , undermined our national security , jeopardized the integrity of our elections . ''
Mr. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ White House , rejected the charges as a `` hoax . ''
The seven-member prosecution team will be led by the chairmen of the House impeachment proceedings , Reps. Adam Schiff of the Intelligence Committee and Jerry Nadler of the Judiciary Committee , two of Pelosi 's top lieutenants for only the third presidential impeachment in the nation 's history .
Ahead of Wednesday 's session , Mr. Schiff released new records from Lev Parnas , an associate of Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani , about the Ukraine strategy .
including an exchange with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Yovanovitch .
Mr. Schiff said the new evidence should bring more pressure on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell , who is reluctant to allow witnesses to testify .
`` If McConnell makes this the first trial in history without witnesses , it will be exposed for what it is and that is an effort to cover up for the president , '' Mr. Schiff said .
Later Wednesday , the House managers are to walk the articles across the Capitol to the Senate in a dramatic procession .
The Senate trial is set @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Senate dismissing what he called a rushed impeachment that is more about the politics of Democrats who do n't like Mr. Trump than the charges against him .
`` This is n't really about Ukraine policy or military money , '' Mr. McConnell said .
`` This has been naked partisanship all along . ''
During Ms. Pelosi 's press conference announcing managers , Mr. Trump tweeted that impeachment was `` another Con Job by the Do Nothing Democrats .
All of this work was supposed to be done by the House @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump 's trial will be only the third presidential impeachment trial in U.S. history , and it comes against the backdrop of a politically divided nation in an election year .
The Senate is expected to transform into an impeachment court as early as Thursday , although significant proceedings would n't begin until next Tuesday after the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday .
The Constitution calls for the chief justice to preside over senators , who serve as jurors and swear an oath to deliver `` impartial justice . ''
The managers are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ enforcement and military courtroom experience , including Hakeem Jeffries of New York , Sylvia Garcia of Texas , Val Demings of Florida , Jason Crow of Colorado , and Zoe Lofgren of California .
Mr. McConnell , who is negotiating rules for the trial proceedings , is under competing pressure from his party for more witnesses , from centrists who are siding with Democrats on the need to hear full testimony and conservatives mounting Mr. Trump 's defense .
Senate Republicans signaled they would reject the idea of simply voting to dismiss the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as Mr. Trump himself has suggested .
Mr. McConnell agreed he does not have the votes to do that .
Mr. McConnell said Tuesday .
''Our members feel we have an obligation to listen to the arguments . ''
A mounting number of senators say they want to ensure the ground rules include the possibility of calling new witnesses .
Sen. Susan Collins of Maine is leading an effort among some Republicans , including Mitt Romney of Utah and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska for votes on witnesses .
Mr. Romney said he wants @ @ @ @ @ @ @ former national security adviser at the White House , who others have said raised alarms about the alternative foreign policy toward Ukraine being run by Mr. Giuliani .
Democrats have been pushing Republicans to consider new testimony , arguing that fresh information has emerged during Ms. Pelosi 's monthlong delay in transmitting the charges .
Republicans control the chamber , 53-47 , and are all but certain to acquit Mr. Trump .
But it takes just 51 votes during the trial to approve rules or call witnesses .
Just four GOP senators could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on new testimony .
It also would take only 51 senators to vote to dismiss the charges against Mr. Trump .
At Tuesday 's private GOP lunch , Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky warned that if witnesses are allowed , defense witnesses could also be called .
He and other Republicans want to subpoena Mr. Biden and his son , Hunter , who served on the board of a gas company in Ukraine , Burisma , while his father was vice president .
Mr. McConnell prefers to model Mr. Trump 's trial partly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Clinton 's impeachment trial in 1999 .
It , too , contained motions for dismissal or calling new witnesses .
Mr. McConnell is hesitant to call new witnesses who would prolong the trial and put vulnerable senators who are up for reelection in 2020 in a bind with tough choices .
At the same time , he wants to give those same senators ample room to show voters they are listening .
This story was reported by the Associated Press .
Associated Press writers Matthew Daly , Andrew Taylor , and Padmananda Rama @ @ @ @ @

The U.S. House voted Wednesday to send two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump to the Senate and approve House prosecutors for only the third impeachment trial in American history.
The nearly party-line vote moved Mr. Trump's impeachment from Speaker Nancy Pelosi's Democratic-run House to the Republican-majority Senate, where Mr. Trump expects acquittal, even as new evidence is raising fresh questions about his Ukraine dealings.
The vote was 228-193, coming at the start of a presidential election year and one month after the House impeached Mr. Trump. The president is charged with abuse of power over his pressure on Ukraine to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden, using military aid to the country as leverage. Mr. Trump was also charged with obstructing Congress' ensuing probe.
"We are here today to cross a very important threshold in American history," Ms. Pelosi said, addressing the House before the vote. Earlier, she declared: "This is what an impeachment is about. The president violated his oath of office, undermined our national security, jeopardized the integrity of our elections."
Mr. Trump, during an event at the White House, rejected the charges as a "hoax."
The seven-member prosecution team will be led by the chairmen of the House impeachment proceedings, Reps. Adam Schiff of the Intelligence Committee and Jerry Nadler of the Judiciary Committee, two of Pelosi's top lieutenants for only the third presidential impeachment in the nation's history.
Ahead of Wednesday's session, Mr. Schiff released new records from Lev Parnas, an associate of Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, about the Ukraine strategy. including an exchange with another man about surveilling later-fired Ambassador Maria Yovanovitch.
Mr. Schiff said the new evidence should bring more pressure on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who is reluctant to allow witnesses to testify.
"If McConnell makes this the first trial in history without witnesses, it will be exposed for what it is and that is an effort to cover up for the president," Mr. Schiff said.
Later Wednesday, the House managers are to walk the articles across the Capitol to the Senate in a dramatic procession. The Senate trial is set to start Thursday.
Mr. McConnell opened the Senate dismissing what he called a rushed impeachment that is more about the politics of Democrats who don't like Mr. Trump than the charges against him.
"This isn't really about Ukraine policy or military money," Mr. McConnell said. "This has been naked partisanship all along."
During Ms. Pelosi's press conference announcing managers, Mr. Trump tweeted that impeachment was "another Con Job by the Do Nothing Democrats. All of this work was supposed to be done by the House, not the Senate!"
Mr. Trump's trial will be only the third presidential impeachment trial in U.S. history, and it comes against the backdrop of a politically divided nation in an election year.
The Senate is expected to transform into an impeachment court as early as Thursday, although significant proceedings wouldn't begin until next Tuesday after the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. The Constitution calls for the chief justice to preside over senators, who serve as jurors and swear an oath to deliver "impartial justice.''
The managers are a diverse group with legal, law enforcement and military courtroom experience, including Hakeem Jeffries of New York, Sylvia Garcia of Texas, Val Demings of Florida, Jason Crow of Colorado, and Zoe Lofgren of California.
