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Watch Live: Impeachment Trial Day 3

House impeachment managers began their impeachment case against President Donald Trump Wednesday, claiming the evidence against him is more than enough to warrant his removal from office.

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-California, led the House managers in presenting a timeline of the events he says led to Trump abusing the power of his office for personal political gain.

The House impeached Trump in December over what it claimed was a personal political deal with Ukrainian officials to announce an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden in exchange for a meeting at the White House for Ukraine’s new president and hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid for Ukrainians fighting Russians on the country’s eastern border.

During the presentation, which lasted more than seven hours, several of the House managers accused Trump of cheating to win the 2016 presidential election and trying to cheat again to win reelection in 2020.

Trump, who was in Davos, Switzerland, for a World Economic Forum meeting, responded to the opening arguments by setting a record on Twitter. Trump either tweeted or retweeted 142 messages from early-morning Wednesday until the day’s proceedings were over.

The trial will resume at 1 p.m. ET. Follow along with live updates here beginning at noon.

Live updates

Schiff ends on an emotional note

10:33 p.m. Jan. 23, 2020: Schiff says Trump needs to be removed from office because he chose Rudy Giuliani over his own intelligence community and his FBI director.

“That makes him dangerous to us and to our country,” Schiff said.

He went on, “Would anyone in their right mind choose Rudy Giuliani over Christopher Ray (the FBI director)."

“You know you can’t count on him” to do the right thing, Schiff says.

“Here,” Schiff said, “right matters. He won’t do what is right for this country. He’ll do what is right for Donald Trump."

The trial is adjourned for the day. The Senate will reconvene at 1 p.m. Friday.

Pompeo and Pence knew about the aid

9:42 p.m. ET Jan. 23, 2020: Rep. Crow uses the testimony of Europen Union Ambassador Gordon Sondland who said that he mentioned the hold on military aid at a meeting where both Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo were present.

Sondland said he told both men about a request for a statement from Ukrainian officials about the Bidens and the corrupt energy company Burisma be made in exchange for the release of the military aid.

Sondland said it was clear that both men knew about the plan.

Crow takes over the presentation

9:25 p.m. ET Jan. 23, 2020: After outlining how the military aid was withheld and who was involved in holding out the aid, Lofgren finishes her presentation and turns the floor over to Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colorado.resre

Crow says he will outline the president’s intent on withholding the aid.

When did they get the aid?

8:53 p.m. ET Jan. 23, 2020: Demings is finished and Rep. Lofgren is back to talk about when the aid was released to Ukraine, and how it was known that the president ordered the hold on the aid.

Back again for another couple of hours

8:39 p.m. ET Jan. 23, 2020: The Senate is back in session and Rep. Demings is talking about withholding military aid to Ukraine as a misuse of Trump’s power.

Garcia finishes and the Senate takes a break

8:20 p.m. ET Jan. 23, 2020: Garcia finishes her presentation after talking about Trump dangling a White House meeting over the head of the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Trump, she said, was obviously strong-arming a foreign leader for his own personal political benefit.

The Senate is in recess for five minutes.

Garcia is speaking

7:52 p.m. ET Jan. 23, 2020: Jeffries has finished his presentation and Rep. Garcia is back.

She, too, is talking about quid pro quo and things that would benefit Trump personally.

Quid pro quo

7:30 p.m. ET Jan. 23, 2020: Jeffries hammers home the structure of the quid pro quo he says Trump engineered. He slams the “fairytale” story of Ukrainian interference in the 2016 election.

Back again

7:19 p.m. ET Jan. 23, 2020: The trial has resumed. Jeffries is continuing his presentation.

Taking a break

6:33 p.m. ET Jan. 23, 2020: The Senate impeachment trial has taken a 30-minute dinner break.

Tracking down the guilty one

5:58 p.m. ET Jan. 23, 2020: Impeachment manager Hakeem Jeffries offered senators a chuckle when he began his portion of the presentation with the news of a search for the one responsible for the “latest outrage.”

Jeffries said a New York colleague had contacted him to talk about the “latest outrage”: finding the person who voted against New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter on his Major League Baseball Hall of Fame ballot.

Phone calls and texts between Giuliani and Parnas

5:45 p.m. ET Jan. 23, 2020: Rep. Val Demings, D-Florida, finishes her presentation after playing voicemails and text messages between Giuliani and Lev Parnas, and phone records of conversations between Giuliani and the White House.

Demings also played a clip of Giuliani on Fox News.

