It was a very busy week in Washington! The 3rd Impeachment Trial in United States History began this past Tuesday with both parties presenting their case. Next week, the Republicans will call their witnesses in the trial, but for this week, here is the scoop for the first 4 days:
January 21, 2020. The opening day of the impeachment trial began with a lot of procedural negotiations. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell originally planned for the Democrats to present arguments over 2 days, but after criticism from democratic senators, he finalized a policy to extend the arguments over 3 days. The Republican Senators were granted 24 hours over the week to question witnesses of the Trump Administration as well as former Trump managers.
January 22, 2020. First day of arguments proposed by the Democrats. Representative Adam Schiff started the day by arguing Trump repeatedly attempted to investigate the Bidens. He also read statements made by Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani. Senator Chuck Schumer argued that Republicans “don’t want a fair trial.” On the other hand, Republicans like Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming argued that the a long impeachment trial would delay progress in other areas. Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler explained how he believed Rudy Giuliani pressured Ukraine in the scandal. To conclude the first night of arguments, Schiff ended the discussion by claiming Trump pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to launch an investigation into the Bidens.
January 23, 2020. Democrats continued to debate Rudy Giuliani’s role in the alleged scandal, picking up where they finished yesterday. Representative Val Demings of Florida told the Senate how “when it came down to choosing between the national interest of the country and his own personal interests, [he] chose himself” (CNN). Fox News, however, defended Trump, saying how Trump‘s interaction with Ukraine “could have prompted by a different motivation“ (Fox). All in all, the trial provoked Trump to tweet more times than any other day in his presidency.
January 24, 2020. Final Day of Arguments on the Democratic side. Adam Schiff played a video of Trump speaking with Russian President Vladimir Putin about how Russia did not interfere with any part of U.S. Intelligence- Schiff claimed Trump was echoing Russian Propaganda. Representative Garcia of Texas argued Trump obstructed justice by allegedly interfering with the impeachment inquiry. Republicans argued Hunter Biden was involved with a corrupt group in Ukraine, and that he received 3 million dollars from the “corrupt” organization. Lieutenant Alexander Vindman acted as witness in the trial, and he listened to Trump’s call with Zelensky. He talked about his role in the White House as a United States Army Officer before diving into his testimony, with his main argument being about Trump “demand[ing] a foreign government to investigate a U.S. Citizen and political opponent.” Schiff concluded the Democrat‘s 3 days of testimonies and presenting evidence by encouraging the Senate to remove Trump, saying that “right matters.”
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Credits:
Fox News https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/tom-del-beccaro-day-3-of-impeachment-inquiry-top-7-takeaways