Mr. McConnell, who is negotiating rules for the trial proceedings, is under competing pressure from his party for more witnesses, from centrists who are siding with Democrats on the need to hear full testimony and conservatives mounting Mr. Trump's defense. Senate Republicans signaled they would reject the idea of simply voting to dismiss the articles of impeachment against Mr. Trump, as Mr. Trump himself has suggested. Mr. McConnell agreed he does not have the votes to do that.
Mr. McConnell said Tuesday. ''Our members feel we have an obligation to listen to the arguments."
A mounting number of senators say they want to ensure the ground rules include the possibility of calling new witnesses.
Sen. Susan Collins of Maine is leading an effort among some Republicans, including Mitt Romney of Utah and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska for votes on witnesses.
Mr. Romney said he wants to hear from John Bolton, the former national security adviser at the White House, who others have said raised alarms about the alternative foreign policy toward Ukraine being run by Mr. Giuliani.
Democrats have been pushing Republicans to consider new testimony, arguing that fresh information has emerged during Ms. Pelosi's monthlong delay in transmitting the charges.
Republicans control the chamber, 53-47, and are all but certain to acquit Mr. Trump. But it takes just 51 votes during the trial to approve rules or call witnesses. Just four GOP senators could form a majority with Democrats to insist on new testimony. It also would take only 51 senators to vote to dismiss the charges against Mr. Trump.
At Tuesday's private GOP lunch, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky warned that if witnesses are allowed, defense witnesses could also be called. He and other Republicans want to subpoena Mr. Biden and his son, Hunter, who served on the board of a gas company in Ukraine, Burisma, while his father was vice president.
Mr. McConnell prefers to model Mr. Trump's trial partly on the process used for President Bill Clinton's impeachment trial in 1999. It, too, contained motions for dismissal or calling new witnesses.
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Mr. McConnell is hesitant to call new witnesses who would prolong the trial and put vulnerable senators who are up for reelection in 2020 in a bind with tough choices. At the same time, he wants to give those same senators ample room to show voters they are listening.
This story was reported by the Associated Press. Associated Press writers Matthew Daly, Andrew Taylor, and Padmananda Rama contributed to this report.


csmonitor--2020-01-15--As Democrats grow more secular, N.H. clergy press candidates on values

“ We do not talk about abortion ; we do not talk about the traditional faith-based things , ” said Eva Castillo , a Venezuelan immigrant who directs the New Hampshire Alliance of Immigrants and Refugees .
“ We show them a different face of faith , you know ?
More open-minded , more equalizing.
” Yet one group of local clergy has been working hard to secure a seat at the table – arranging a series of intimate meetings with White House hopefuls .
The Love 2020 participants have raced , sometimes with just a few hours ’ notice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , barns , anywhere they can get a brief audience with the person who might be their next president .
They say they ’ re trying to reframe what faith-based political action can look like , and inject faith-based , moral concerns into Democratic presidential politics .
In 2008 , then-candidate Barack Obama ’ s campaign team called on religious leaders in New Hampshire individually , according to the Rev .
Jason Wells , executive director of the New Hampshire Council of Churches .
This cycle , campaigns don ’ t seem to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to , Mr. Wells says .
The Rev .
Jonathan Hopkins wishes every candidate for president would grapple with a troubling truth about this city : Many working people aren ’ t making ends meet .
Some are still in their Walmart uniforms when they ’ re fed at the soup kitchen where he and his congregants volunteer .
Now , with the Feb. 8 New Hampshire primary fast approaching , Mr. Hopkins is finding he doesn ’ t have to wish quite so much .
He ’ s part of a group @ @ @ @ @ @ @ meeting with White House hopefuls , in an effort to inject faith-based , moral concerns into Democratic presidential politics .
For the candidates , these Love 2020 events offer a chance to get cozy with religious movers and shakers who , they hope , might sway some of the voters in their flocks .
Mr. Hopkins wants to know what each candidate will do to break the cycle of poverty for working people .
So far , he ’ s participated in sit-downs with Sens .
Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bend , Indiana .
“ We are asking questions that are not being asked of them in general , ” says Mr. Hopkins , pastor of Concordia Lutheran Church in Concord .
It ’ s an arena where spirituality is explored – even with candidates like Senator Sanders , who describes himself as “ not particularly religious.
” “ Bernie , for sure , he ’ s got some spiritual depth , ” says Mr. Hopkins .
“ Maybe not religious depth , but spiritual depth .
...
He said we all should @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sessions with 11 Democratic candidates and one Republican ( former Massachusetts Gov .
Bill Weld ) were all open to the press , according to Love 2020 organizers .
But when Mr. Buttigieg sat down with the group in early January at St. Paul ’ s Church in downtown Concord , campaign staffers insisted that this reporter wait outside , despite having been invited to cover the event .
They gave no reason , saying only that the meeting was private .
Mr. Buttigieg , an Episcopalian , is hardly shy about his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the campaign trail as a moral guide for shaping policy positions .
“ What ’ s important to me is to make sure that I ’ m engaging with [ faith leaders ] and with those that they guide and care for , ” he said after the meeting , as a black SUV waited to whisk him to a Nashua town hall event .
With recent polls showing a tight race in New Hampshire , the campaign was perhaps taking no chances on a religion-charged gaffe .
Navigating the sensitive terrain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the course for Love 2020 , a project of the Granite State Organizing Project ( GSOP ) , which brings together religious leaders , community organizers , and labor unions to tackle issues such as immigration and economic justice .
It ’ s an effort to connect clergy with candidates in a Democratic Party that ’ s increasingly secular and cautiously experimenting to find where faith fits , if anywhere , in its political mix .
For candidates , courting clergy support is nothing new – not even here , in what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Pew Research Center , one of America ’ s least religious states .
In 2008 , then-candidate Barack Obama ’ s campaign team called on religious leaders individually , according to the Rev .
Jason Wells , executive director of the New Hampshire Council of Churches .
Inspired by the outreach , Mr. Wells , who was then a parish rector , volunteered for Mr. Obama by canvassing door to door in his time off .
This time around , campaigns don ’ t seem to be wooing faith leaders individually as they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Indeed , Love 2020 was born to fill a void , organizers say , amid a growing dearth of meaningful dialogue with candidates .
Campaigns are often most concerned with preventing unscripted soundbites , notes Arnie Alpert , co-director of the New Hampshire Program of the American Friends Service Committee , a Quaker-based activist organization .
For example , when Senator Warren does her famous selfie line for photos , “ her staff people take your phone from you , and then they take the ‘ selfie , ’ ” Mr. Alpert says @ @ @ @ @ @ @ does is keep you from using your phone to actually record the interaction.
” Progressive faith leaders believe Love 2020 provides a meaningful alternative – and they ’ ve been working hard to secure a seat at the table in New Hampshire .
They have raced , sometimes with just a few hours ’ notice , to meet with candidates in churches , barns , anywhere they can get a brief audience with the person who might be their next president .
They say they ’ re trying to reframe what faith-based political @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do not talk about abortion , we do not talk about the traditional faith-based things , ” said Eva Castillo , a Venezuelan immigrant who directs the New Hampshire Alliance of Immigrants and Refugees .
