usatoday--2020-01-21--Donald Trump's lawyers say impeachment case is insufficient, unconstitutional

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump 's lawyers told Senate Republicans on Monday that they should simply dismiss the House Democratic impeachment case against their client , calling the charges unfair and the political product of a `` rigged process . ''
`` All that House Democrats have succeeded in proving is that the President did absolutely nothing wrong , '' said a legal document filed with the Senate , which is set to hear opening arguments in the impeachment trial Tuesday .
In its `` trial memorandum , '' the president 's legal team said the two articles of impeachment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ impeachable offense , '' the House impeachment inquiry was `` irredeemably flawed , '' and there is `` no evidence '' to back the House claims that the president abused power or sought to obstruct Congress in its investigation .
A summary of the day 's impeachment news : Right to your inbox .
Sign up for On Politics here As senators debated whether to call witnesses in the trial , the president 's lawyers indicated they would seek a quick dismissal from the Republican-run Senate .
`` The articles , '' the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the president should immediately be acquitted . ''
The filing supplements a brief legal document Trump 's team submitted Saturday denying the allegations and describing impeachment as a `` brazen and unlawful attempt '' to overturn the 2016 election .
Though it provides more detail , citing prior legal opinions and providing a history of impeachments , the briefing echoes arguments that have been ridiculed by House Democratic managers who will prosecute the case .
Democrats accuse Trump of trying to get Ukraine to investigate a U.S. political opponent – Joe Biden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ country if it did not comply and obstructing the House investigation into the incident .
Trump `` used Presidential powers to pressure a vulnerable foreign partner to interfere in our elections for his own benefit , '' the House Democratic managers said in their own legal filing Monday .
`` In doing so , '' they said , the president `` jeopardized our national security and our democratic self-governance . ''
The House managers said Trump used the powers of the presidency to `` orchestrate a cover-up unprecedented in the history of our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the House ’ s constitutional power to investigate high Crimes and Misdemeanors . ''
More : Donald Trump on being president : 'What do I get out of it ?
I get impeached ! '
More : Who are the 7 impeachment managers selected for the Senate trial of President Donald Trump ?
More : House Democrats call Trump a 'danger ' to US national security in formal argument for his removal The Republican-run Senate is likely to acquit Trump , but the president 's lawyers and House Democratic managers are preparing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nine months before the U.S. presidential election .
One of the two impeachment articles accuses Trump of abuse of power in asking Ukraine to investigate Biden and his son Hunter , who had business interests in the country .
House Democratic impeachment managers accuse Trump of threatening to withhold aid from Ukraine as punishment and of offering the president of Ukraine a White House meeting if he announced an investigation of the Bidens .
Trump and aides said he wanted Ukraine to investigate corruption and concern about that corruption is the reason the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ noted that the money was released in September .
In denying that Trump threatened to withhold aid from Ukraine , the legal brief said , `` House Democrats do not have a single witness who claims , based on direct knowledge , that the President ever actually imposed such a condition . ''
The General Accounting Office issued a finding last week that the delay in providing the funding violated the law .
Trump 's attorneys claimed there is no merit to the second impeachment article that accuses Trump of obstructing the congressional @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The filing said the White House withheld witnesses and documents because the information is protected by executive privilege , and Congress is not entitled access to internal deliberations within the executive branch .
`` Defending the separation of powers is not an impeachable offense , '' it said .
Trump 's attorneys stressed that the White House released a summary of his telephone call July 25 with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that is at the heart of the impeachment case .
The filing indicates that the White House is prepared to argue that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ because the House case is so insufficient .
In a pair of tweets , Trump said the House was responsible for producing witnesses , even though his administration blocked testimony from White House and administration officials .
Referring to the top Senate Democrat , Trump tweeted that `` Cryin ’ Chuck Schumer is now asking for 'fairness ' , when he and the Democrat House members worked together to make sure I got ZERO fairness in the House .
So , what else is new ? ''
Democrats said the White House prevented @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seeing documents , and the Senate should find a way to hear from them .
Rep. Adam Schiff , D-Calif. , one of the impeachment managers , tweeted over the weekend that `` Americans overwhelmingly want to see a fair trial , '' and that includes as much evidence as possible .
`` But will Senators allow witnesses and subpoena documents ? ''
Schiff said .
`` If Senators are true to the oath they have taken to impartially administer justice , they must do so . ''
In their legal finding Monday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attorneys appear to think he is above the law .
`` President Trump maintains that the Senate can not remove him even if the House proves every claim in the articles of impeachment , '' their legal brief said .
`` That is a chilling assertion .
It is also dead wrong . ''
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell , R-Ky. , said senators will vote during the trial whether to hear more witnesses .
If House managers are allowed to call witnesses , Trump attorneys plan to call witnesses of their own @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aides claimed that , as vice president , Joe Biden sought the removal of a Ukrainian prosecutor so he would not investigate the gas company that employed Hunter .
In a memo to the news media , Biden 's presidential campaign said the vice president publicly called for the prosecutor 's removal because of concerns about corruption within his office ; it had nothing to do with Hunter Biden 's company .
`` Donald Trump is the only American president to have weaponized foreign and national security policy in an attempt to coerce @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rival presidential candidate , '' the memo said .

Donald Trump's lawyers say impeachment case is insufficient, unconstitutional
Show Caption Hide Caption Presidential impeachment: Clinton, Johnson, Nixon test U.S. democracy Presidents have been impeached, but none have been removed from office due to impeachment. Confusing? Here's how. Just the FAQs, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump's lawyers told Senate Republicans on Monday that they should simply dismiss the House Democratic impeachment case against their client, calling the charges unfair and the political product of a "rigged process."
"All that House Democrats have succeeded in proving is that the President did absolutely nothing wrong," said a legal document filed with the Senate, which is set to hear opening arguments in the impeachment trial Tuesday.
In its "trial memorandum," the president's legal team said the two articles of impeachment against Trump "do not identify any impeachable offense," the House impeachment inquiry was "irredeemably flawed," and there is "no evidence" to back the House claims that the president abused power or sought to obstruct Congress in its investigation.
A summary of the day's impeachment news: Right to your inbox. Sign up for On Politics here
As senators debated whether to call witnesses in the trial, the president's lawyers indicated they would seek a quick dismissal from the Republican-run Senate.
"The articles," the filing said, "should be rejected and the president should immediately be acquitted."
The filing supplements a brief legal document Trump's team submitted Saturday denying the allegations and describing impeachment as a "brazen and unlawful attempt" to overturn the 2016 election.
Though it provides more detail, citing prior legal opinions and providing a history of impeachments, the briefing echoes arguments that have been ridiculed by House Democratic managers who will prosecute the case.
Democrats accuse Trump of trying to get Ukraine to investigate a U.S. political opponent – Joe Biden – threatening to withhold aid from the country if it did not comply and obstructing the House investigation into the incident.
Trump "used Presidential powers to pressure a vulnerable foreign partner to interfere in our elections for his own benefit," the House Democratic managers said in their own legal filing Monday.
"In doing so," they said, the president "jeopardized our national security and our democratic self-governance."
The House managers said Trump used the powers of the presidency to "orchestrate a cover-up unprecedented in the history of our Republic: a complete and relentless blockade of the House’s constitutional power to investigate high Crimes and Misdemeanors."
More: Donald Trump on being president: 'What do I get out of it? I get impeached!'
More: Who are the 7 impeachment managers selected for the Senate trial of President Donald Trump?
More: House Democrats call Trump a 'danger' to US national security in formal argument for his removal
The Republican-run Senate is likely to acquit Trump, but the president's lawyers and House Democratic managers are preparing for an intense trial little more than nine months before the U.S. presidential election.
One of the two impeachment articles accuses Trump of abuse of power in asking Ukraine to investigate Biden and his son Hunter, who had business interests in the country.
House Democratic impeachment managers accuse Trump of threatening to withhold aid from Ukraine as punishment and of offering the president of Ukraine a White House meeting if he announced an investigation of the Bidens.
Trump and aides said he wanted Ukraine to investigate corruption and concern about that corruption is the reason the administration held up aid temporarily. They noted that the money was released in September.
In denying that Trump threatened to withhold aid from Ukraine, the legal brief said, "House Democrats do not have a single witness who claims, based on direct knowledge, that the President ever actually imposed such a condition."
The General Accounting Office issued a finding last week that the delay in providing the funding violated the law.
Trump's attorneys claimed there is no merit to the second impeachment article that accuses Trump of obstructing the congressional investigation by withholding witnesses and documents.
The filing said the White House withheld witnesses and documents because the information is protected by executive privilege, and Congress is not entitled access to internal deliberations within the executive branch.
"Defending the separation of powers is not an impeachable offense," it said.
Trump's attorneys stressed that the White House released a summary of his telephone call July 25 with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that is at the heart of the impeachment case.
The filing indicates that the White House is prepared to argue that witnesses are unnecessary in the Senate trial because the House case is so insufficient.
In a pair of tweets, Trump said the House was responsible for producing witnesses, even though his administration blocked testimony from White House and administration officials.
Referring to the top Senate Democrat, Trump tweeted that "Cryin’ Chuck Schumer is now asking for 'fairness', when he and the Democrat House members worked together to make sure I got ZERO fairness in the House. So, what else is new?"
Democrats said the White House prevented the House from interviewing certain witnesses and seeing documents, and the Senate should find a way to hear from them.
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., one of the impeachment managers, tweeted over the weekend that "Americans overwhelmingly want to see a fair trial," and that includes as much evidence as possible.
"But will Senators allow witnesses and subpoena documents?" Schiff said. "If Senators are true to the oath they have taken to impartially administer justice, they must do so."
In their legal finding Monday, House managers said Trump and his attorneys appear to think he is above the law.
"President Trump maintains that the Senate cannot remove him even if the House proves every claim in the articles of impeachment," their legal brief said. "That is a chilling assertion. It is also dead wrong."
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said senators will vote during the trial whether to hear more witnesses.
If House managers are allowed to call witnesses, Trump attorneys plan to call witnesses of their own, including Hunter Biden.
Trump and aides claimed that, as vice president, Joe Biden sought the removal of a Ukrainian prosecutor so he would not investigate the gas company that employed Hunter.
In a memo to the news media, Biden's presidential campaign said the vice president publicly called for the prosecutor's removal because of concerns about corruption within his office; it had nothing to do with Hunter Biden's company.
"Donald Trump is the only American president to have weaponized foreign and national security policy in an attempt to coerce a foreign country into lying about a rival presidential candidate," the memo said.


