On Tuesday, the Senate debated and voted on rules for President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial.
The trial resumes today at 1 p.m. ET when the House managers will formally present their case to remove Trump from office.
These are the decorum guidelines:
The Senate broke for its first break after Schiff spoke for over two hours. Schiff promised the Senate he will provide them with “remarkably consistent evidence of President Trump’s corrupt scheme and cover-up.” More:
Mr. Schiff laid out the chronology of the Democrats’ case, playing video clips of administration officials who testified in the House investigation about the president’s push for investigations and hold on nearly $400 million in military aid to Ukraine. The aid was later released amid bipartisan pressure in Congress.In his presentation, Mr. Schiff also took on another aspect of the impeachment fight, arguing that a president can be impeached for an action that doesn’t amount to a criminal offense. Many of Mr. Trump’s allies disagree, saying an abuse-of-office charge amounts to overreach by Congress.
The House managers will present their opening statements for two hours. The Senate will take a recess “when there is an appropriate break time between presenters.”
The Senate chaplain opened it up with a prayer:
“Sovereign God, author of liberty, we gather in this historic chamber for the solemn responsibility of these impeachment proceedings. Give wisdom to the distinguished Chief Justice John Roberts, as he presides. Lord, you are all powerful and know our thoughts before we form them. As our lawmakers have become jurors, remind them of your admonition in first Corinthians 10:31 — that whatever they do should be done for your glory. Help them remember that patriots reside on both sides of the aisle, that words have consequences and that how something is said can be as important as what is said. Give them a civility built upon integrity that brings consistency in their beliefs and actions. We pray in your powerful name, amen.”
The Senate will allow each side to take 24 hours over three days for opening statements.
The GOP-controlled chamber rejected “efforts by Democrats to subpoena documents the Trump administration has refused to turn over.”
The chamber “also rejected efforts to subpoena current and former Trump administration officials to testify, including former national security adviser John Bolton and current acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney.”
[Featured image via YouTube]
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