Another week, another recap! Week 2 opened up with the Republicans making their case for why President Donald Trump should not be removed from office. Here are some key takeaways:
The Republicans had 24 hours to present their case to the Senate. On Monday and Tuesday, opening arguments were made by Trump's legal team, who argued that abuse of power and obstruction were "outside the range of impeachable offenses." Trump's legal team reiterated the point by explaining how the charges did not meet the constitutional requirement for impeachment, citing "criminal-like conduct is required" for any basis of removal.
Quid Pro Quo: What does it mean? A quid pro quo is simply a favor, or in Latin, "something for something." In the political world, Trump and company have said there was no quid pro quo between the United States and Ukraine: the Democrats have argued that Trump withheld military aid to Ukraine in exchange for investigations into the 2020 political campaign.
Witnesses: On Friday, the Senate voted to decide if there should be witnesses for the trial. In a 51-49 decision, the Senate voted to have no witnesses in the trial. Senator Mitt Romney of Utah and Senator Susan Collins of Maine were the only senators to vote for witnesses. It was a major blow for the Democrats, as it seems inevitable that the Senate will vote in Trump's favor.
Today and tomorrow, Democrats and Republicans will make their closing arguments!
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