usatoday--2020-01-23--Trump sets record for most tweets in a single day since he took office

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump reached a new milestone Wednesday , posting the most tweets and retweets from his Twitter account in a single day since taking office , according to a site that monitors the president 's online presence .
Trump shattered his previous record of 123 Twitter posts in a day – which was set on Dec. 12 as the House Judiciary Committee debated two articles of impeachment against him – with 142 tweets and retweets , according to data compiled by Factbas.se .
The president got an early start on posting from his Twitter feed because he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , where the time is six hours ahead of Washington , where his Senate impeachment trial later got underway .
But Trump also knocked off early after leaving the World Economic Forum , posting his last tweet – a retweet of Rep. Doug Collins , R-Ga. , criticizing lead House impeachment manager Rep. Adam Schiff , D-Calif. – at 6:18 p.m. EST .
Most of Trump 's posts on Wednesday consisted of similar retweets of Republican lawmakers deriding the impeachment process .
He also shared posts from the Republican National Committee and campaign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Dan Scavino , Trump 's social media director who handles many of his posts .
`` No , Twitter 's not broken .
We 're at 3 1/2 hours without a @ realDonaldTrump tweet , '' Factba.se tweeted at 9:49 p.m. after the tweetstorm subsided .
`` That 's the longest stretch since midnight ET .
We 're holding at 142 total , ( 124 R/T , 18 original ) . ''
Though Trump smashed the record for his presidency , he came up 19 posts short of his all-time record of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Jan. 5. , 2015 , with a flood of tweets of quotes from `` Celebrity Apprentice '' fans .
Trump 's record for the most tweets in an hour also still stands , according to Factba.se .
On Wednesday he reached as many as 41 tweets in an hour , but on Dec.12 , he hit 58 tweets in an hour , for an average of one tweet every 62 seconds .
But records are made to be broken , and the president was back at it Thursday morning with 11 tweets @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .

Trump sets record for most tweets in a single day since he took office
Show Caption Hide Caption Trump says 'America is thriving' at Davos World Economic Forum President Donald Trump boasted about America's "economic boom" at an economic forum in Davos, Switzerland. USA TODAY
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump reached a milestone Wednesday, posting the most tweets and retweets from his Twitter account in a single day since taking office, according to a site that monitors the president's online presence.
Trump shattered his record of 123 Twitter posts in a day – which was set Dec. 12 as the House Judiciary Committee debated two articles of impeachment against him – with 142 tweets and retweets, according to data compiled by Factbas.se.
The president got an early start on posting from his Twitter feed because he began the day in Davos, Switzerland. The time is six hours ahead of Washington, where his Senate impeachment trial got underway later. Trump knocked off early after leaving the World Economic Forum, posting his last tweet – a retweet of Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., criticizing lead House impeachment manager Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif. – at 6:18 p.m. EST.
Most of Trump's posts Wednesday consisted of similar retweets of Republican lawmakers deriding the impeachment process. He shared posts from the Republican National Committee and campaign videos that were tweeted from the account of Dan Scavino, Trump's social media director who handles many of his posts.
"No, Twitter's not broken. We're at 3 1/2 hours without a @realDonaldTrump tweet," Factba.se tweeted at 9:49 p.m. after the tweet storm subsided. "That's the longest stretch since midnight ET. We're holding at 142 total,(124 R/T, 18 original)."
1/2 Final count: 142 tweets for the day on @realDonaldTrump. Last tweet was 6:18 pm on 1/22, a Retweet. Quickie table below. ... pic.twitter.com/HveRFH4Zt2 — Factba.se (@FactbaseFeed) January 23, 2020
Though Trump smashed the record for his presidency, he came up 19 posts short of his all-time record of 161. That record was set Jan. 5., 2015, with a flood of tweets of quotes from "Celebrity Apprentice" fans.
Trump's record for the most tweets in an hour also still stands, according to Factba.se. Wednesday he reached as many as 41 tweets in an hour, but on Dec.12, he hit 58 tweets in an hour, for an average of one tweet every 62 seconds.
Records are made to be broken, and the president was back at it Thursday morning with 11 tweets and counting as of 10 a.m. EST.


usatoday--2020-01-23--Adam Schiff gets applause from an unlikely colleague: Lindsey Graham – live impeachment trial update

Adam Schiff gets applause from an unlikely colleague: Lindsey Graham – live impeachment trial updates

The Senate impeachment trial resumes at 1 p.m. today .
This file will be updated throughout the day .
WASHINGTON – Rep. Adam Schiff , who ’ s leading the impeachment arguments during the Senate trial , got kudos from an unlikely source : Sen. Lindsey Graham .
`` Good job today .
Very well-spoken , ” Graham , the South Carolina Republican , told Schiff , the California Democrat , late Wednesday during an impromptu meeting between the two near the elevators outside the Senate chamber .
Schiff and his fellow House managers had just wrapped up nearly eight @ @ @ @ @ @ @ happened and the two shook hands .
It seemed an unlikely moment give how fiercely both have been regarding impeachment .
Schiff , the House Intelligence Committee chairman , had just been on the floor calling President Donald Trump ’ s pressure campaign on Ukraine a “ gross abuse of power.
” Graham , a tenacious Trump defender , had encouraged the president earlier in the day not to cooperate with Schiff , saying : “ I wouldn ’ t give them the time of day.
” When they ’ re not stuck @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of President Donald Trump , senators will have the chance to review classified testimony from an assistant to Vice President Mike Pence that Democrats have unsuccessfully tried to make public .
After Senate Republicans rejected an attempt Tuesday to allow the Senate to receive classified information into evidence , Chief Justice John Roberts late Wednesday announced an agreement to allow classified information into the record .
Senators will have to review it in a secure setting .
The information is part of a description of Pence ’ s Sept. 18 call with Ukrainian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by Jennifer Williams , a foreign policy adviser to Pence .
Democrats argue the testimony is corroborating evidence and there ’ s no reason it should be classified .
Pence 's office previously refused Democrats ’ request to declassifying the information , saying in a Dec. 11 letter that it would serve no purpose .
“ This call was classified when it occurred , ” Pence spokeswoman Katie Waldman tweeted Wednesday night .
“ House Democrats knew the call was classified when they allowed and asked Jennifer Williams to discuss a classified call @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now trying to cover their tracks.
” Pence had previously said he had no problem with the White House releasing transcripts of his conversations with Zelensky .
Back at the White House after an overseas trip , President Donald Trump did n't waste much time before attacking Democratic prosecutors at the Senate impeachment trial .
`` The Democrats are trying hard to damage Republicans prior to the Election ! ''
Trump said during an early morning tweet storm aimed at opponents who have accused him of abuse of power .
Trump also cited @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh , and singled out Rep. Adam Schiff , D-Calif. , the lead House impeachment manager , as `` Shifty Schiff . ''
The president , who spent the past two days at an international economic conference in Davos , Switzerland , has no public events on his schedule Thursday .
After a series of private meetings the White House , Trump leaves at mid-day for a trip to Miami ; he is scheduled to give a closed-door speech to the Republican National Committee , which is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ National Doral golf resort .
Trump is also expected to watch parts of the impeachment trial on television .
Constitution , legal grounds for removal will be the focus House Democrats will continue detailing their case against President Donald Trump as the Senate impeachment trial resumes Thursday and are expected to focus on the Constitution and the legal grounds for the president 's removal .
The seven prosecutors , who are called managers , spoke for eight hours Wednesday mostly about the article accusing Trump of abuse of power .
They chronicled their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his political rival , former vice president Joe Biden , while withholding $ 391 million in military aid .
“ I think it 's a gross abuse of power , ” said the lead manager , Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff , D-Calif. “ And I do n't think that the impeachment power is a relic .
If it is a relic , I wonder how much longer our Republic can succeed . ''
On Thursday , the group is expected to focus on the Constitution and lay out the legal framework that they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Schiff said the group would `` apply the facts to the law as it relates to the president ’ s abuse of power . ''
The seven managers will have up to 24 hours spread over three sessions to make their arguments .
Then Trump ’ s defense team , which is led by White House counsel Pat Cipollone and private lawyer Jay Sekulow , will have up to 24 hours over three sessions to rebut the charges or make their own arguments . '
I got four hours sleep ' : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ impeachment Senate trial Sekulow told reporters that the defense lawyers , during their turn , would first respond to the House charges and then “ we are going to make an affirmative case defending the president.
” After hearing the opening arguments , senators will have up to 16 hours to pose written questions to both sides through Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts , who is presiding .
As the arguments got underway , Trump spent Tuesday and Wednesday at an economic conference in Davos , Switzerland .
But he will be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Trump criticized the trial and called two of the managers – Schiff and Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler , D-N.Y. – `` major sleazebags '' during a news conference Wednesday .
“ It ’ s total hoax .
It ’ s a disgrace .
They talked about their tremendous case .
They have no case , ” Trump said .
Schiff summarized the case over about two hours Wednesday by offering a chronology of the events , documents and testimony that the inquiry collected .
Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler , D-N.Y. , described @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rudy Giuliani , smeared Marie Yovanovitch , the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine , before the president removed her .
Democrats argued that her removal opened the door to pressuring Ukraine to investigate Biden and his son , Hunter Biden , who worked for a Ukraine gas company .
`` It is beyond argument that President Trump mounted a sustained pressure campaign to get Ukraine to announce investigations that would benefit him politically , and then tried to cover it up , ” Nadler said .
Alexander Hamilton : Schiff opens Trump impeachment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hamilton Rep. Sylvia Garcia , D-Texas , highlighted how Giuliani 's push for investigations benefited Trump personally rather than the national interest .
“ Giuliani admitted that he was asking Ukraine to work on investigations that could be ‘ very , very helpful ’ to the president , ” Garcia said .
Rep. Jason Crow , a former Army Ranger , focused on the suspension of military aid for Ukraine while at war with Russia .
`` Ukrainian soldiers were manning the front lines against Russian-backed forces illegally occupying their country , '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , D-Fla. , described how White House officials dangled the opportunity for Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky to visit the White House – if he announced investigations against the Bidens .
'Pettifogging ' : Chief Justice John Roberts drops 'pettifogging ' bomb while reprimanding both sides in impeachment trial But former national adviser John Bolton opposed the exchange , deriding it was a `` drug deal '' cooked up by Gordon Sondland , the U.S. ambassador to the European Union , and acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney , Demings said .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to both Ukrainian officials and American diplomats , '' Demings said .
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries , D-N.Y. , went line by line through the summary of Trump 's July 25 call with Zelensky , when the president asked his counterpart to investigate the Bidens .
`` These words will live in infamy , '' Jeffries said of Trump asking for `` a favor . ''
Rep. Zoe Lofgren , D-Calif. , walked through the lack of public explanation for why the administration suspended military aid for Ukraine or for why it was released @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the president ’ s change in decision – except he got caught , '' Lofgren said .
Joe Biden : Ex VP says he would not 'make the deal ' to testify in impeachment trial