“ We show them a different face of faith , you know ?
More open-minded , more equalizing.
” All the major Democratic contenders , with the exception so far of former Vice President Joe Biden , have carved out time to meet with the Love 2020 group of clerics , each of whom has a local following @ @ @ @ @ @ @ This spotlight on our state gives us a chance to influence the national dialogue , ” says GSOP Executive Director Sarah Jane Knoy .
“ To focus on our shared values and our common humanity – because the current national dialogue is very divisive and , I think , really kind of hateful.
” For local religious leaders , Love 2020 also provides a platform to ask the kinds of values questions candidates don ’ t always hear elsewhere .
In a video of the Buttigieg session , provided by Love 2020 organizers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hirschfeld , bishop of the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire , can be heard asking : “ What ’ s in your soul ?
What ’ s in your heart that is going to help us reknit together the torn social fabric ?
” Mr. Buttigieg responded that when he ’ s campaigning , his soul is “ just out there for everyone to see.
” “ There is a crisis of belonging in our country that I think is propelling everything from the brokenness of our politics to mental health issues ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ addiction , he told the group .
“ Holding the American project together depends so much on whether we can create that sense of belonging .
...
It may well be the most important function of the presidency.
” The clergy also minister to the candidates they meet , much as evangelical leaders have done when laying hands on President Donald Trump and praying for him .
Mr. Hirschfeld led Mr. Buttigieg and the assembled group in prayer .
The Rev .
Sarah Rockwell of St. Andrew ’ s Church in Manchester offered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Buttigieg , as he navigates the pressures and personal tolls of running for president .
“ Keeping a marriage intact – it is not easy , ” Ms. Rockwell quietly said to the candidate as they left the meeting room .
“ You are in my prayers , and so is he.
” “ Thank you , ” Mr. Buttigieg said with a smile .
“ Keep the prayers coming .
”

In one of the nation’s least religious states, a group of faith leaders is trying to focus the political dialogue around our common humanity – and get a clearer sense of what’s in candidates’ hearts.
“We do not talk about abortion; we do not talk about the traditional faith-based things,” said Eva Castillo, a Venezuelan immigrant who directs the New Hampshire Alliance of Immigrants and Refugees. “We show them a different face of faith, you know? More open-minded, more equalizing.”
Yet one group of local clergy has been working hard to secure a seat at the table – arranging a series of intimate meetings with White House hopefuls. The Love 2020 participants have raced, sometimes with just a few hours’ notice, to meet with candidates in churches, barns, anywhere they can get a brief audience with the person who might be their next president. They say they’re trying to reframe what faith-based political action can look like, and inject faith-based, moral concerns into Democratic presidential politics.
In 2008, then-candidate Barack Obama’s campaign team called on religious leaders in New Hampshire individually, according to the Rev. Jason Wells, executive director of the New Hampshire Council of Churches. This cycle, campaigns don’t seem to be wooing faith leaders as they used to, Mr. Wells says.
The Rev. Jonathan Hopkins wishes every candidate for president would grapple with a troubling truth about this city: Many working people aren’t making ends meet. Some are still in their Walmart uniforms when they’re fed at the soup kitchen where he and his congregants volunteer.
Now, with the Feb. 11 New Hampshire primary fast approaching, Mr. Hopkins is finding he doesn’t have to wish quite so much. He’s part of a group of New Hampshire clergy who have been meeting with White House hopefuls, in an effort to inject faith-based, moral concerns into Democratic presidential politics. For the candidates, these Love 2020 events offer a chance to get cozy with religious movers and shakers who, they hope, might sway some of the voters in their flocks.
Mr. Hopkins wants to know what each candidate will do to break the cycle of poverty for working people. So far, he’s participated in sit-downs with Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, and Pete Buttigieg, former mayor of South Bend, Indiana.
Why We Wrote This In one of the nation’s least religious states, a group of faith leaders is trying to focus the political dialogue around our common humanity – and get a clearer sense of what’s in candidates’ hearts.
“We are asking questions that are not being asked of them in general,” says Mr. Hopkins, pastor of Concordia Lutheran Church in Concord. It’s an arena where spirituality is explored – even with candidates like Senator Sanders, who describes himself as “not particularly religious.”
“Bernie, for sure, he’s got some spiritual depth,” says Mr. Hopkins. “Maybe not religious depth, but spiritual depth. ... He said we all should care about the least among us.”
Sessions with 11 Democratic candidates and one Republican (former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld) were all open to the press, according to Love 2020 organizers. But when Mr. Buttigieg sat down with the group in early January at St. Paul’s Church in downtown Concord, campaign staffers insisted that this reporter wait outside, despite having been invited to cover the event. They gave no reason, saying only that the meeting was private.
Mr. Buttigieg, an Episcopalian, is hardly shy about his Christian faith, which he often invokes on the campaign trail as a moral guide for shaping policy positions. “What’s important to me is to make sure that I’m engaging with [faith leaders] and with those that they guide and care for,” he said after the meeting, as a black SUV waited to whisk him to a Nashua town hall event. With recent polls showing a tight race in New Hampshire, the campaign was perhaps taking no chances on a religion-charged gaffe.
Courtesy of Arnie Alpert View caption Hide caption The Rev. Jonathan Hopkins speaks with Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, during a Love 2020 event Jan. 4, 2020, in Concord, New Hampshire. It’s an effort to connect clergy with candidates in a Democratic Party that’s increasingly secular.
Navigating the sensitive terrain where faith meets progressive politics is par for the course for Love 2020, a project of the Granite State Organizing Project (GSOP), which brings together religious leaders, community organizers, and labor unions to tackle issues such as immigration and economic justice. It’s an effort to connect clergy with candidates in a Democratic Party that’s increasingly secular and cautiously experimenting to find where faith fits, if anywhere, in its political mix.
For candidates, courting clergy support is nothing new – not even here, in what is, according to Gallup and the Pew Research Center, one of America’s least religious states. In 2008, then-candidate Barack Obama’s campaign team called on religious leaders individually, according to the Rev. Jason Wells, executive director of the New Hampshire Council of Churches. Inspired by the outreach, Mr. Wells, who was then a parish rector, volunteered for Mr. Obama by canvassing door to door in his time off.
This time around, campaigns don’t seem to be wooing faith leaders individually as they used to, Mr. Wells says.
Indeed, Love 2020 was born to fill a void, organizers say, amid a growing dearth of meaningful dialogue with candidates. Campaigns are often most concerned with preventing unscripted soundbites, notes Arnie Alpert, co-director of the New Hampshire Program of the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker-based activist organization. For example, when Senator Warren does her famous selfie line for photos, “her staff people take your phone from you, and then they take the ‘selfie,’” Mr. Alpert says with a laugh. “What that does is keep you from using your phone to actually record the interaction.”
