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Trump impeachment: Schiff denounces 'ass-backwards' Senate trial – live Trump impeachment: Schiff denounces 'ass-backwards' Senate trial – live
(32 minutes later)
House impeachment manager Schiff says it makes no sense to hold a trial and then request witness testimony – get the latest liveHouse impeachment manager Schiff says it makes no sense to hold a trial and then request witness testimony – get the latest live
The Senate is now taking a ten-minute recess, after which the House impeachment managers and Trump’s legal team will be allowed to debate Chuck Schumer’s second amendment to Mitch McConnell’s impeachment trial resolution.
But McConnell said he intended to propose to also table that amendment, and that motion is likely to succeed on a party-line vote, as the first motion to table did.
Senate Republicans successfully killed minority leader Chuck Schumer’s amendment to the resolution outlining rules for the impeachment trial, which called for subpoenaing White House documents related to the charges against Trump.
Schumer is now introducing another amendment, which is aimed at subpoenaing State Department documents related to the impeachment. It will likely also fail along party lines.
As expected, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell has introduced a motion to table (or kill) Chuck Schumer’s amendment, which calls for subpoenaeing White House documents related to Trump’s impeachment charges.
The motion to table is expected to pass along party lines, and Schumer will then likely introduce another amendment to McConnell’s resolution outlining the rules for the impeachment trial.
House impeachment manager Zoe Lofgren pushed back against arguments from Pat Philbin, deputy counsel to the president, that the House is trying to get the Senate to do its investigative job.
“The House is certainly not asking the Senate to do the House’s job,” Lofgren said. “The House is asking the Senate to do its job.”
The House impeachment managers and the president’s legal team continue to debate an amendment from Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer calling for the White House to be subpoenaed for relevant documents.
Fun fact: House impeachment manager Adam Schiff is not actually the first person to use the term “ass-backwards” on the Senate floor.Fun fact: House impeachment manager Adam Schiff is not actually the first person to use the term “ass-backwards” on the Senate floor.
That honor appears to go to Republican senator Lindsey Graham, who used the term in 2016 to denounce a bipartisan proposal to block a military arms sale to Saudi Arabia.That honor appears to go to Republican senator Lindsey Graham, who used the term in 2016 to denounce a bipartisan proposal to block a military arms sale to Saudi Arabia.
“I think it would be pretty odd for members on the other side of the aisle who almost unanimously supported the Iranian nuclear agreement ... [to] deny a weapons sale to somebody who is in the fight with you,” Graham said at the time. “You’re talking about ass-backwards.”“I think it would be pretty odd for members on the other side of the aisle who almost unanimously supported the Iranian nuclear agreement ... [to] deny a weapons sale to somebody who is in the fight with you,” Graham said at the time. “You’re talking about ass-backwards.”
Former Republican senator Jeff Flake, who declined to run for reelection in 2018 because of his opposition to Trump, was spotted in the Senate chamber as the president’s impeachment trial continues.Former Republican senator Jeff Flake, who declined to run for reelection in 2018 because of his opposition to Trump, was spotted in the Senate chamber as the president’s impeachment trial continues.
Flake wrote a Washington Post op-ed last month urging his former Republican colleagues to “put country over party” once the trial began:Flake wrote a Washington Post op-ed last month urging his former Republican colleagues to “put country over party” once the trial began:
Denouncing the proposed rules for Trump’s impeachment trial, House impeachment manager Adam Schiff argued it would be “ass-backwards” to hold a trial and then request witness testimony.Denouncing the proposed rules for Trump’s impeachment trial, House impeachment manager Adam Schiff argued it would be “ass-backwards” to hold a trial and then request witness testimony.
House impeachment manager Zoe Lofgren has now taken the Senate floor to argue for the need to subpoena White House documents related to the charges against Trump.House impeachment manager Zoe Lofgren has now taken the Senate floor to argue for the need to subpoena White House documents related to the charges against Trump.
Lofgren, who participated in the Clinton and Nixon impeachment cases, will make history as the first woman to present arguments as a manager during an impeachment trial.Lofgren, who participated in the Clinton and Nixon impeachment cases, will make history as the first woman to present arguments as a manager during an impeachment trial.
The New York Times has more on Lofgren’s impeachment history:The New York Times has more on Lofgren’s impeachment history:
Amy Klobuchar, one of the Democratic senators running for president, psuhed back against a comment from White House counsel Pat Cipollone that the presidential candidates are “upset” to be away from the campaign trail.Amy Klobuchar, one of the Democratic senators running for president, psuhed back against a comment from White House counsel Pat Cipollone that the presidential candidates are “upset” to be away from the campaign trail.