Bart Jansen, Christal Hayes and Ledyard King, USA TODAY

Rep. Adam Schiff ended Thursday's impeachment trial session with Trump's infamous phone call – Updates
The Senate impeachment trial has resumed. This file will be updated throughout the day.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff decided to close proceedings by the evening by reading passages from President Donald Trump’s July 25 call with Volodymyr Zelensky to “point out a few things that really struck my attention.”
Schiff joked he decided to take Trump’s directions to “read the transcript,” noting Trump had told his Twitter followers to do so earlier in the trial.
The California Democrat went on to read through several of the passages, adding his own analysis to the passages.
“If you would speak to him, that would be great. Talk to Rudy,” Schiff said, quoting from the July 25 call record.
Schiff pointed out how unusual it was for the president to suggest another world leader discuss political issues with his personal attorney.
“Donald Trump chose Rudy Giulani over his own intelligence agencies,” Schiff said of Trump’s choice to “believe Rudy Giulani” about Ukrainian interference in the 2016 election over the conclusions of his own intelligence agencies.
Republicans say Democrats have been selective in their reading of the July 25 call record. Earlier in the evening, Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., told reporters Democrats were “cherry-picking” parts of transcripts, including that of the July 25 call.
“There’s parts they are conveniently cherry-picking out that I look at and say, let’s get the whole story,” Lankford said.
- Nicholas Wu
Ernst: ‘Hypocritical’ for Democrats to criticize Trump on Ukraine aid
Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, said it was “hypocritical” of Democrats to criticize Trump and his withholding of aid to Ukraine because Trump had done more for Ukraine than “the past administration.”
“It is really hypocritical of them to be pointing the finger at our president who has done more for the Ukrainian people than the past administration and them,” she said.
“Four of those House managers sitting right there are lecturing us on our president who provided lethal aid to Ukraine, while they voted no or against it.”
Ernst noted that some of the House managers had voted against this year’s government funding bill, and Rep. Jerry Nadler had not voted on it.
Nadler had been away the day of the vote for a family emergency, Politico reported.
- Nicholas Wu
Sekulow: Dems ‘opened the door’ for trial to be about Biden
Jay Sekulow, one of the president’s attorneys arguing on his behalf during the impeachment trial, said house managers’ focus on Joe Biden throughout their hours of presentations on Thursday “opened the door” for them to concentrate on the former vice president in their rebuttal.
“For the last five hours, it's been a lot about Joe Biden and Burisma,” Sekulow said, mentioning the Ukrainian gas company where Biden’s son served on the board. “They kind of opened the door for that response so we'll determine as a defense team the appropriate way to do it.”
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, agreed, arguing that the house managers’ decision to focus on Biden and Burisma had several consequences, including making Hunter Biden, the vice president’s son, “not only relevant. He is now critical.”
He added that when the president’s counsel presents, “they are going to have the opportunity to present the very significant evidence that supported and still supports a serious investigation into corruption at Burisma, and ultimately whether Joe Biden participated in that corruption.”
So far, many Republicans have fended off calls for Hunter Biden to testify in the trial, explaining it would create a spectacle. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he was fending off pressure to call the Bidens in to testify.
“They asked for him in the House and they said 'no,'" Graham said of Hunter Biden, "but I don't want to litigate that. I don't think it's necessary to dispose of this issue. I like Joe Biden, this man has been through a lot of tragic events in this life, and I have no desire to turn this Senate trial into a circus."
The Republican from South Carolina added, though, he couldn't just go back to his voters and ignore questions about Biden's conduct in Ukraine.
"I can't go home and say that we should just ignore what happened in Ukraine because I like Joe Biden," he said.
Other Republicans cautioned the president’s team from veering into the theories that Ukraine meddled in the 2016 election, something that the president has echoed.
"Unless they know something I don't know or haven't seen, I think the intelligence community has very conclusively determined that it was Russia, and not Ukraine who interfered in the 2016 election, so that's not a direction I would have gone in,” said Sen. John Thune, R-S.D.
-- Christal Hayes and Nicholas Wu
Graham tells Trump not to come to the trial
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a close ally of President Donald Trump, told reporters he did not want Trump to come to the Senate trial.
“He hasn’t told me whether or not he wants to come, but in case you’re listening, don’t come,” Graham said, making a reference to remarks by Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff recounting Trump telling Russia “if you’re listening” to find Hillary Clinton’s emails.
Trump said in Davos he would "love" to attend the trial, though his attorney Jay Sekulow said yesterday that "Presidents don't do that."
Graham spoke to the president last night, he said, and Trump was “bored” by the trial.
“He is on the receiving end of this. If you’ve ever been in one of these situations where you’ve been accused, and it’s very emotional,” Graham said, adding that Trump was having the “reaction a normal person would have if they were accused of something.”
- Nicholas Wu
Collins sent a note to Roberts before admonishment
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said she was "stunned" by remarks given by House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler at the start of the trial, where he accused senators of being complicit in a cover-up if they shot down measures to hear from additional witnesses.
Collins, a key moderate who Democrats are hoping to convince that more witnesses should be heard from during the trial, said the remarks caused her to write a note to Chief Justice John Roberts, asking whether the Senate's rules had been violated.
"I was stunned by Congressman Nadler’s approach, and it reminded me that if we were in a normal debate in the Senate, that the rule will be invoked to strike the words of the Senator, for impugning another Senator in this case," she explained in an interview with Politico, remarks that were confirmed by her office. "So, I did write a note raising the issue of whether there had been a violation of the rules of the Senate."
Collins said she gave the note to Laura Dove, the secretary for the Senate majority. Shortly after the note was delivered, Roberts admonished both house managers and Trump's counsel for the testy back-and-forth. "I was glad that he did," Collins said.
- Christal Hayes
Republicans decline to respond to videos of past statements
Republicans generally declined to respond to videos Democrats showed of past statements from members of the president’s legal defense team and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., about impeachable offenses and abuses of power.
Trump’s attorney Jay Sekulow said his team was composed of lawyers from many different schools of thought on the level of conduct constituting an impeachable offenses, and “the actions alleged and the actions of the president, do not reach that level regardless of your school of thought”
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., quipped, “I thought Lindsey looked a lot younger,” when asked about the video of Graham.
Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., said the consequence of being in politics for a long time was sometimes contradictory positions.
“That’s the irony of being here a long time, and all the different dynamics you might be part of,” Braun said. “I don’t think you can hold that against Lindsey, since I think you can hold that against almost every Democrat that is currently here today that was there over 20 years ago.”
- Nicholas Wu
Garcia disputes Trump allegations against Biden
One of the managers, Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Texas, spent her presentation outlining allegations of potential corruption by former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, were false. Garcia argued that President Donald Trump urged Ukraine to investigate Biden based on a debunked theory and at a time in 2019 when Biden was leading polls as the Democratic contender to challenge Trump.
“The entire premise of the investigation that the president wanted Ukraine to pursue was false,” Garcia said. “There is simply no evidence – nothing, nada – in the record to support this baseless allegation.”
Garcia recited the history that Hunter Biden joined the board of Burisma Holdings in 2014, at a time when the Ukraine gas company was under investigation because of its oligarch owner. Viktor Shokin became Ukraine’s prosecutor general in 2015 and he allowed the investigation to go dormant, Garcia said.
In late 2015, Joe Biden called for the removal of Shokin because he was widely perceived as ineffective and corrupt, Garcia said. Shokin’s removal was also sought by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, Garcia said. A bipartisan group of U.S. senators sent a letter Feb. 12, 2016, urging Shokin’s removal. Shokin was fired a month later. George Kent, who was the second-in-command at the U.S. embassy in Ukraine, testified that Shokin routinely lived more lavishly than his government salary would allow and covered up crimes.
“Biden called for removal of prosecutor at the direction of U.S. policy because the prosecutor was widely perceived as corrupt,” Garcia said.
But in a phone call July 25, 2019, Trump urged Ukraine’s new President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate the Bidens and Burisma because he had heard “horrible” things about potential corruption in Ukraine. The call came after Trump hadn’t pursued anti-corruption efforts in Ukraine in 2017 and 2018, but at a time when Biden was leading in polls to challenge Trump, Garcia said.
“He pushed for an investigation in 2019 because that is when it would be valuable to him, President Trump,” Garcia said. “He had good reason to be concerned.”
Garcia played videos of testimony from several government officials who testified during the House impeachment inquiry that they were not aware of Biden being corrupt and that Shokin wasn’t investigating Burisma at the time he was fired. The officials included former National Security Council aide Fiona Hill; David Holmes, the political officer at the U.S. embassy in Ukraine, and Marie Yovanovitch, the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine.
“My understanding is the prosecutor general at the time, Shokin, was not at that time pursuing investigations of Burisma or the Bidens,” Holmes said.
Garcia also played videos of other U.S. officials who dismissed allegations against Ukraine.
“We at the FBI have no information that would indicate that Ukraine tried to interfere in the 2016 presidential election,” FBI Director Christopher Wray told ABC News.
Hill, the Russia expert at the National Security Council, disputed allegations that Ukraine interfered with the 2016 election, citing the conclusion of the U.S. intelligence community, and calling the accusation Russian propaganda.
“This is a fictional narrative that has been perpetrated and propagated by the Russian security services themselves,” Hill testified in the House inquiry. “It is beyond dispute.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said when Democrats claim that allegations against the Bidens have been debunked, he isn’t so sure. Graham thinks more questions should be asked about why Hunter Biden was hired by Burisma and why he was hired after former Vice President Joe Biden was put in charge of the government’s portfolio dealing with Ukraine.
“I don't know. Doesn't pass the smell test to me,” Graham told reporters Thursday. “Why are you paying Hunter Biden? You can say they are corrupt, but they're not stupid. Does it make sense to hire the son of the guy in charge of the portfolio for the American government?”
Graham said he wasn’t accusing Joe Biden of corruption, but saying that more questions about the activities of both Bidens in Ukraine are warranted.
“I don't know anything about the Biden connection to the Ukraine,” Graham said. “So when the managers tell me this has been looked at and debunked, by who?”
- Bart Jansen
Republicans eager to hear Trump's side as Democrats argue for conviction
Republicans who have watched for hours as House managers present their impeachment case against President Donald Trump are eager to hear from Trump's defense team, something they say could shed new light on the chain of events that led to Trump’s impeachment.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., noted it would be the first time Americans have really heard the full story from the president.
“Well, I think we want to hear their version of events,” he said. “There’s all kinds of allegations that have been thrown up in the air and so they'll have a chance to lay out their timeline, their version of events.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said he wanted Americans to hear more about Ukraine’s corruption, how the president viewed this and more about the Biden family.
“I love Joe Biden but I can tell you if the name was Trump, there would be a lot of questions asked,” he said.
“All I can tell you is from the president’s point of view, he did nothing wrong in his mind," Graham added.
House Republicans who were tapped by the president as part of his defense, stressed that Trump’s counsel is prepared.
“They're well prepared and they've been prepared,” said Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who explained that he and other House Republicans have been meeting with Trump’s legal team at the White House on multiple occasions. “They've been following the case all the way through.”
Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., pushed back on criticism that Trump’s counsel did not look as prepared as house managers, who have offered a multimedia presentation and videos.
“These are members of the U.S. Senate. This is not an elementary school. You don't need visual aids,” he argued.
- Christal Hayes
Lindsey Graham's Clinton impeachment speech is played
House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., challenged the argument from Trump’s defenders that impeachment must allege a violation of statutory law.
To make his point, Nadler played a 1999 video of Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who was a manager 20 years ago in the impeachment trial of former President Bill Clinton. The Constitution allows impeachment for “high crimes and misdemeanors,” a term that has been debated during the Trump investigation.
“What’s a high crime?” Graham asked in the well of the Senate in 1999. “How about an important person hurting somebody of low means? It’s not very scholarly, but I think it’s the truth. I think that’s what they meant by high crimes. Doesn’t even have to be a crime. It’s just when you start using your office and you’re acting in a way that hurts people, you’ve committed a high crime.”
Republicans have challenged the accusations of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress as vague and not grounded in established law.
“This view is completely wrong,” Nadler said of the Republican argument. “It has no support in constitutional text and structure, original meaning, congressional precedents, common sense or the consensus of credible experts. In other words, it conflicts with every relevant consideration.”
Nadler quoted two constitutional scholars who testified at a Dec. 4 hearing in the impeachment inquiry.