Progressive faith leaders believe Love 2020 provides a meaningful alternative – and they’ve been working hard to secure a seat at the table in New Hampshire. They have raced, sometimes with just a few hours’ notice, to meet with candidates in churches, barns, anywhere they can get a brief audience with the person who might be their next president. They say they’re trying to reframe what faith-based political action can look like.
“We do not talk about abortion, we do not talk about the traditional faith-based things,” said Eva Castillo, a Venezuelan immigrant who directs the New Hampshire Alliance of Immigrants and Refugees. “We show them a different face of faith, you know? More open-minded, more equalizing.”
All the major Democratic contenders, with the exception so far of former Vice President Joe Biden, have carved out time to meet with the Love 2020 group of clerics, each of whom has a local following and a measure of clout.
“This spotlight on our state gives us a chance to influence the national dialogue,” says GSOP Executive Director Sarah Jane Knoy. “To focus on our shared values and our common humanity – because the current national dialogue is very divisive and, I think, really kind of hateful.”
For local religious leaders, Love 2020 also provides a platform to ask the kinds of values questions candidates don’t always hear elsewhere. In a video of the Buttigieg session, provided by Love 2020 organizers, the Rt. Rev. Robert Hirschfeld, bishop of the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire, can be heard asking: “What’s in your soul? What’s in your heart that is going to help us reknit together the torn social fabric?”
Mr. Buttigieg responded that when he’s campaigning, his soul is “just out there for everyone to see.”
“There is a crisis of belonging in our country that I think is propelling everything from the brokenness of our politics to mental health issues” including rising rates of suicide and drug addiction, he told the group. “Holding the American project together depends so much on whether we can create that sense of belonging. ... It may well be the most important function of the presidency.”
The clergy also minister to the candidates they meet, much as evangelical leaders have done when laying hands on President Donald Trump and praying for him. Mr. Hirschfeld led Mr. Buttigieg and the assembled group in prayer.
The Rev. Sarah Rockwell of St. Andrew’s Church in Manchester offered another kind of spiritual support to Mr. Buttigieg, as he navigates the pressures and personal tolls of running for president. “Keeping a marriage intact – it is not easy,” Ms. Rockwell quietly said to the candidate as they left the meeting room. “You are in my prayers, and so is he.”
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empower and uplift daily. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads.
“Thank you,” Mr. Buttigieg said with a smile. “Keep the prayers coming.”
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story included an incorrect date for the upcoming New Hampshire primary. It is Feb. 11.


csmonitor--2020-01-15--House turns over new documents for upcoming impeachment trial

The House is set to vote Wednesday to send the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump to the Senate for a landmark trial on whether the charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress are grounds for his removal .
Speaker Nancy Pelosi named House prosecutors for Mr. Trump ’ s impeachment trial on Wednesday ahead of votes to send the charges to the Senate , even as new information about the president 's Ukraine efforts intensified pressure for more witnesses .
The seven-member prosecution team will be led by the chairmen of the House impeachment proceedings , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Jerry Nadler of the Judiciary Committee , two of Ms. Pelosi ’ s top lieutenants .
`` Today is an important day , '' said Ms. Pelosi , flanked by the team .
`` This is about the Constitution of the United States . ''
The managers are a diverse group with legal , law enforcement , and military courtroom experience , including Hakeem Jeffries of New York , Sylvia Garcia of Texas , Val Demings of Florida , Jason Crow of Colorado , and Zoe Lofgren of California .
Mr. Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ presidential impeachment trial in U.S. history , and it comes against the backdrop of a politically divided nation and an election year .
He was impeached by the Democratic-led House last month on charges of abuse of power over pushing Ukraine to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden as the president withheld aid from the country , and obstructing Congress ' ensuing probe .
New details of Mr. Trump 's efforts on Ukraine emerged late Tuesday , increasing pressure on senators to call witnesses in the trial , a step that Senate Majority Leader @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
House investigators announced they were turning over a `` trove '' of new records of phone calls , text messages , and other information from Lev Parnas , an associate of Mr. Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani .
Mr. Schiff said the information shows Mr. Trump 's effort `` to coerce Ukraine into helping the president 's reelection campaign . ''
He said this and other new testimony must be included in the Senate trial .
The Senate is expected to transform into an impeachment court as early as Thursday , although significant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday .
The Constitution calls for the chief justice to preside over senators , who serve as jurors , to swear an oath to deliver `` impartial justice . ''
Mr. McConnell , who is negotiating rules for the trial proceedings , said all 53 Republican senators are on board with his plan to start the session and consider the issue of witnesses later .
Senate Republicans also signaled they would reject the idea of simply voting to dismiss the articles of impeachment against Mr. Trump , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mr. McConnell agreed he does not have the votes to do that .
`` There is little or no sentiment in the Republican conference for a motion to dismiss , '' Mr. McConnell said Tuesday .
''Our members feel we have an obligation to listen to the arguments . ''
A mounting number of senators say they want to ensure the ground rules include the possibility of calling new witnesses .
Sen. Susan Collins of Maine is leading an effort among some Republicans , including Mitt Romney of Utah and Lisa Murkowski of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said he wants to hear from John Bolton , the former national security adviser at the White House , who others have said raised alarms about the alternative foreign policy toward Ukraine being run by Mr. Giuliani .
Democrats have been pushing Republicans , who have a slim Senate majority , to consider new testimony , arguing that fresh information has emerged during Ms. Pelosi 's monthlong delay in transmitting the charges .
Republicans control the chamber , 53-47 , and are all but certain to acquit Mr. Trump .
It takes just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ approve rules or call witnesses .
Just four GOP senators could form a majority with Democrats to insist on new testimony .
It also would take only 51 senators to vote to dismiss the charges against Mr. Trump .
At Tuesday 's private GOP lunch , Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky warned that if witnesses are allowed , defense witnesses could also be called .
He and other Republicans want to subpoena Mr. Biden and his son , Hunter , who served on the board of a gas company in Ukraine , Burisma @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Mr. McConnell is drafting an organizing resolution that will outline the steps ahead .
Approving it will be among their first votes of the trial , likely next Tuesday .
He prefers to model Mr. Trump 's trial partly on the process used for then-President Bill Clinton 's trial in 1999 .
It , too , contained motions for dismissal or calling new witnesses .
Mr. McConnell is hesitant to call new witnesses who would prolong the trial and put vulnerable senators who are up for reelection in 2020 in a bind @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time , he wants to give those same senators ample room to show voters they are listening to demands for a fair trial .
Most Republicans now appear willing to go along with Mr. McConnell 's plan to start the trial first then consider witnesses later , rather than upfront , as Democrats want .
Even if senators are able to vote to call new witnesses , it is not at all clear there would be majorities to subpoena Mr. Bolton or the others .
This story was reported by The Associated Press @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Andrew Taylor , and Padmananda Rama contributed to this report .

The House is set to vote Wednesday to send the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump to the Senate for a landmark trial on whether the charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress are grounds for his removal.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi named House prosecutors for Mr. Trump’s impeachment trial on Wednesday ahead of votes to send the charges to the Senate, even as new information about the president's Ukraine efforts intensified pressure for more witnesses.
