Newly released evidence from Lev Parnas, an associate of President Donald Trumps lawyer Rudy Giuliani, “dramatically underscores” the need to hear from witnesses during the Senate impeachment trial, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said.
Schumer has been pushing for the Senate to vote on whether to hear from witnesses and obtain documents in its initial vote.
“I dont know how any member of this body could pick up the newspaper this morning, read this new revelation and not conclude that the Senate needs access to relevant documents like these in the trial,” Schumer said from the Senate floor in Washington on Wednesday.
House Democrats sent the evidence from Parnas to the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. The evidence, which includes phone records and texts, was expected to be sent to the Senate before the Senate impeachment trial starts.
Communications between Parnas and Giuliani were part of the newly released evidence, including back-and-forth about the proposed removal of Marie Yovanovitch, the former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, who was eventually removed from her post.
Parnas is awaiting trial on campaign finance charges. He pleaded not guilty in October 2019.
“Each day that goes by, the case for witnesses and documents gains force and gains momentum,” Schumer said. “Last night, a new cache of documents, including dozens of pages and notes, text messages and other records shed light on the activities of the presidents associates in Ukraine.”
“The documents paint a sordid picture of efforts by the presidents personal attorney, Mr. Rudy Giuliani, and his associate to remove a sitting U.S. Ambassador and pressure Ukrainian President Zelensky to announce an investigation of one of the presidents political rivals,” he added.
Schumer wants additional documents subpoenaed by the Senate as well as four witnesses, including former National Security Adviser John Bolton.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who said last week that he secured the votes necessary to start the trial without deciding whether to call witnesses, said on the floor that the inquiry into Trump “isnt reaRead More – Source
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The Epoch Times
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