Michael Gerhardt, a law professor at the University of North Carolina, said the Constitution “plainly does not” require a violation of law for impeachment.
- Bart Jansen
'It puts even President Nixon to shame': Schiff, Nadler open trial
WASHINGTON – House Democrats will describe the constitutional underpinnings of the article of impeachment accusing President Donald Trump of abuse of power in their arguments Thursday in the Senate.
House impeachment managers prosecuting the case will attempt to show how the law and Constitution are applied to the president’s dealings with Ukraine, according to the lead manager, Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff.
The prosecutors will do the same Friday for the second article of impeachment, which accuses Trump of obstruction of justice, Schiff said. The arguments Thursday on abuse of power and Friday on obstruction of Congress might sound repetitious, but that is because the evidence will be interwoven with new context, said Schiff.
“There is some method to our madness,” he added.
Shortly after 1 p.m. EST, House impeachment managers began their second day of arguments in the case.
Another manager, Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., said the abuse of power could have been charged just for Trump asking Ukraine to investigate his political rival, former Vice President Joe Biden. But Nadler said Trump went further, withholding $391 million in vital military aid and a White House meeting.
"Since President George Washington took office in 1789, no president has abused his power in this way," Nadler said. "No president has ever used his office to compel a foreign nation to help him cheat in our elections."
Nadler said the accusation of obstruction stems from Trump directing his administration to defy all subpoenas for testimony and documents during the investigation.
“The articles are overwhelmingly supported by the evidence amassed by the House, notwithstanding the president’s complete stonewalling, his attempt to block all witnesses and all documents from the United States Congress,” Nadler said. “It puts even President Nixon to shame.”
- Bart Jansen
Trump tweets as arguments begin
Minutes after Thursday's session opened, Trump tweeted out a warning to Democrats: His legal team will call witnesses of their own if the House Democratic managers get the opportunity to question witnesses.
"The Democrats don’t want a Witness Trade because Shifty Schiff, the Biden’s, the fake Whistleblower(& his lawyer), the second Whistleblower (who vanished after I released the Transcripts), the so-called “informer”, & many other Democrat disasters, would be a BIG problem for them!"
- David Jackson
Impeachment fact-check: Fact-checking the Senate impeachment trial of President Trump
Fidget spinners in the chamber
Three senators were spotted with fidget spinners as impeachment trial proceedings began on Thursday.
Sens. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., Richard Burr, R-N.C., and Pat Toomey, R-Pa., were spotted with spinners on their desks.
As House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler started presenting and played video from the House impeachment inquiry about the constitutional basis for impeachment, Burr picked up his blue fidget spinner and started twirling it. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., who sits next to Burr, looked over and smiled.
- Nicholas Wu
Wednesday takeaways: Takeaways from opening arguments in the Trump impeachment Senate trial
White House addresses 'ridiculous' criticism over evidence
White House aides sought to clarify President Donald Trump's comment this week that he and aides "have all the material" in the impeachment case – a suggestion critics took to mean that Trump is hiding evidence from investigators.
"That's a ridiculous allegation," Trump spokesman Hogan Gidley said, adding that Trump was saying "the evidence is all on our side."
During an economic conference in Davos, Switzerland, Trump condemned House impeachment managers and praised his attorneys by saying: "I thought our team did a very good job. But honestly, we have all the material. They don't have the material."
- David Jackson
Milk or water: For senators at Trump impeachment trial, there are only 2 beverage options: milk and water
‘What a whopper’
So what exactly are senators doing at their desks while the hours-long cases for and against impeachment are being made?
Some are nodding off. Some are drinking tall glasses of milk. And some are scribbling down thoughts.
Late during Tuesday’s session, when Trump's lawyer Pat Cipollone described the president as someone who "is a man of his word,” Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, wrote in her notebook:
“What a whopper.”
She relayed the story during a news conference Thursday, adding: “That's not the only time.”
“She didn’t mean a hamburger,” chimed in Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. standing next to her.
Hirono chuckled. “Definitely not.”
- Ledyard King
Schumer: GOP can't have it both ways on 'new' testimony
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Thursday that GOP senators’ dismissive claim that they’re hearing no new material during President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial “rings very, very hollow” – considering they’re blocking Democratic efforts to call more witnesses and request more documents.
“The same Republicans saying they heard nothing new just voted nine times on Tuesday to hear nothing new,” Schumer, D-N.Y., told reporters during a pretrial news conference. “If they want new stuff, there’s plenty of it.”
Schumer was referring to the amendments Democrats offered during the first day of the trial to allow certain witnesses and records pertaining to the impeachment investigation that are not part of the House’s case. All of the amendments were defeated on a strict partly-line vote in the Republican-controlled chamber, though they could be taken up again at a later time.
Democrats have pointed to Trump’s remarks Wednesday that "we have all the material. They don't have all the material.”
Hogan Gidley, a White House spokesman, said Trump wasn't bragging about withholding documents from Democrats, as some lawmakers have said. “What the president was clearly saying was that the evidence was all on our side," Gidley said.
Several GOP senators, including Ted Cruz, R-Texas; John Barrasso, R-Wyo., and John Cornyn, R-Texas, on Wednesday bemoaned the repetitive nature of the Democrat’s case during nearly eight hours of oral arguments. Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., called it “a rehashing of (Tuesday’s) charade.”
Schumer and other Democrats already shot down a rumored proposal to allow Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton to testify if Joe Biden's son Hunter could as well.
Democrats see Bolton as someone who could help make the case that Trump engaged in a “quid pro quo” with Ukraine. Republicans say Hunter Biden would be forced to answer pointed questions about his role on the board of a Ukrainian energy company key to the impeachment inquiry.
– Ledyard King
Schiff gets applause from an unlikely colleague: Graham
Rep. Adam Schiff, who’s leading the impeachment arguments during the Senate trial, got kudos from an unlikely source: Sen. Lindsey Graham.
"Good job today. Very well-spoken,” Graham, the South Carolina Republican, told Schiff, the California Democrat, late Wednesday during an impromptu meeting between the two near the elevators outside the Senate chamber.
Schiff and his fellow House managers had just wrapped up nearly eight hours of oral arguments when the exchange happened and the two shook hands.
It seemed an unlikely moment give how fiercely both have been regarding impeachment.
Schiff, the House Intelligence Committee chairman, had just been on the floor calling President Donald Trump’s pressure campaign on Ukraine a “gross abuse of power.” Graham, a tenacious Trump defender, had encouraged the president earlier in the day not to cooperate with Schiff, saying: “I wouldn’t give them the time of day.”
– Ledyard King and Savannah Behrmann
Senators can view classified testimony from Pence aide
When they’re not stuck in their seats at the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, senators will have the chance to review classified testimony from an assistant to Vice President Mike Pence that Democrats have unsuccessfully tried to make public.
After Senate Republicans rejected an attempt Tuesday to allow the Senate to receive classified information into evidence, Chief Justice John Roberts late Wednesday announced an agreement to allow classified information into the record. Senators will have to review it in a secure setting.
The information is part of a description of Pence’s Sept. 18 call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky given to the committee by Jennifer Williams, a foreign policy adviser to Pence.
Democrats argue the testimony is corroborating evidence and there’s no reason it should be classified.
“Jennifer Williams has classified information to share with you that I hope you'll take a look at because it is relevant to these issues,” House impeachment manager Adam Schiff said.
Pence's office previously refused Democrats’ request to declassifying the information, saying in a Dec. 11 letter that it would serve no purpose.
“This call was classified when it occurred,” Pence spokeswoman Katie Waldman tweeted Wednesday night. “House Democrats knew the call was classified when they allowed and asked Jennifer Williams to discuss a classified call in an unclassified setting. They are now trying to cover their tracks.”
Pence had previously said he had no problem with the White House releasing transcripts of his conversations with Zelensky.
– Maureen Groppe
Trump attacks Democrats in morning tweet storm
Back at the White House after an overseas trip, President Donald Trump didn't waste much time before attacking Democratic prosecutors at the Senate impeachment trial.
"The Democrats are trying hard to damage Republicans prior to the Election!" Trump said during an early morning tweet storm aimed at opponents who have accused him of abuse of power.
Trump also cited pundits who attacked the process, including conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh, and singled out Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., the lead House impeachment manager, as "Shifty Schiff."
The president, who spent the past two days at an international economic conference in Davos, Switzerland, has no public events on his schedule Thursday.
After a series of private meetings the White House, Trump leaves at mid-day for a trip to Miami; he is scheduled to give a closed-door speech to the Republican National Committee, which is holding its winter meeting at the Trump National Doral golf resort.
Trump is also expected to watch parts of the impeachment trial on television.
– David Jackson
Presidential impeachment: Clinton, Johnson, Nixon test U.S. democracy Presidents have been impeached, but none have been removed from office due to impeachment. Confusing? Here's how. Just the FAQs, USA TODAY
Constitution, legal grounds for removal will be the focus
House Democrats will continue detailing their case against President Donald Trump as the Senate impeachment trial resumes Thursday and are expected to focus on the Constitution and the legal grounds for the president's removal.
The seven prosecutors, who are called managers, spoke for eight hours Wednesday mostly about the article accusing Trump of abuse of power. They chronicled their evidence about Trump pressuring Ukraine to investigate his political rival, former vice president Joe Biden, while withholding $391 million in military aid.
“I think it's a gross abuse of power,” said the lead manager, Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif. “And I don't think that the impeachment power is a relic. If it is a relic, I wonder how much longer our Republic can succeed."
On Thursday, the group is expected to focus on the Constitution and lay out the legal framework that they say merits Trump's removal from office. Schiff said the group would "apply the facts to the law as it relates to the president’s abuse of power."
The seven managers will have up to 24 hours spread over three sessions to make their arguments. Then Trump’s defense team, which is led by White House counsel Pat Cipollone and private lawyer Jay Sekulow, will have up to 24 hours over three sessions to rebut the charges or make their own arguments.
'I got four hours sleep': Takeaways from opening arguments in the Trump impeachment Senate trial
Sekulow told reporters that the defense lawyers, during their turn, would first respond to the House charges and then “we are going to make an affirmative case defending the president.”
After hearing the opening arguments, senators will have up to 16 hours to pose written questions to both sides through Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, who is presiding.
As the arguments got underway, Trump spent Tuesday and Wednesday at an economic conference in Davos, Switzerland. But he will be in Washington Thursday as the trial continues.
Trump criticized the trial and called two of the managers – Schiff and Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y. – "major sleazebags" during a news conference Wednesday.
“It’s total hoax. It’s a disgrace. They talked about their tremendous case. They have no case,” Trump said.
Schiff summarized the case over about two hours Wednesday by offering a chronology of the events, documents and testimony that the inquiry collected.
Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., described how Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, smeared Marie Yovanovitch, the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, before the president removed her. Democrats argued that her removal opened the door to pressuring Ukraine to investigate Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, who worked for a Ukraine gas company.
"It is beyond argument that President Trump mounted a sustained pressure campaign to get Ukraine to announce investigations that would benefit him politically, and then tried to cover it up,” Nadler said.
Alexander Hamilton: Schiff opens Trump impeachment trial arguments with a quote from Alexander Hamilton
Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Texas, highlighted how Giuliani's push for investigations benefited Trump personally rather than the national interest.
“Giuliani admitted that he was asking Ukraine to work on investigations that could be ‘very, very helpful’ to the president,” Garcia said.
Rep. Jason Crow, a former Army Ranger, focused on the suspension of military aid for Ukraine while at war with Russia.
"Ukrainian soldiers were manning the front lines against Russian-backed forces illegally occupying their country," said Crow, D-Colo.
Rep. Val Demings, D-Fla., described how White House officials dangled the opportunity for Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky to visit the White House – if he announced investigations against the Bidens.
'Pettifogging': Chief Justice John Roberts drops 'pettifogging' bomb while reprimanding both sides in impeachment trial
But former national adviser John Bolton opposed the exchange, deriding it was a "drug deal" cooked up by Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, and acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, Demings said.
"Mr. Giuliani became an inescapable presence to both Ukrainian officials and American diplomats," Demings said.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., went line by line through the summary of Trump's July 25 call with Zelensky, when the president asked his counterpart to investigate the Bidens.
"These words will live in infamy," Jeffries said of Trump asking for "a favor."
Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., walked through the lack of public explanation for why the administration suspended military aid for Ukraine or for why it was released Sept. 11.
“Nothing to justify the president’s change in decision – except he got caught," Lofgren said.
Joe Biden: Ex VP says he would not 'make the deal' to testify in impeachment trial