The seven-member prosecution team will be led by the chairmen of the House impeachment proceedings, Reps. Adam Schiff of the Intelligence Committee and Jerry Nadler of the Judiciary Committee, two of Ms. Pelosi’s top lieutenants.
"Today is an important day," said Ms. Pelosi, flanked by the team. "This is about the Constitution of the United States."
The managers are a diverse group with legal, law enforcement, and military courtroom experience, including Hakeem Jeffries of New York, Sylvia Garcia of Texas, Val Demings of Florida, Jason Crow of Colorado, and Zoe Lofgren of California.
Mr. Trump's trial will be only the third presidential impeachment trial in U.S. history, and it comes against the backdrop of a politically divided nation and an election year.
He was impeached by the Democratic-led House last month on charges of abuse of power over pushing Ukraine to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden as the president withheld aid from the country, and obstructing Congress' ensuing probe.
New details of Mr. Trump's efforts on Ukraine emerged late Tuesday, increasing pressure on senators to call witnesses in the trial, a step that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has been reluctant to take.
House investigators announced they were turning over a "trove" of new records of phone calls, text messages, and other information from Lev Parnas, an associate of Mr. Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani. Mr. Schiff said the information shows Mr. Trump's effort ''to coerce Ukraine into helping the president's reelection campaign." He said this and other new testimony must be included in the Senate trial.
The Senate is expected to transform into an impeachment court as early as Thursday, although significant proceedings wouldn't begin until next Tuesday after the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. The Constitution calls for the chief justice to preside over senators, who serve as jurors, to swear an oath to deliver "impartial justice.''
Mr. McConnell, who is negotiating rules for the trial proceedings, said all 53 Republican senators are on board with his plan to start the session and consider the issue of witnesses later.
Senate Republicans also signaled they would reject the idea of simply voting to dismiss the articles of impeachment against Mr. Trump, as the president himself has suggested. Mr. McConnell agreed he does not have the votes to do that.
"There is little or no sentiment in the Republican conference for a motion to dismiss," Mr. McConnell said Tuesday. ''Our members feel we have an obligation to listen to the arguments."
A mounting number of senators say they want to ensure the ground rules include the possibility of calling new witnesses.
Sen. Susan Collins of Maine is leading an effort among some Republicans, including Mitt Romney of Utah and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska for witness votes.
Mr. Romney said he wants to hear from John Bolton, the former national security adviser at the White House, who others have said raised alarms about the alternative foreign policy toward Ukraine being run by Mr. Giuliani.
Democrats have been pushing Republicans, who have a slim Senate majority, to consider new testimony, arguing that fresh information has emerged during Ms. Pelosi's monthlong delay in transmitting the charges.
Republicans control the chamber, 53-47, and are all but certain to acquit Mr. Trump. It takes just 51 votes during the impeachment trial to approve rules or call witnesses. Just four GOP senators could form a majority with Democrats to insist on new testimony. It also would take only 51 senators to vote to dismiss the charges against Mr. Trump.
At Tuesday's private GOP lunch, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky warned that if witnesses are allowed, defense witnesses could also be called. He and other Republicans want to subpoena Mr. Biden and his son, Hunter, who served on the board of a gas company in Ukraine, Burisma, while his father was vice president.
Mr. McConnell is drafting an organizing resolution that will outline the steps ahead. Approving it will be among their first votes of the trial, likely next Tuesday.
He prefers to model Mr. Trump's trial partly on the process used for then-President Bill Clinton's trial in 1999. It, too, contained motions for dismissal or calling new witnesses.
Mr. McConnell is hesitant to call new witnesses who would prolong the trial and put vulnerable senators who are up for reelection in 2020 in a bind with tough choices. At the same time, he wants to give those same senators ample room to show voters they are listening to demands for a fair trial.
Most Republicans now appear willing to go along with Mr. McConnell's plan to start the trial first then consider witnesses later, rather than upfront, as Democrats want.
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Even if senators are able to vote to call new witnesses, it is not at all clear there would be majorities to subpoena Mr. Bolton or the others.
This story was reported by The Associated Press. Associated Press writers Matthew Daly, Andrew Taylor, and Padmananda Rama contributed to this report.


csmonitor--2020-01-16--Parnas says 'President Trump knew exactly what was going on'

A close associate of President Donald Trump 's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani is claiming Mr. Trump was directly involved in the effort to pressure Ukraine to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden .
Lev Parnas says he delivered an ultimatum in May , at Mr. Giuliani 's behest , to the incoming president of Ukraine that no senior United States officials would attend his inauguration and vital American security aid would be withheld if an investigation into Mr. Biden was n't announced .
He said Mr. Trump was aware of Mr. Giuliani 's efforts to secure an investigation and the president @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mr. Parnas ' account undercuts a key Republican defense of Trump during the impeachment investigation – that Mr. Trump 's withholding of vital military aid to Ukraine last summer was n't a quid pro quo for Mr. Biden investigations .
`` President Trump knew exactly what was going on , '' said Mr. Parnas , a Soviet-born Florida businessman facing a raft of criminal charges related to campaign finance violations .
`` He was aware of all my movements .
I would n't do anything without the consent of Rudy Giuliani , or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's watchdog agency said Thursday a White House office violated federal law in withholding security assistance to Ukraine .
The Government Accountability Office said in a report that the Office of Management and Budget ( OMB ) violated the law in holding up the aid .
The freeze is at center of the impeachment of President Donald Trump .
The independent agency , which reports to Congress , said OMB violated the Impoundment Control Act in delaying the security assistance Congress authorized for Ukraine for “ policy reasons , ” rather than technical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hold was appropriate and necessary .
Mr. Parnas made several potentially explosive claims in a televised interview Wednesday night with MSNBC 's Rachel Maddow .
The day after Mr. Parnas said he delivered the message , the State Department announced that Vice President Mike Pence would no longer be attending the inauguration of Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelenskiy .
Mr. Parnas alleged that Mr. Trump ordered Mr. Pence to stay away at the behest of Mr. Giuliani to send a clear message to the incoming Ukrainian administration that they needed to take seriously the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a Democratic presidential candidate seen as a potential threat to Mr. Trump 's 2020 reelection .
Mr. Parnas said every communication he had with Mr. Zelenskiy 's team was at the direction of Mr. Giuliani , whom he regularly overheard briefing Mr. Trump about their progress by phone .
`` I feel sorry for him , '' Mr. Giuliani said Wednesday in a text message to an AP reporter .
`` I thought he was an honorable man .
I was wrong . ''
Asked directly if Mr. Parnas was lying , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I 'm not responding yet . ''
Mr. Parnas said he also heard Mr. Giuliani and another Mr. Trump-aligned defense lawyer , Victoria Toensing , briefing Attorney General William Barr by phone about their efforts to pressure the Ukrainian government to announce the investigation into Mr. Biden and his son Hunter Biden 's business dealings .
`` Barr was basically on the team , '' Mr. Parnas said .
