This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/28/us/politics/donald-trump.html

The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Impeachment Trial Highlights: Last Day of Arguments for Trump’s Defense Impeachment Trial Highlights: Last Day of Arguments for Trump’s Defense
(about 2 hours later)
As more details surface from a manuscript by John R. Bolton, the president’s former national security adviser, Republicans are in damage-control mode with just hours left for President Trump’s defense lawyers to make their case. As more details surfaced from a manuscript by John R. Bolton, the president’s former national security adviser, Republicans began the day in damage-control mode with just hours left for President Trump’s defense lawyers to make their case.
New details in Mr. Bolton’s upcoming book, reported by The New York Times, include accounts that undercut the defense’s key arguments. New details about Mr. Trump’s motivations regarding Ukraine, described in a manuscript of Mr. Bolton’s upcoming book, have undercut one of the defense’s key arguments and are adding pressure for the Senate to allow new witnesses into the trial.
According to Mr. Bolton’s manuscript, some of the president’s closest advisers raised concerns that Mr. Trump was granting personal favors to foreign autocrats. The latest disclosure from the Bolton manuscript describe anxiety among some of the president’s closest advisers over concerns that Mr. Trump was granting personal favors to foreign autocrats.
On Tuesday morning, there was little indication that any other Republican senators would join their colleagues who have said they would like to hear from witnesses, like Mr. Bolton. Adding to the pressure, the president’s former chief of staff, John F. Kelly, said that he believed Mr. Bolton’s accounts.
While the president’s lawyers spent most of Monday ignoring Mr. Bolton’s accounts, they were also preparing to block potential testimony from him. It remains unclear, however, whether they would fight a subpoena or ask the Justice Department for a restraining order, which the government has not done before. Mr. Kelly, speaking to an audience in Florida, said that he believed the revelations in the book and that the Senate should call witnesses in the impeachment trial. Mr. Kelly and Mr. Bolton overlapped at the White House during much of 2018.
Toward the end of Monday, one of the president’s lawyers, Alan M. Dershowitz, said, “Nothing in the Bolton revelations, even if true, would rise to the level of an abuse of power, or an impeachable offense.”
The Democrats would need to secure at least four Republican defectors to approve hearing new testimony. The Senate would then hold separate votes on each potential witness.The Democrats would need to secure at least four Republican defectors to approve hearing new testimony. The Senate would then hold separate votes on each potential witness.
Mr. Bolton has said he would comply with a Senate subpoena to testify during the trial.Mr. Bolton has said he would comply with a Senate subpoena to testify during the trial.
Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma said Monday that senators should get access to Mr. Bolton’s manuscript and encouraged Mr. Bolton to publicly share what he knows. Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma said he was recommending that the White House turn the Bolton manuscript over to senators who can review it in a classified setting “and see for ourselves if there is anything significant.”
“I think getting that information firsthand would be really important for us,” Mr. Lankford said Monday on a video feed from his Facebook page. Seeing the manuscript six weeks from now is not sufficient, Mr. Lankford told CNN, because senators have to vote on whether to hear witnesses in just a few days.
“John Bolton is no shrinking violet, if he has insight or information he should share it now,” Mr. Lankford tweeted. “This needs to be a part of our information so we can make that decision about witnesses,” Mr. Lankford said.
Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, seconded Mr. Lankford’s suggestion, with a tweet on Tuesday saying that the manuscript should be shared so that “each Senator has the opportunity to review the manuscript and make their own determination.” Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina and one of the president’s closest allies in the Senate, expressed his support.
Neither senator, however, called for the Senate to allow new witness testimony in the trial. “It makes perfect sense to me,” Mr. Graham said Tuesday. “I don’t know if it’s achievable, but that would be a solution of voluntary choice by the White House.”
The defense, which will start the last day of arguments at 1 p.m., is expected to hammer the point that House Democrats fell down on the job and did not bring a strong enough case to the trial. The defense is expected to hammer the point that House Democrats fell down on the job and did not present a strong enough case for impeachment.
“The managers have not met their burden, and these articles of impeachment must be rejected,” one of the president’s lawyers, Eric Herschmann, told senators Monday.“The managers have not met their burden, and these articles of impeachment must be rejected,” one of the president’s lawyers, Eric Herschmann, told senators Monday.
Much of the president’s defense has centered on poking holes in the House managers’ arguments and turning the Democrats’ accusations about attempts to interfere in the 2020 election back on them.Much of the president’s defense has centered on poking holes in the House managers’ arguments and turning the Democrats’ accusations about attempts to interfere in the 2020 election back on them.
Mr. Trump lashed out at Fox News on Tuesday for airing an interview with Senator Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat, whom Mr. Trump described as “the no name Senator from Maryland.”Mr. Trump lashed out at Fox News on Tuesday for airing an interview with Senator Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat, whom Mr. Trump described as “the no name Senator from Maryland.”
Fox News has long held the prize for being the president’s favorite news network.Fox News has long held the prize for being the president’s favorite news network.
“So, what the hell has happened to @FoxNews,” Mr. Trump wrote in a pair of tweets Tuesday morning. “Watch, this will be the beginning of the end for Fox, just like the other two which are dying in the ratings. Social Media is great!”“So, what the hell has happened to @FoxNews,” Mr. Trump wrote in a pair of tweets Tuesday morning. “Watch, this will be the beginning of the end for Fox, just like the other two which are dying in the ratings. Social Media is great!”
Mr. Trump’s lawyers have not used all of their allotted time and will have less than 11 hours to finish their defense of the president on Tuesday. Under the Senate rules for the trial, each side was allowed 24 hours of arguments over the course of three days. Today is the third day for the defense. House managers used 22 hours over three days. Once the president’s lawyers conclude their arguments that Mr. Trump should not be removed from office, senators will submit written questions for the House managers and the president’s defense team through Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., who is presiding over the trial. The chief justice will read the questions to the lawyers, alternating between submissions from Democrats and Republicans.
Once the oral arguments end, senators will submit written questions for the House managers and the president’s defense team through Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., who is presiding over the trial. The chief justice will read the questions to the lawyers, alternating between submissions from Democrats and Republicans.
The senators can ask questions to seek clarification as well as strategically compose questions that are more likely to yield answers favorable to their side. Senators have 16 hours for that process. The senators could then vote on whether to hear from new witnesses.The senators can ask questions to seek clarification as well as strategically compose questions that are more likely to yield answers favorable to their side. Senators have 16 hours for that process. The senators could then vote on whether to hear from new witnesses.