As Trump’s impeachment trial continues on Capitol Hill, Joe Biden is holding a campaign event in Ames, Iowa, with less than two weeks to go until the state’s caucuses.As Trump’s impeachment trial continues on Capitol Hill, Joe Biden is holding a campaign event in Ames, Iowa, with less than two weeks to go until the state’s caucuses.
Two of Biden’s closest rivals -- senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren -- have been pulled away from the campaign trial because of the impeachment trial, and Sanders has already had to cancel at least one rally because of the trial schedule.Two of Biden’s closest rivals -- senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren -- have been pulled away from the campaign trial because of the impeachment trial, and Sanders has already had to cancel at least one rally because of the trial schedule.
A Yahoo News reporter sitting in the trial room said Republicans appeared uncomfortable as House impeachment manager Adam Schiff made the case for Trump’s removal from office.A Yahoo News reporter sitting in the trial room said Republicans appeared uncomfortable as House impeachment manager Adam Schiff made the case for Trump’s removal from office.
Meanwhile, some of the president’s Senate allies appear to be using the recess to push back against Schiff’s argument because they are not allowed access to electronic devices while they are in the trial room.Meanwhile, some of the president’s Senate allies appear to be using the recess to push back against Schiff’s argument because they are not allowed access to electronic devices while they are in the trial room.
Congressional reporters, who are used to relatively free rein at the Capitol to grab lawmakers for hallway interviews, are taking to social media to complain about the press restrictions enforced during Trump’s impeachment trial.
Speaking earlier today on the Senate floor, minority leader Chuck Schumer assured reporters that he would fight to protect their constitutional right to cover the proceedings.
“I want to assure everyone in the press that I will vociferously oppose any attempt to begin the trial unless the reporters trying to enter the gallery are seated,” Schumer said. “Some may not want what happens here to be public. We do.”
Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell has called for a 15-minute recess before Trump’s legal team and the House impeachment managers are allowed to debate Chuck Schumer’s amendement.
Schumer’s amendment to the impeachment trial resolution calls for the White House to be subpoenaed for documents related to the charges against Trump, so the president’s lawyers will likely be forcefully pushing back against it.
As promised, Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer has introduced an amendment to the impeachment trial resolution to suboena the White House for documents related to the allegations against Trump.
Schumer would need a majority of the Republican-controlled chamber to support the measure in order to get it passed, but the potential Republican swing votes have largely said they are not ready at this point in the trial to back the proposal.
While slamming Trump’s impeachment on the Senate floor, White House counsel Pat Cipollone mocked the Democratic senators who are running for president.
“Some of you are upset because you should be in Iowa right now,” Cipollone said, referring to the imminent Iowa caucuses.
But the Democratic senators who are seeking their party’s presidential nomination -- Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar and Michael Bennet -- have emphasized the importance of fulfilling their constitutional duty by participating in the impeachment trial.
“Some things are more important than politics,” Warren said during last week’s debate.
White House counsel Pat Cipollone falsely claimed that Republican House members who sit on the committees that led the impeachment inquiry were not allowed to attend closed-door hearings during the investigation.
A staffer for Republican senator Ted Cruz posted this tweet to apparently poke fun at chamber rules barring members from carrying their cell phones into the impeachment trial.
But several Capitol Hill reporters going in and out of the trial room said the Texas Republican did not appear to be actually violating the rule barring senators from carrying electronics during the proceedings.
House impeachment manager Adam Schiff has yielded back the floor, and another one of Trump’s lawyers, Jay Sekulow, is now speaking.
White House counsel Pat Cipollone only used up three minutes of his side’s hour of time, so Sekulow could speak for up to 57 minutes.
Sekulow accused Democrats of spearheading a baseless investigation against Trump with the partisan goal of removing him from office.
It appears Trump is watching the Senate impeachment trial from Davos, where he is attending the World Economic Forum.
The president advised his Twitter followers to read the “transcripts,” inaccurately referring to the memos the White House released about Trump’s calls with the Ukrainian president.
However, the White House memo from Trump’s July phone call with Volodymyr Zelenskiy actually showed the US president asking his Ukrainian counterpart for a “favor” before going on to discuss political investigations.
Presenting the House impeachment managers’ argument against Mitch McConnell’s impeachment trial resolution, Adam Schiff played clips of Trump that Democrats say underscore the president’s abuse of power.
One of Schiff’s clips included Trump falsely saying in July, “Then, I have an Article II, where I have to the right to do whatever I want as president.”
Article II of the constitution outlines the president’s “executive power,” but it does not grant the commander-in-chief unchecked power.
The office of senator Susan Collins, a Maine Republican whose approach to Trump’s impeachment trial is being closely watched because of her tough reelection race this year, said she pushed for changes to the resolution outlining trial procedures.