The Justice Department said in September that Mr. Trump had not spoken to Mr. Barr about having Ukraine investigate the Bidens and that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mr. Giuliani .
Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said Wednesday that Mr. Parnas ' claims were `` 100 % false . ''
The new accusations came as House Democrats made public a trove of documents , text messages , and photos from Mr. Parnas ' smartphones that appear to verify parts of his account .
A federal judge earlier this month ruled that Mr. Parnas could provide the materials to Congress as part of the impeachment proceedings .
Democrats voted in December to impeach Mr. Trump for abuse of power and for obstruction @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said Wednesday his panel will investigate what he says are `` profoundly alarming '' text messages among the newly disclosed materials that have raised questions about the possible surveillance of former Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch before she was ousted by the Trump administration last spring .
The messages show that a Robert F. Hyde , a Republican candidate for Congress from Connecticut , disparaged Ms. Yovanovitch in messages to Mr. Parnas and gave him updates on her location and cellphone use .
Rep. Eliot Engel , a New York Democrat who chairs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Wednesday that the messages are `` profoundly alarming '' and `` suggest a possible risk '' to Ms. Yovanovitch 's security in Kiev before she was recalled from her post .
He said the committee staff flagged the information for the State Department 's Bureau of Diplomatic Security and is seeking assurances that proper steps have been taken to ensure the security of Ms. Yovanovitch and committee staff .
He said he also wanted to know what , if anything , the State Department knew about the situation .
Democrats released the files @ @ @ @ @ @ @ articles of impeachment to the Senate for Trump 's trial .
The documents could add pressure on the Senate as it debates whether to hear witnesses in the trial .
The text and phone records show Mr. Parnas communicating with Mr. Giuliani multiple times a day before Ms. Yovanovitch 's removal , as well as a handwritten note that mentions asking Ukraine 's president to investigate `` the Biden case . ''
Among the documents is a screenshot of a previously undisclosed letter from Mr. Giuliani to Mr. Zelenskiy dated May 10 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Zelenskiy was elected but before he took office .
In the letter , Mr. Giuliani requests a meeting with Mr. Zelenskiy `` as personal counsel to President Trump and with his knowledge and consent . ''
The Associated Press reported in October that Mr. Zelenskiy had huddled three days earlier , on May 7 , with a small group of key advisers in Kiev to seek advice about how to navigate the insistence from Mr. Trump and Mr. Giuliani for a probe into the Bidens .
He expressed his unease about becoming entangled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ three people familiar with the details of the three-hour meeting .
They spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the diplomatic sensitivity of the issue , which has roiled U.S.-Ukrainian relations .
One of the documents released by Democrats is a handwritten note on stationery from the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Vienna that says `` get Zalensky to Annonce that the Biden case will be Investigated . ''
Mr. Parnas told Ms. Maddow he took the notes as he was speaking by phone to Mr. Giuliani , receiving precise instructions about the demands @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Zelenskiy 's team .
Mr. Trump asked Mr. Zelenskiy in a July 25 call to investigate the Bidens .
Hunter Biden served on the board of a gas company based in Ukraine .
The documents were sent to the House Judiciary Committee by three other House panels `` to be included as part of the official record that will be transmitted to the Senate along with the Articles of Impeachment , '' according to a statement .
Some of the materials were made public while others were blacked out and marked as sensitive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Igor Fruman , both U.S. citizens who emigrated from the former Soviet Union , were indicted last year on charges of conspiracy , making false statements , and falsification of records .
Prosecutors allege they made outsize campaign donations to Republican causes after receiving millions of dollars originating from Russia .
The men have pleaded not guilty .
Mr. Parnas ' lawyer , Joseph Bondy , told The New York Times that his client is looking to cooperate with prosecutors in his case , who are investigating Mr. Giuliani and his dealings @ @ @ @ @ @ @ want to provide substantial assistance to the government , '' Mr. Bondy told the Times .
Mr. Parnas told the newspaper that although he did n't speak with Mr. Trump directly about the efforts , he met with the president on several occasions and was told by Mr. Giuliani that Mr. Trump was kept in the loop .
In several of the documents , Mr. Parnas communicated with Mr. Giuliani about the removal of Ms. Yovanovitch .
The ambassador 's ouster , ordered by Mr. Trump , was at the center of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ testified in the House impeachment hearings that she was the victim of a `` smear campaign . ''
Lawrence Robbins , an attorney for Ms. Yovanovitch , called for an investigation into the messages .
Asked by Ms. Maddow about Mr. Trump 's denials of knowing him , Mr. Parnas said he had spoken one-on-one with the president numerous times .
`` He lied , '' Mr. Parnas said of the president .
`` I mean , we 're not friends .
Me and him did n't watch football games together , we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he knew exactly who we were , who I was especially . ''
This story was reported by The Associated Press .
Associated Press writers Michael Balsamo , Lisa Mascaro , and Zeke Miller contributed to this report .

Michael Biesecker, Mary Clare Jalonick, and Eric Turner

A close associate of President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani is claiming Mr. Trump was directly involved in the effort to pressure Ukraine to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden.
Lev Parnas says he delivered an ultimatum in May, at Mr. Giuliani's behest, to the incoming president of Ukraine that no senior United States officials would attend his inauguration and vital American security aid would be withheld if an investigation into Mr. Biden wasn't announced.
He said Mr. Trump was aware of Mr. Giuliani's efforts to secure an investigation and the president was briefed regularly.
If true, Mr. Parnas' account undercuts a key Republican defense of Trump during the impeachment investigation – that Mr. Trump's withholding of vital military aid to Ukraine last summer wasn't a quid pro quo for Mr. Biden investigations.
"President Trump knew exactly what was going on," said Mr. Parnas, a Soviet-born Florida businessman facing a raft of criminal charges related to campaign finance violations. "He was aware of all my movements. I wouldn't do anything without the consent of Rudy Giuliani, or the president."
The federal government's watchdog agency said Thursday a White House office violated federal law in withholding security assistance to Ukraine.
The Government Accountability Office said in a report that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) violated the law in holding up the aid. The freeze is at center of the impeachment of President Donald Trump.
The independent agency, which reports to Congress, said OMB violated the Impoundment Control Act in delaying the security assistance Congress authorized for Ukraine for “policy reasons,” rather than technical budgetary needs.
OMB has argued the hold was appropriate and necessary.
Mr. Parnas made several potentially explosive claims in a televised interview Wednesday night with MSNBC's Rachel Maddow. The day after Mr. Parnas said he delivered the message, the State Department announced that Vice President Mike Pence would no longer be attending the inauguration of Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelenskiy.
Mr. Parnas alleged that Mr. Trump ordered Mr. Pence to stay away at the behest of Mr. Giuliani to send a clear message to the incoming Ukrainian administration that they needed to take seriously the demand for an investigation into Mr. Biden, a Democratic presidential candidate seen as a potential threat to Mr. Trump's 2020 reelection.
Mr. Parnas said every communication he had with Mr. Zelenskiy's team was at the direction of Mr. Giuliani, whom he regularly overheard briefing Mr. Trump about their progress by phone.
