Both sides are gearing up for the start of the trial.
Welcome back to the Impeachment Briefing. It’s the eve of the Senate trial, and both sides are busy preparing for a historic day. |
- President Trump’s legal team submitted a 110-page brief today calling on the Senate to “swiftly reject” the impeachment charges and acquit him. His lawyers dismissed the validity of both articles of impeachment because they do not state any specific violation of the law — an interpretation of impeachment widely rejected by constitutional scholars.
- The brief did not deny that Mr. Trump asked Ukraine to announce the investigations into Democrats, nor that he withheld the military aid. But his lawyers said that Mr. Trump never tied the investigations to a White House meeting or security assistance.
- The seven House Democratic managers released their own legal brief on Monday, arguing that the Trump team’s objection to the abuse of power charge ignored the intentions of the founders, and in doing so left the country “powerless to remove a president for corruptly using his office to cheat in the next election.”
- The trial begins on Tuesday at 1 p.m. The first day is expected to be largely spent debating the rules for the proceedings. If the Senate can agree on a resolution — or, more specifically, if Senator Mitch McConnell has enough votes to push it through — opening arguments may begin on Wednesday.
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Though Mr. McConnell has not publicly released his proposed procedures for the trial, some Republicans have described a draft of the resolution. Here’s what we know. |
Modeled on the rules for the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton, the draft affords the managers and the president’s lawyers 24 hours each to present their case. |
Unlike that earlier trial, though, Republicans are considering making the two sides use their time over just two marathon days each. That could mean that the first days of the trial run well beyond midnight, when it’s unlikely that many people will still be watching. |
A draft of the resolution also proposes giving Mr. Trump’s lawyers the right to make a motion early in the trial, before oral arguments, to dismiss the case altogether. But that strategy is risky: While Mr. Trump has called for a quick dismissal, moderate Republicans have said they want to hear the case out, and such a motion would most likely fail. |
As for introducing new witnesses and evidence, Mr. McConnell’s proposed rules allow for a vote on that question after opening arguments and questioning by senators — probably sometime next week. There would first be a simple vote on whether to consider the issue; if a majority says yes, the managers and defense lawyers would then offer specific proposals. |
- Senator Cory Gardner of Colorado, considered one of the most at-risk Republicans, has all but disappeared from the public eye. But he’ll soon have to cast a vote on impeachment — one that could complicate, and perhaps even endanger, his re-election campaign.
- According to a new CNN poll, 51 percent of Americans say the Senate should vote to remove Mr. Trump from office, while 45 percent support his acquittal. And nearly 70 percent say the trial should feature testimony from new witnesses.
- Asked how the president was observing Martin Luther King’s Birthday, Kellyanne Conway, a White House counselor, pivoted to the topic of impeachment. “I don’t think it was within Dr. King’s vision to have Americans dragged through a process where the president is going to — not going to be removed from office,” she said.
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