usatoday--2020-01-23--Fact-checking the Senate impeachment trial of President Trump

Wednesday brought the beginning of House Democrats ' formal arguments during the Senate impeachment trial of President Donald Trump .
But a number of people involved in the trial dished some not-quite-accurate claims over everything from Trump 's July 25 call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky to the Obama administration 's aid to Ukraine .
Below are three fact-checks from the beginning of the trial : Trump switches up dates of Schiff ’ s version of Zelensky phone call President Donald Trump repeated one of his frequent factual errors Wednesday about Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff ’ s exaggerated version @ @ @ @ @ @ @ between Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky .
The president has claimed that the White House released its partial transcript of the call in response to Schiff ’ s rendition , but it was released the day before , on Sept. 25 .
Speaking during an Intelligence Committee hearing on Sept. 26 , Schiff did a `` parody ” of Trump ’ s words on the call and the president reacted by accusing him of treason .
“ I ’ d watch his lies , ” Trump said of Schiff in a Fox @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where they ’ ve actually played a rerun , which they shouldn ’ t even do , it was so bad , where he goes before Congress , and he makes a statement that I made , and it was a total fraud .
I never made it.
” “ That ’ s why I released the conversation , because if I didn ’ t release it , people would have said that I made the statement that he made .
This guy is a fraud , ” Trump said .
The president @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conference in Davos , Switzerland Wednesday .
“ When we released that conversation , all hell broke out with the Democrats , because they say , 'Wait a minute .
This is much different than Shifty Schiff told us . '
'' Trump is correct that Schiff ’ s version was not totally accurate relative to the summary of the call released by the White House , but the administration could not have released the call summary in response to Schiff .
Rather , Schiff ’ s version was based on the White @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Schiff gave `` an embellished rendition of the White House memo of the July phone call , '' adding , `` As we ’ ve explained before , Schiff said he was recounting 'the essence of what the president communicates ' and 'in not so many words . '
'' Cruz : Obama admin .
sent 'blankets and MREs ' to Ukraine Speaking during a break in the trial Wednesday night , Sen. Ted Cruz , R-Texas , said the Obama administration `` sent blankets and MRE 's '' to Ukraine , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aid . ''
`` I traveled to Ukraine in 2014 , came back , and urged Barack Obama to give lethal military aid to Ukraine .
The Obama administration refused to do so , '' Cruz said .
`` Instead , they sent blankets and MRE 's , but they would n't give lethal aid . ''
Cruz 's remarks echo others by fellow Republicans .
For example , Trump has previously said Obama provided Ukraine with `` pillows and sheets . ''
And in 2015 , Sen. John McCain , R-Ariz. , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Ukrainians are being slaughtered and we ’ re sending them blankets and meals .
Blankets don ’ t do well against Russian tanks.
” Milk or water : For senators at Trump impeachment trial , there are only 2 beverage options : milk and water Furthermore , the Obama administration provided hundreds of millions in aid to Ukraine , according to both CNN and PolitiFact.com .
But Cruz is correct that lethal military aid only began to be provided to Ukraine during Trump 's tenure .
`` The first lethal deliveries came @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deputy assistant secretary of defense for European and NATO Policy during the Obama administration , told PolitiFact .
Were Republicans , Trump allowed to participate in the House inquiry ?
In a wide-ranging pair of speeches on the Senate floor Tuesday , Jay Sekulow , a private lawyer for President Donald Trump , and White House counsel Pat Cipollone accused Democrats in bracing language of seeking to remove Trump since he was elected .
Sekulow said Schiff committed a “ trifecta ” of improprieties by denying Trump access to evidence , counsel access @ @ @ @ @ @ @ witnesses during the House inquiry .
“ That ’ s a trifecta , a trifecta that violates the Constitution of the United States , ” Sekulow said .
Alexander Hamilton : Rep. Adam Schiff opens Trump impeachment trial arguments with a quote from Alexander Hamilton House Democrats on three committees held closed-door depositions during the inquiry , but Republicans were allowed to attend and ask questions .
The Judiciary Committee then invited Trump 's lawyers to attend and participate in hearings by questioning witnesses , but the White House declined to participate in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ highly partisan '' inquiry .
So , GOP lawmakers were a part of the depositions and the White House lawyers representing the president declined to participate in the House Judiciary Committee hearings , as detailed by PolitiFact .