Mr. Giuliani called Mr. Parnas' statements "sad."
"I feel sorry for him," Mr. Giuliani said Wednesday in a text message to an AP reporter. "I thought he was an honorable man. I was wrong."
Asked directly if Mr. Parnas was lying, Mr. Trump's lawyer replied, "I'm not responding yet."
Mr. Parnas said he also heard Mr. Giuliani and another Mr. Trump-aligned defense lawyer, Victoria Toensing, briefing Attorney General William Barr by phone about their efforts to pressure the Ukrainian government to announce the investigation into Mr. Biden and his son Hunter Biden's business dealings.
"Barr was basically on the team," Mr. Parnas said.
The Justice Department said in September that Mr. Trump had not spoken to Mr. Barr about having Ukraine investigate the Bidens and that the attorney general had not discussed Ukraine with Mr. Giuliani. Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said Wednesday that Mr. Parnas' claims were "100% false."
The new accusations came as House Democrats made public a trove of documents, text messages, and photos from Mr. Parnas' smartphones that appear to verify parts of his account.
A federal judge earlier this month ruled that Mr. Parnas could provide the materials to Congress as part of the impeachment proceedings. Democrats voted in December to impeach Mr. Trump for abuse of power and for obstruction of Congress.
A House committee chairman said Wednesday his panel will investigate what he says are "profoundly alarming" text messages among the newly disclosed materials that have raised questions about the possible surveillance of former Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch before she was ousted by the Trump administration last spring.
The messages show that a Robert F. Hyde, a Republican candidate for Congress from Connecticut, disparaged Ms. Yovanovitch in messages to Mr. Parnas and gave him updates on her location and cellphone use.
Rep. Eliot Engel, a New York Democrat who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said Wednesday that the messages are "profoundly alarming" and "suggest a possible risk" to Ms. Yovanovitch's security in Kiev before she was recalled from her post.
He said the committee staff flagged the information for the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security and is seeking assurances that proper steps have been taken to ensure the security of Ms. Yovanovitch and committee staff. He said he also wanted to know what, if anything, the State Department knew about the situation.
Democrats released the files this week as they prepared to send articles of impeachment to the Senate for Trump's trial. The documents could add pressure on the Senate as it debates whether to hear witnesses in the trial.
The text and phone records show Mr. Parnas communicating with Mr. Giuliani multiple times a day before Ms. Yovanovitch's removal, as well as a handwritten note that mentions asking Ukraine's president to investigate "the Biden case."
Among the documents is a screenshot of a previously undisclosed letter from Mr. Giuliani to Mr. Zelenskiy dated May 10, 2019, which was shortly after Mr. Zelenskiy was elected but before he took office. In the letter, Mr. Giuliani requests a meeting with Mr. Zelenskiy "as personal counsel to President Trump and with his knowledge and consent."
The Associated Press reported in October that Mr. Zelenskiy had huddled three days earlier, on May 7, with a small group of key advisers in Kiev to seek advice about how to navigate the insistence from Mr. Trump and Mr. Giuliani for a probe into the Bidens. He expressed his unease about becoming entangled in the American elections, according to three people familiar with the details of the three-hour meeting. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the diplomatic sensitivity of the issue, which has roiled U.S.-Ukrainian relations.
One of the documents released by Democrats is a handwritten note on stationery from the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Vienna that says "get Zalensky to Annonce that the Biden case will be Investigated."
Mr. Parnas told Ms. Maddow he took the notes as he was speaking by phone to Mr. Giuliani, receiving precise instructions about the demands Mr. Trump wanted to convey to Mr. Zelenskiy's team.
Mr. Trump asked Mr. Zelenskiy in a July 25 call to investigate the Bidens. Hunter Biden served on the board of a gas company based in Ukraine.
The documents were sent to the House Judiciary Committee by three other House panels "to be included as part of the official record that will be transmitted to the Senate along with the Articles of Impeachment," according to a statement. Some of the materials were made public while others were blacked out and marked as sensitive.
Mr. Parnas and his business partner, Igor Fruman, both U.S. citizens who emigrated from the former Soviet Union, were indicted last year on charges of conspiracy, making false statements, and falsification of records. Prosecutors allege they made outsize campaign donations to Republican causes after receiving millions of dollars originating from Russia. The men have pleaded not guilty.
Mr. Parnas' lawyer, Joseph Bondy, told The New York Times that his client is looking to cooperate with prosecutors in his case, who are investigating Mr. Giuliani and his dealings in Ukraine.
"We very much want to provide substantial assistance to the government," Mr. Bondy told the Times.
Mr. Parnas told the newspaper that although he didn't speak with Mr. Trump directly about the efforts, he met with the president on several occasions and was told by Mr. Giuliani that Mr. Trump was kept in the loop.
In several of the documents, Mr. Parnas communicated with Mr. Giuliani about the removal of Ms. Yovanovitch. The ambassador's ouster, ordered by Mr. Trump, was at the center of the Democrats' impeachment inquiry. Ms. Yovanovitch testified in the House impeachment hearings that she was the victim of a "smear campaign."
Lawrence Robbins, an attorney for Ms. Yovanovitch, called for an investigation into the messages.
Asked by Ms. Maddow about Mr. Trump's denials of knowing him, Mr. Parnas said he had spoken one-on-one with the president numerous times.
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"He lied," Mr. Parnas said of the president. "I mean, we're not friends. Me and him didn't watch football games together, we didn't eat hot dogs. But he knew exactly who we were, who I was especially."
This story was reported by The Associated Press. Associated Press writers Michael Balsamo, Lisa Mascaro, and Zeke Miller contributed to this report.


csmonitor--2020-01-16--Virginia to become crucial 38th state to ratify ERA

Virginia on Wednesday moved to the brink of becoming the crucial 38th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment in what was seen as a momentous victory for the women 's rights movement even though it is far from certain the measure will ever be added to the U.S. Constitution .
The state House and Senate approved the proposed amendment with bipartisan support , well over a generation after Congress sent the ERA to the states for ratification in 1972 .
Each chamber now must pass the other 's resolution , but final passage is considered all but certain .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ by three-quarters of the states , or 38 .
But whether this one will go on to become the 28th Amendment may have to be decided in court because the deadline set by Congress for ratification of the ERA ran out in 1982 and because five states that approved it in the 1970s have since rescinded their support .
Still , the twin votes carried symbolic weight and showed how much once-solidly conservative Virginia , a place that defeated the ERA time and again , has changed .
Delegate Jennifer Carroll Foy , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , told her colleagues they were taking `` the vote of a lifetime . ''
`` One hundred and sixty million women and girls across this country are waiting and will forever be changed by what happens in this body here today , '' she said .
ERA supporters had lined up hours in advance to get seats in the gallery .
Among those who attended was Donna Granski , 73 , who wore a purple , white , and yellow sash covered in ERA buttons , some from her `` antique '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shocked when she moved to Virginia in the late '70s and learned it had n't ratified the ERA .
She had been pushing for it ever since .
