Fridays session of the Senate impeachment trial for President Donald Trump will start at 1 p.m. Please refresh for updates.
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Democrats are again expected to elaborate on their case against Trump and will make their conclusion before Trumps legal team will make their case starting on Saturday. It would take a simple majority of 51 senators to vote for more documents or to call witnesses. Previous attempts to call witnesses or subpoena documents were rejected by the Republican-held majority. Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) are leading the Houses case against Trump, while Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts oversees the trial.
2 p.m. – Rep. Crow Claims Ukraine Was Extorted
“It doesnt matter if extortion last two weeks or two months—its still extortion. And Ukraine certainly felt the pressure,” claimed Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.). He was speaking on the Senate floor. Trump and Ukraines president have both denied there was any quid pro quo or pressure.
1:10 p.m. – Senate Trial Starts
Chief Justice Roberts gaveled in Fridays session of the impeachment trial after 1 p.m. local time. The House managers then began the final leg of their arguments against the president, starting with Schiff and Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.).
12:57 p.m. – Collins Wrote a Note to Roberts
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said she was “stunned” by remarks made by Nadler earlier in the week. She told Politico in an interview on Friday that she wrote a note to Justice Roberts about decorum on the Senate floor.
“It reminded me that if we were in a normal debate in the Senate, that the rule would be invoked to strike the words of the senator for impugning another senator,” she told Politico. “So, I did write a note raising the issue of whether thered been a violation of the rules.”
Nadler, during the first day of arguments, had accused Republicans in the Senate of engaging in a “cover-up,” which triggered a tense exchange between him and White House lead lawyer Pat Cipollone.
Roberts then admonished the two sides and called on them to show more respect to the institution.
11:45 a.m. – Schumer: Democrats Set High Bar
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a morning press conference that House managers set a “high bar” for Trumps team to reach.
He then claimed that the “American people continue to be overwhelmingly on our side,” without elaborating.
His side also still wants more witnesses, reiterating that subpoenas for testimony would require the vote of four Republican senators and would have to be signed off by Justice Roberts.
“They would be given very prompt judicial review given the urgency and the stakes of an impeachment trial,” she said.
11:30 a.m. – Graham: Democrats are Professional, Repetitive
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, praised the Democrats arguments as being “very respectful” during an 11:30 a.m. press conference. However, he said they got repetitive after a while.
“It became mind-numbing after a while,” said Graham. “Eventually it gets just hard to follow.”
“They are overtrying their case,” he told reporters. “I would urge them to not do that because eventually, it gets just hard to follow.”
10:45 a.m. – Schedule
On Friday, ahead of the imRead More – Source
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The Epoch Times
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