Bart Jansen, Jeanine Santucci, Savannah Behrmann and Martina Stewart, USA TODAY

Fact-checking the Senate impeachment trial of President Trump
Show Caption Hide Caption Impeachment: Democrats make abuse of power case On Thursday, House Democrat impeachment managers laid out their case for abuse of power, the first of two articles of impeachment against Pres. Trump. USA TODAY
Wednesday, the House Democrats began formal arguments in the Senate impeachment trial of President Donald Trump.
A number of people involved made not-quite-accurate claims over everything from Trump's phone call July 25 with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the Obama administration's aid to Ukraine.
Democrats focus on delaying aid, after Trump claims Ukraine got funds ‘long before schedule’
As Democratic House managers wrapped up their presentation about the first article of impeachment alleging abuse of power, Manager Jason Crow, D-Colo. said President Donald Trump’s defenders might argue that the suspension of $391 million in military aid to Ukraine wasn’t important because it was short-lived and the money was eventually released.
“This defense would be laughable if this issue wasn’t so serious,” said Crow, a former Army Ranger. “No, the delay wasn’t meaningless. Just ask the Ukrainians sitting in trenches now.”
Ukraine needed the funding because it had been invaded by Russia and was fighting for its territorial integrity. Crow played a video of Jennifer Williams, a State Department aide assigned to Vice President Mike Pence’s office, who attended a Sept. 1 meeting between Pence and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“President Zelensky explained that equally with the financial and fiscal value, that it was the symbolic nature of that assistance that really was the show of U.S. support for Ukraine and for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Williams said, in her testimony during the House inquiry. “He was stressing that to the vice president, to really underscore the need for the security assistance to be released.”
Crow argued that Trump only released the money to use it as leverage to pressure Ukraine into investigating his political rival, former Vice President Joe Biden.
“The scheme was unraveling,” Crow said. “He only released it after he got caught.”
Earlier this week, Trump said while speaking at a news conference in Davos, Switzerland that Ukraine got the “money long before schedule.”
“That’s false,” FactCheck.org said of Trump’s claim. And the Associated Press concluded Ukraine “got the money months late.”
USA TODAY and the AP both point to the fact that the hold was lifted by the Trump administration after a complaint was submitted by a whistleblower. And FactCheck.org writes that the White House was “under pressure from members of Congress and administration officials” when the money was released.
Furthermore, FactCheck.org points out that Congress had to grant an extension to make sure the aid could be spent past the deadline originally set by Capitol Hill, adding that a Pentagon official said earlier this week the Defense Department had “‘executed 99.8% of the funds’ for Ukraine and was ‘working to obligate the remainder.’”
Finally, a government watchdog agency recently concluded that the Trump administration violated federal law when it withheld the funds intended to help Ukraine. "Faithful execution of the law does not permit the president to substitute his own policy priorities for those that Congress has enacted into law," the report by the Government Accountability Office says. "OMB withheld funds for a policy reason, which is not permitted" under the law.
Watchdog: White House budget office violated federal law by withholding Ukraine security funds
A spokesperson for the Office of Management and Budget disagreed with the GAO’s conclusion.
– Martina Stewart and Bart Jansen
The Bidens, Burisma, a Ukraine prosecutor and a debunked theory
One of the managers, Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Texas, spent her presentation Thursday outlining allegations of potential corruption by former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, were false. Garcia argued that President Donald Trump urged Ukraine to investigate Biden based on a debunked theory and at a time in 2019 when Biden was leading polls as the Democratic contender to challenge Trump.
“The entire premise of the investigation that the president wanted Ukraine to pursue was false,” Garcia said. “There is simply no evidence – nothing, nada – in the record to support this baseless allegation.”
Live impeachment trial updates: Trump says Saturday TV ratings for his team's opening arguments will be like 'Death Valley'
Garcia recited the history that Hunter Biden joined the board of Burisma Holdings in 2014, at a time when the Ukraine gas company was under investigation because of its oligarch owner. Viktor Shokin became Ukraine’s prosecutor general in 2015 and he allowed the investigation to go dormant, Garcia said.
In late 2015, Joe Biden called for the removal of Shokin because he was widely perceived as ineffective and corrupt, Garcia said. Shokin’s removal was also sought by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, Garcia said. A bipartisan group of U.S. senators sent a letter Feb. 12, 2016, urging Shokin’s removal. Shokin was fired a month later. George Kent, who was the second-in-command at the U.S. embassy in Ukraine, testified that Shokin routinely lived more lavishly than his government salary would allow and covered up crimes.
“Biden called for removal of the prosecutor at the direction of U.S. policy because the prosecutor was widely perceived as corrupt,” Garcia said.
But in a phone call July 25, 2019, Trump urged Ukraine’s new President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate the Bidens and Burisma because he had heard “horrible” things about potential corruption in Ukraine. The call came after Trump hadn’t pursued anti-corruption efforts in Ukraine in 2017 and 2018, but at a time when Biden was leading in polls to challenge Trump, Garcia said.
“He pushed for an investigation in 2019 because that is when it would be valuable to him, President Trump,” Garcia said. “He had good reason to be concerned.”
As USA TODAY has explained, Biden pushed for Shokin’s ouster because the prosecutor wasn’t pursuing corruption by Ukrainian politicians.
Furthermore, USA TODAY spent a week in Ukraine and reported “the message from two dozen government officials and anti-corruption investigators quickly became clear: The allegations against the Bidens are entirely lacking in evidence.”
And, the notion that it was Ukraine -- rather than Russia -- who interfered in the 2016 presidential election, is a debunked theory, one of a handful of debunked theories Trump has espoused, USA TODAY has reported.
But one of the lawyers representing Trump in the trial said Thursday evening that the House managers’ focus on Joe Biden throughout their hours of presentations earlier in the day “opened the door” for Trump's team to concentrate on the former vice president in their rebuttal on behalf of the president.
“For the last five hours, it's been a lot about Joe Biden and Burisma,” Jay Sekulow said, “They kind of opened the door for that response so we'll determine as a defense team the appropriate way to do it.”
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, agreed, arguing that the House managers’ decision to focus on Biden and Burisma had several consequences, including making Hunter Biden, the vice president’s son, “not only relevant. He is now critical.”
And, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said when Democrats claim that allegations against the Bidens have been debunked, he isn’t so sure. Graham thinks more questions should be asked about why Hunter Biden was hired by Burisma and why he was hired after then-Vice President Joe Biden was put in charge of the government’s portfolio dealing with Ukraine.
“I don't know. Doesn't pass the smell test to me,” Graham told reporters Thursday.
Graham said he wasn’t accusing Joe Biden of corruption, but saying that more questions about the activities of both Bidens in Ukraine are warranted. “I don't know anything about the Biden connection to the Ukraine,” Graham said. “So when the managers tell me this has been looked at and debunked, by who?”
– Bart Jansen, Christal Hayes, Nicholas Wu, and Martina Stewart
Must an impeachable offense involve a statutory crime?
During the trial Thursday, House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., challenged the argument from President Trump’s defenders that impeachment must allege a violation of statutory law.
To make his point, Nadler played a 1999 video of Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who was a manager 21 years ago in the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton. The Constitution allows impeachment for “high crimes and misdemeanors,” a term that has been debated during the Trump investigation.
“What’s a high crime?” Graham asked in the well of the Senate in 1999. “How about an important person hurting somebody of low means? It’s not very scholarly, but I think it’s the truth. I think that’s what they meant by high crimes. Doesn’t even have to be a crime. It’s just when you start using your office and you’re acting in a way that hurts people, you’ve committed a high crime.”
Republicans have challenged the accusations of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress as vague and not grounded in established law.
For example, during the Dec. 18 debate by the full House on the articles of impeachment, Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., who was a manager during President Bill Clinton’s impeachment trial said: “the Constitution says that any civil officer, including the President, may be impeached for treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. Unlike the Nixon and Clinton cases, there are no allegations that the President has committed a crime. We have had almost 3 years of nonstop investigations. We have had the Mueller report, we have had the Schiff investigation, we have had the Nadler investigation, and at no time has there been any evidence that indicates that Donald J. Trump violated any criminal statute of the United States.”
“This view is completely wrong,” Nadler said Thursday of the Republican argument. “It has no support in constitutional text and structure, original meaning, congressional precedents, common sense or the consensus of credible experts. In other words, it conflicts with every relevant consideration.”
Nadler quoted two constitutional scholars who testified at a Dec. 4 hearing in the impeachment inquiry.
Michael Gerhardt, a law professor at the University of North Carolina, said the Constitution “plainly does not” require a violation of law for impeachment.
“Everything that we know about the history of impeachment reinforces the conclusion that impeachable offenses do not have to be crimes,” Gerhardt said. “We look, again, at the context and gravity of the misconduct.”
Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University, submitted written testimony that said: “it is possible to establish a case for impeachment based on a non-criminal allegation of abuse of power.”
During a break Thursday, Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, said she would like to hear a rebuttal from Trump’s legal team that goes beyond saying abuse of power isn’t an impeachable offense.
“I am not particularly interested in legal arguments such as abuse of power is not impeachable because that has been rebutted by real constitutional scholars,” Hirono told reporters.
– Bart Jansen
Trump switches up dates of Schiff’s version of Zelensky phone call
President Donald Trump repeated one of his frequent factual errors Wednesday about Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff’s exaggerated version of the phone call between Trump and Zelensky.
The president said the White House released its partial transcript of the call in response to Schiff’s rendition, but it was released the day before, on Sept. 25. Speaking during an Intelligence Committee hearing on Sept. 26, Schiff did a "parody” of Trump’s words on the call, and the president reacted by accusing him of treason.
“I’d watch his lies,” Trump said in a Fox Business interview Wednesday. “I watch where they’ve actually played a rerun, which they shouldn’t even do, it was so bad, where he goes before Congress, and he makes a statement that I made, and it was a total fraud. I never made it.
“That’s why I released the conversation, because if I didn’t release it, people would have said that I made the statement that he made. This guy is a fraud,” Trump said.
Live impeachment trial updates: Trump attacks Democrats in morning tweet storm
The president made a similar claim during a news conference in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday. “When we released that conversation, all hell broke out with the Democrats, because they say, 'Wait a minute. This is much different than Shifty Schiff told us.' "
Trump is correct that Schiff’s version was not totally accurate, relative to the summary of the call released by the White House, but the administration could not have released the call summary in response to Schiff. Rather, Schiff’s version was based on the White House's summary.
Schiff gave "an embellished rendition of the White House memo of the July phone call," FactCheck.org said. "As we’ve explained before, Schiff said he was recounting 'the essence of what the president communicates' and 'in not so many words.' "
– Jeanine Santucci
Schiff: In 2016, Russia hacked Democrats after Trump’s 'Russia, if you’re listening …'
Schiff, the lead House impeachment manager, said Wednesday, “In 2016, candidate Trump implored Russians to hack his opponent’s email account, something the Russian military agency did hours later. Only hours later, they hacked his opponent’s campaign.”
Schiff referred to a remark Trump made July 27, 2016, during a news conference in Florida where he said he hoped Moscow could locate emails associated with his rival Hillary Clinton: "Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing," he said. "I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press."
The report on Russian interference in the 2016 election issued by special counsel Robert Mueller noted that “within approximately five hours of Trump’s statement, [Russian military intelligence] officers targeted for the first time Clinton’s personal office,” including 15 email accounts at a specific domain, one of which belonged to a Clinton aide.
As noted by The New York Times, the events of that day in the summer of 2016 were part of an indictment against a dozen Russians charged with hacking by the Justice Department.
In written responses provided by Trump during the Mueller investigation, the president said he made the “Russia, if you’re listening …” remark “in jest and sarcastically, as was apparent to any objective observer.”
Although federal prosecutors said in the hacking indictment that the Russian hackers corresponded with several Americans, a top Justice Department lawyer said in unveiling the indictment that there was no evidence that the Americans were aware they were corresponding with Russian intelligence officers.
– Martina Stewart
Presidential impeachment: Clinton, Johnson, Nixon test U.S. democracy Presidents have been impeached, but none have been removed from office due to impeachment. Confusing? Here's how. Just the FAQs, USA TODAY
Cruz: Obama administration sent 'blankets and MREs' to Ukraine
During a break in the trial Wednesday night, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said the Obama administration "sent blankets and MRE's" to Ukraine, "but they wouldn't give lethal aid."
"I traveled to Ukraine in 2014, came back and urged Barack Obama to give lethal military aid to Ukraine. The Obama administration refused to do so," Cruz said. "Instead, they sent blankets and MRE's."
Cruz's remarks echo others by fellow Republicans. Trump said Obama provided Ukraine with "pillows and sheets." In 2015, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said, "The Ukrainians are being slaughtered, and we’re sending them blankets and meals. Blankets don’t do well against Russian tanks.”
Milk or water: For senators at Trump impeachment trial, there are only 2 beverage options: milk and water
The Obama administration provided hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to Ukraine, according to CNN and PolitiFact.com.
Cruz is correct that lethal military aid began to be provided to Ukraine only during Trump's tenure. "The first lethal deliveries came from Trump," Jim Townsend, deputy assistant secretary of defense for European and NATO Policy during the Obama administration, told PolitiFact.
– Martina Stewart and Savannah Behrmann
Were Republicans, Trump allowed to participate in the House inquiry?
In a wide-ranging pair of speeches on the Senate floor Tuesday, Jay Sekulow, a private lawyer for Trump, and White House counsel Pat Cipollone accused Democrats of seeking to remove Trump since he was elected.
Sekulow said Schiff committed a “trifecta” of improprieties by denying Trump access to evidence, counsel at hearings and the right to cross-examine witnesses during the House inquiry.
“That’s a trifecta, a trifecta that violates the Constitution of the United States,” Sekulow said.
Alexander Hamilton: Rep. Adam Schiff opens Trump impeachment trial arguments with a quote from Alexander Hamilton
House Democrats on three committees held closed-door depositions during the inquiry, but Republicans were allowed to attend and ask questions. The Judiciary Committee invited Trump's lawyers to attend and participate in hearings by questioning witnesses, but the White House declined to participate in what Cipollone called a "baseless and highly partisan" inquiry.
GOP lawmakers were a part of the depositions, and the White House lawyers representing the president declined to participate in the House Judiciary Committee hearings, as detailed by PolitiFact and FactCheck.org.
– Bart Jansen
What the Mueller report found on obstruction of justice
Sekulow said Tuesday that “there was no obstruction,” referring to the special counsel’s report on Russian interference.
The report detailed 11 episodes of conduct by Trump that might have constituted obstruction, but Mueller refused to make a firm conclusion on the issue.
As USA TODAY explained, “In leaving that issue unanswered, Mueller neither charged Trump with an offense nor exonerated him, leaving the next moves up to Congress.”
FactCheck.org said that in punting on the question, the Mueller report pointed to “difficult [legal] issues” involved in indicting a sitting president, including concerns about violating the constitutional principle of separation of powers as detailed in an October 2000 legal opinion by the Justice Department.
– Martina Stewart