`` We feel like we are marching up to the peak of the mountain , '' she said .
ERA advocates say it would enshrine equality for women in the Constitution , offering stronger protections in sex discrimination cases .
They also argue the ERA would give Congress firmer ground to pass anti-discrimination laws .
Opponents warn it would erode commonsense protections for women , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ They also worry it could be used by abortion-rights supporters to quash abortion restrictions on the grounds they discriminate against women .
Virginia has undergone seismic political shifts in recent years because of increasing diversity and the growing activism and political power of women .
Democrats retook control of the legislature in November 's elections and made passing the ERA a top priority after Republicans blocked it for years .
The ERA had passed the Virginia Senate in previous years with bipartisan support but had never before made it to the House for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on a 59-41 vote presided over by Delegate Eileen Filler-Corn , the first female House speaker in the chamber 's 400-year history .
Spectators in the gallery erupted in the cheers as she announced the outcome .
The Senate then passed it 28-12 .
Republican Delegate Margaret Ransone , who voted against the ERA , emphasized the missed deadline and said : `` I wish I could say that this dedication and hard work has not all been for nothing . ''
Last week , the U.S. Justice Department issued a legal memo @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , it is too late for states to ratify the ERA now .
The only option now for ERA supporters is to try to begin the ratification process all over again in Congress , according to the memo .
The National Archives , which certifies the ratification of constitutional amendments , said it will abide by that opinion `` unless otherwise directed by a final court order . ''
At least two lawsuits have already been filed , one of them brought last month by Alabama , Louisiana , and South Dakota to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ week to clear a path for its adoption .
In the meantime , congressional Democrats are working to pass a measure removing the deadline .
Among those disagreeing with the Justice Department opinion is Erwin Chemerinsky , a prominent constitutional law scholar and dean of the Berkeley School of Law .
He said Congress can set a deadline and change one , too .
Douglas Johnson , senior policy adviser with the anti-abortion group National Right to Life , endorsed the Justice Department position and said that if the ERA were to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to revise it to specify it could not be used to overturn state restrictions on abortion .
There is precedent for Congress to impose deadlines on the ratification process .
But no deadline was set in the case of the 27th Amendment , which is aimed at restricting members of Congress from raising their own pay .
It was ratified in 1992 , or 203 years after it was submitted to Congress in 1789 .
Eleanor Smeal , president of the Feminist Majority and former president of the National Organization for Women , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a generation of women missed out on the protections the ERA would have offered .
But Ms. Smeal , who was a leader in the push for the ERA in the '70s and '80s , said the long fight has prompted women to run for political office , where they have increasingly made gains across the country .
`` Every time they make us fight more , we get stronger , '' she said .
This story was reported by The Associated Press .
Associated Press writers Alan Suderman and Denise Lavoie in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ contributed to this report .

Virginia on Wednesday moved to the brink of becoming the crucial 38th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment in what was seen as a momentous victory for the women's rights movement even though it is far from certain the measure will ever be added to the U.S. Constitution.
The state House and Senate approved the proposed amendment with bipartisan support, well over a generation after Congress sent the ERA to the states for ratification in 1972. Each chamber now must pass the other's resolution, but final passage is considered all but certain.
Amendments to the Constitution must be ratified by three-quarters of the states, or 38. But whether this one will go on to become the 28th Amendment may have to be decided in court because the deadline set by Congress for ratification of the ERA ran out in 1982 and because five states that approved it in the 1970s have since rescinded their support.
Still, the twin votes carried symbolic weight and showed how much once-solidly conservative Virginia, a place that defeated the ERA time and again, has changed.
Delegate Jennifer Carroll Foy, a sponsor of the House ERA measure, told her colleagues they were taking "the vote of a lifetime."
"One hundred and sixty million women and girls across this country are waiting and will forever be changed by what happens in this body here today," she said.
ERA supporters had lined up hours in advance to get seats in the gallery. Among those who attended was Donna Granski, 73, who wore a purple, white, and yellow sash covered in ERA buttons, some from her "antique" collection. Ms. Granksi said she was shocked when she moved to Virginia in the late '70s and learned it hadn't ratified the ERA. She had been pushing for it ever since.
"We feel like we are marching up to the peak of the mountain," she said.
ERA advocates say it would enshrine equality for women in the Constitution, offering stronger protections in sex discrimination cases. They also argue the ERA would give Congress firmer ground to pass anti-discrimination laws.
Opponents warn it would erode commonsense protections for women, such as workplace accommodations during pregnancy. They also worry it could be used by abortion-rights supporters to quash abortion restrictions on the grounds they discriminate against women.
Virginia has undergone seismic political shifts in recent years because of increasing diversity and the growing activism and political power of women. Democrats retook control of the legislature in November's elections and made passing the ERA a top priority after Republicans blocked it for years.
The ERA had passed the Virginia Senate in previous years with bipartisan support but had never before made it to the House for a floor vote.
It passed there on a 59-41 vote presided over by Delegate Eileen Filler-Corn, the first female House speaker in the chamber's 400-year history. Spectators in the gallery erupted in the cheers as she announced the outcome. The Senate then passed it 28-12.
Republican Delegate Margaret Ransone, who voted against the ERA, emphasized the missed deadline and said: "I wish I could say that this dedication and hard work has not all been for nothing."
Last week, the U.S. Justice Department issued a legal memo contending that because the deadline has expired, it is too late for states to ratify the ERA now. The only option now for ERA supporters is to try to begin the ratification process all over again in Congress, according to the memo.
The National Archives, which certifies the ratification of constitutional amendments, said it will abide by that opinion "unless otherwise directed by a final court order."
At least two lawsuits have already been filed, one of them brought last month by Alabama, Louisiana, and South Dakota to block the amendment and another filed last week to clear a path for its adoption. In the meantime, congressional Democrats are working to pass a measure removing the deadline.
Among those disagreeing with the Justice Department opinion is Erwin Chemerinsky, a prominent constitutional law scholar and dean of the Berkeley School of Law. He said Congress can set a deadline and change one, too.
Douglas Johnson, senior policy adviser with the anti-abortion group National Right to Life, endorsed the Justice Department position and said that if the ERA were to be reintroduced, abortion opponents would probably seek to revise it to specify it could not be used to overturn state restrictions on abortion.
There is precedent for Congress to impose deadlines on the ratification process. But no deadline was set in the case of the 27th Amendment, which is aimed at restricting members of Congress from raising their own pay. It was ratified in 1992, or 203 years after it was submitted to Congress in 1789.
Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority and former president of the National Organization for Women, said it was "tragic" that a generation of women missed out on the protections the ERA would have offered.
But Ms. Smeal, who was a leader in the push for the ERA in the '70s and '80s, said the long fight has prompted women to run for political office, where they have increasingly made gains across the country.
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empower and uplift daily. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads.
"Every time they make us fight more, we get stronger," she said.
This story was reported by The Associated Press. Associated Press writers Alan Suderman and Denise Lavoie in Richmond and David Crary in New York contributed to this report.