usatoday--2020-01-23--'Attack their own jury': GOP says Nadler may have alienated senators during impeachment trial

WASHINGTON – Senators in both parties voiced concern over the fiery rhetoric used by both house prosecutors and the president 's counsel and the possibility that the remarks had turned off key moderate Republicans who will decide whether new witnesses are heard from during President Donald Trump 's impeachment trial .
One of those key moderate senators , Lisa Murkowski , R-Alaska , told reporters she was `` offended '' by Rep. Jerry Nadler 's remarks Tuesday evening after he accused the president 's defense team was lying and said senators would be complicit in a coverup if they shot @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Trump 's former national security advisor .
The president 's defense team shot back , demanding that Nadler apologize and that he should be `` embarrassed . ''
`` I took it as very offensive , '' Murkowski told CNN .
`` As one who is listening attentively and working hard to get to a fair process , I was offended . ''
The testy back-and-forth resulted in Chief Justice John Roberts admonishing both house managers and the president 's counsel as Tuesday 's debate went into early Wednesday morning .
Republicans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nadler attacked the jury and it would not bode well for Democrats who will have to convince at least four Republicans that additional witnesses and documents should be subpoenaed as part of the trial .
`` They managed to alienate senators , attack their own jury , '' said Sen. Josh Hawley , R-Mo .
`` If the point was to try to convince people , I think they ’ re off to a terrible start . ''
He added that house managers have `` a lot of work to do , to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' More : Trump attorney shoots down possibility of president appearing at impeachment trial – Updates More : Rep. Adam Schiff opens Trump impeachment trial arguments with a quote from Alexander Hamilton More : President Trump 's impeachment : What happens now in the Senate trial Democrats would n't go that far but acknowledged that Nadler 's comments crossed a line in the buttoned-up Senate and encouraged the house managers to veer away from inflammatory rhetoric .
`` One of the house managers said things they should n't have said , '' said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the President 's counsel said things that should n't have been said , as far as the decorum of the Senate is concerned . ''
Asked if she thought Nadler had crossed a line , Sen. Dianne Feinstein , D-Calif. , declined to criticize Nadler directly , but said the moment the Senate had reached `` really bears soul searching . ''
`` I 've been here for 25 years , never happened before , never had anything like this , '' she said .
`` It really bears soul searching .
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some of that , because it makes you think . ''

'Attack their own jury': GOP says Nadler may have alienated senators during impeachment trial
Show Caption Hide Caption Rep. Adam Schiff: 'The Senate should allow us a fair trial' Rep. Adam Schiff, the lead House impeachment manager says, "The Senate should allow us a fair trial." He also accused President Donald Trump of bragging about keeping documents from House lawmakers during their impeachment inquiry. (Jan. 22) AP
WASHINGTON – Senators in both parties voiced concern over the fiery rhetoric used by both house prosecutors and the president's counsel and the possibility that the remarks had turned off key moderate Republicans who will decide whether new witnesses are heard from during President Donald Trump's impeachment trial.
One of those key moderate senators, Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, told reporters she was "offended" by Rep. Jerry Nadler's remarks Tuesday evening after he accused the president's defense team was lying and said senators would be complicit in a coverup if they shot down calls to hear from John Bolton, Trump's former national security advisor. The president's defense team shot back, demanding that Nadler apologize and that he should be "embarrassed."
"I took it as very offensive," Murkowski told CNN. "As one who is listening attentively and working hard to get to a fair process, I was offended."
The testy back-and-forth resulted in Chief Justice John Roberts admonishing both house managers and the president's counsel as Tuesday's debate went into early Wednesday morning.
Presidential impeachment: Clinton, Johnson, Nixon test U.S. democracy Presidents have been impeached, but none have been removed from office due to impeachment. Confusing? Here's how. Just the FAQs, USA TODAY
Republicans quickly jumped on the admonishment, arguing Nadler attacked the jury and it would not bode well for Democrats who will have to convince at least four Republicans that additional witnesses and documents should be subpoenaed as part of the trial.
"They managed to alienate senators, attack their own jury," said Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo. "If the point was to try to convince people, I think they’re off to a terrible start."
He added that house managers have "a lot of work to do, to try to win back over senators."
More: Trump attorney shoots down possibility of president appearing at impeachment trial – Updates
More: Rep. Adam Schiff opens Trump impeachment trial arguments with a quote from Alexander Hamilton
More: President Trump's impeachment: What happens now in the Senate trial
Democrats wouldn't go that far but acknowledged that Nadler's comments crossed a line in the buttoned-up Senate and encouraged the house managers to veer away from inflammatory rhetoric.
"One of the house managers said things they shouldn't have said," said Sen. Cardin, D-Md. "But the President's counsel said things that shouldn't have been said, as far as the decorum of the Senate is concerned."
Asked if she thought Nadler had crossed a line, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., declined to criticize Nadler directly, but said the moment the Senate had reached "really bears soul searching."
"I've been here for 25 years, never happened before, never had anything like this," she said. "It really bears soul searching. I was starting to take notes to do some of that, because it makes you think."
Contributing: Bart Jansen and Nicholas Wu


usatoday--2020-01-23--Impeachment trial questions answered: Is President Trump 'impeached for life?'

USA TODAY Washington correspondent Christal Hayes answers the internet about if President Trump is 'impeached for life ? '

Impeachment trial questions: Is President Trump 'impeached for life?'
USA TODAY Washington correspondent Christal Hayes answers the internet about if President Trump is 'impeached for life?'
USA TODAY


usatoday--2020-01-23--Impeachment trial questions answered: What is John Roberts doing in the trial?

Impeachment trial questions : What is John Roberts doing in the trial ?
USA TODAY Washington correspondent Christal Hayes answers @ @ @ @ @ Justice John Roberts is doing in the trial .

Impeachment trial questions: What is John Roberts doing in the trial?
USA TODAY Washington correspondent Christal Hayes answers the internet on what Chief Justice John Roberts is doing in the trial.
USA TODAY


usatoday--2020-01-23--Impeachment trial questions answered: Why have a trial if the votes won't convict?

Impeachment trial questions : Why a trial if the votes wo n't convict ?
USA TODAY Washington correspondent Christal Hayes @ @ @ @ @ have a trial if the votes wo n't convict .

Impeachment trial questions: Why a trial if the votes won't convict?
USA TODAY Washington correspondent Christal Hayes answers the internet on why have a trial if the votes won't convict.
USA TODAY


usatoday--2020-01-22--OnPolitics: Things are just getting started

Let 's just start out by saying , the Senate wrapped up Tuesday 's debate in the wee hours of the morning Wednesday so everyone is just a bit tired today .
The marathon session in President Donald Trump 's impeachment trial Tuesday saw 11 amendments with proposed rule changes from the Democrats voted down by the Republican majority .
Also , Chief Justice John Roberts used the word `` pettifogging '' to admonish leaders of both parties , and you 're lying if you say you already knew what that word meant meant .
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with Tuesday 's events .
“ If there ’ s one thing we learned from the series of votes on the Senate floor , on the Senate floor it ’ s that Leader McConnell and Senate Republicans don ’ t want a fair trial that considers all the evidence , ” Schumer told reporters at a Capitol Hill news conference .
But Wednesday saw the first day of actual arguments in the trial , kicked off by lead House impeachment manager Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff , D-Calif. , quoting Alexander Hamilton ( the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) .
USA TODAY reported Christal Hayes — who at this point may actually be made up of 75 % coffee — has been covering impeachment for months and pointed out that both Republicans and Democrats have leaned on the founding fathers to justify opposing , or supporting , the impeachment .
The House impeachment managers will have 24 hours spread over 3 days to make their case , followed by the same amount of time for the president 's counsel .
Then , senators will have 16 hours to ask questions of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vote .
So what 's Trump up to ?
The president wrapped up his time at the World Economic Forum Wednesday and as he was headed out of Switzerland , he told reporters he plans to add `` a couple '' countries to his travel ban .
The initial ban kicked off a 17-month political and legal battle , with critics accusing Trump of unconstitutionally targeting Muslims .
The Supreme Court ultimately upheld the legality of the ban and Trump on Wednesday did not mention which countries could be added to the ban @ @ @ @ @ @ @ general sued President Trump 's inaugural committee , accusing the nonprofit organization of `` grossly '' misusing funds by overpaying for event space at Trump 's hotel in Washington , D.C. A statement from the Trump hotel dismissed the claims as `` false , intentionally misleading and riddled with inaccuracies . ''
If that was n't a busy enough day , the president also opened the door to overhauling so-called entitlement programs such as Medicare in an appearance on CNBC .
After all of that , the president still had a moment to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Twitter .
`` Steyer is a major loser .
Just does n't get it , '' Trump posted while re-tweeting a video of Sen. Bernie Sanders appearing to push away Steyer as he tried to say something to him .
`` Donald , you 're just jealous nobody wants to say hi to you , '' Steyer replied .
`` Impeachment is forever bye .
That has to hurt . ''
Want to talk more about politics ?
Join our Facebook group : ‘ Across the Aisle , Across the Nation .
@

OnPolitics: Things are just getting started
Show Caption Hide Caption Presidential impeachment: Clinton, Johnson, Nixon test U.S. democracy Presidents have been impeached, but none have been removed from office due to impeachment. Confusing? Here's how. Just the FAQs, USA TODAY
Let's just start out by saying, the Senate wrapped up Tuesday's debate in the wee hours of the morning Wednesday so everyone is just a bit tired today.
The marathon session in President Donald Trump's impeachment trial Tuesday saw 11 amendments with proposed rule changes from the Democrats voted down by the Republican majority.
Also, Chief Justice John Roberts used the word "pettifogging" to admonish leaders of both parties, and you're lying if you say you already knew what that word meant meant.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, for one, was not pleased with Tuesday's events.
“If there’s one thing we learned from the series of votes on the Senate floor, on the Senate floor it’s that Leader McConnell and Senate Republicans don’t want a fair trial that considers all the evidence,” Schumer told reporters at a Capitol Hill news conference.
But Wednesday saw the first day of actual arguments in the trial , kicked off by lead House impeachment manager Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., quoting Alexander Hamilton (the real one, not the Broadway one).
USA TODAY reported Christal Hayes — who at this point may actually be made up of 75% coffee — has been covering impeachment for months and pointed out that both Republicans and Democrats have leaned on the founding fathers to justify opposing, or supporting, the impeachment.
The House impeachment managers will have 24 hours spread over 3 days to make their case, followed by the same amount of time for the president's counsel. Then, senators will have 16 hours to ask questions of those two groups. Then, the vote.
So what's Trump up to?
The president wrapped up his time at the World Economic Forum Wednesday and as he was headed out of Switzerland, he told reporters he plans to add "a couple" countries to his travel ban.
The initial ban kicked off a 17-month political and legal battle, with critics accusing Trump of unconstitutionally targeting Muslims. The Supreme Court ultimately upheld the legality of the ban and Trump on Wednesday did not mention which countries could be added to the ban.
Also Wednesday, the D.C. attorney general sued President Trump's inaugural committee, accusing the nonprofit organization of "grossly" misusing funds by overpaying for event space at Trump's hotel in Washington, D.C.
A statement from the Trump hotel dismissed the claims as "false, intentionally misleading and riddled with inaccuracies."
If that wasn't a busy enough day, the president also opened the door to overhauling so-called entitlement programs such as Medicare in an appearance on CNBC.
After all of that, the president still had a moment to trade jabs with presidential candidate Tom Steyer on Twitter.
"Steyer is a major loser. Just doesn't get it," Trump posted while re-tweeting a video of Sen. Bernie Sanders appearing to push away Steyer as he tried to say something to him.
"Donald, you're just jealous nobody wants to say hi to you," Steyer replied. "Impeachment is forever bye. That has to hurt."
Want to talk more about politics? Join our Facebook group: ‘Across the Aisle, Across the Nation.’


usatoday--2020-01-22--Donald Trump to become first president in history to attend March for Life rally on National Mall

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump will attend the March for Life rally on Friday , making him the first president in history to join the annual event protesting abortion .
Trump will speak to the thousands of marchers who will gather on the National Mall for the event .
“ We are so excited for him to experience in person how passionate our marchers are about life and protecting the unborn , ” said Jeanne Mancini , president of March for Life .
Mancini called Trump and his administration “ consistent champions ” of the March for Life movement , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ federal workers , efforts to cut taxpayer funding for abortions , and his calls for an end to late-term abortions .
The White House also announced Trump 's participation in the event on Twitter .
`` See you on Friday ... Big Crowd ! ''
Trump wrote .
This is the 47th year of the March of Life event , which is held around the anniversary of the 1973 Supreme Court Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion .
Trump has addressed the crowd via satellite the past two years .
Former President @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the marchers via satellite when he was in office .
Michael Collins covers the White House .
Reach him on Twitter @ mcollinsNEWS .

Donald Trump to become first president in history to attend March for Life rally on National Mall
Show Caption Hide Caption Abortion laws: How different states use 'heartbeat' bills, Roe v. Wade The Supreme Court will review Mississippi abortion law, which bans abortions when a fetal heartbeat is detected. Here's how states handle abortion. Just the FAQs, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump will attend the March for Life rally on Friday, making him the first president in history to join the annual event protesting abortion.
Trump will speak to the thousands of marchers who will gather on the National Mall for the event.
“We are so excited for him to experience in person how passionate our marchers are about life and protecting the unborn,” said Jeanne Mancini, president of March for Life.
Mancini called Trump and his administration “consistent champions” of the March for Life movement, citing his appointment of conservative judges and federal workers, efforts to cut taxpayer funding for abortions, and his calls for an end to late-term abortions.
The White House also announced Trump's participation in the event on Twitter.
"See you on Friday ... Big Crowd!" Trump wrote.
This Friday, January 24, President @realDonaldTrump will be the first President in history to attend the March for Life! — The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 22, 2020
See you on Friday...Big Crowd! https://t.co/MFyWLG4HFZ — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 22, 2020
This is the 47th year of the March of Life event, which is held around the anniversary of the 1973 Supreme Court Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion.
Trump has addressed the crowd via satellite the past two years. Former President George W. Bush also spoke remotely to the marchers via satellite when he was in office.
Michael Collins covers the White House. Reach him on Twitter @mcollinsNEWS.