Did the Democrats make a mistake?

5:15 p.m. ET Jan. 23, 2020: House managers spent a good bit of time defending Joe and Hunter Biden Thursday, and Republicans are wondering why.

Rep. Garcia gave the presentation, pointing out that Trump’s assertions about the Bidens and Ukrainian corruption were not true and that was no evidence that either did anything wrong.

Trump’s personal attorney, Jay Sekulow, questioned the move on Thursday afternoon, saying that the House managers’ decision to include a defense of the Bidens has made them fair game to be summoned to testify should witnesses be called in the trial.

“They have opened the door,” Sekulow said. “It’s now relevant.”

Tying Giuliani and Trump together

4:55 p.m. ET Jan. 23, 2020: Schiff finishes his presentation. Rep. Zoe Lofgren is speaking now. She is tying Rudy Giuliani and Trump together over a timeline of events in Ukraine.

Marsha Blackburn’s reading list

4:30 p.m. ET Jan. 23, 2020: The Washington Post is reporting that Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee, was seen reading a book as House managers presented their case Thursday.

Blackburn admitted she was reading a book she had sitting in her lap and shared what she was reading.

“First – I’m reading Resistance (At All Costs) by Kim Strassel. Read the chapter on obstruction. It provides good insights into today’s proceedings,” Blackburn tweeted in response to Rubin. “Second – busy mamas are the best at multi-tasking. Try it.”

Thanking God

Back after a break

3:30 p.m. ET Jan. 23, 2020: The Senate is back in session after a short break and Schiff is speaking again.

Garcia defends Biden

2:25 p.m. ET Jan. 23, 2020: Impeachment manager Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Texas, spent much of her time talking about former Vice President Joe Biden’s actions involving Ukraine.

She produces a chart showing a series of witnesses who all said that Biden’s actions in Ukraine were part of official U.S. policy, then talks about how U.S. and Ukrainian investigators have cleared both Biden and his son Hunter of any wrongdoing.

Garcia pointed out that Trump was asking for the quid pro quo from Ukraine for “his own political benefit.”

Nadler mentions Graham

2 p.m. ET Jan. 23, 2020: Nadler references Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, when talking about what constitutes a high crime and misdemeanor.

Nadler plays a clip from Bill Clinton’s impeachment trial in 1999 in which Graham, who was a House manager in the trial, argued that a president does not have to commit a crime to be impeached.

“What’s a high crime?” Graham said in the clip. “How about if an important person hurts somebody of low means? It’s not very scholarly. But I think it’s the truth. I think that’s what they meant by high crimes. Doesn’t even have to be a crime.”

Graham was apparently out of the room when the clip was played.

The Framers saw it coming

1:40 p.m. ET Jan. 23, 2020: Nadler is laying out the case of abuse of power against Trump.

He says the Framers built into the Constitution a way to deal with corruption from the executive branch: impeachment and removal from office.

They foresaw a president who would misuse power for his or her own profit, Nadler said.

The trial is beginning

1:04 p.m. ET Jan. 23, 2020: The Senate chaplain offered a prayer and Chief Justice John Roberts led the Senate in the Pledge of Allegiance as the trial opened Thursday.

The House managers have 16 hours and 42 minutes left to present their case, Roberts announces.

Both the chaplain’s prayer and Schiff’s opening statements ask senators for their patience and attention.

Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-New York, is speaking first.

Giuliani says he has evidence

12:49 p.m. ET Jan. 23, 2020: Rudy Giuliani is tweeting Thursday that he has more evidence about corruption in Ukraine concerning the Bidens, and that he will be sharing that information soon.

Giuliani says that “The Biden Family Enterprise made millions by selling public office.”

What is Trump doing?

12:40 p.m. ET Jan. 23, 2020: The president will be going to Florida Thursday to offer private remarks to the Republican National Committee’s winter meeting.

His travel plans have not stopped him from tweeting, however.

Abuse of power will be Thursday’s topic

12:20 p.m. ET Jan. 23, 2020: House impeachment managers used more than seven hours on Wednesday presenting a chronology of the events that led to Trump’s impeachment.

On Thursday, the focus will shift to the first article of impeachment against Trump, according to Rep. Adam Schiff, D-California.

The first article of impeachment addresses abuse of power.

12 p.m. ET Jan. 23, 2020: Welcome to live updates of the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump. The trial will begin in less than an hour at 1 p.m.

End of Day Two

The House managers have finished

9:40 p.m. ET Jan. 22, 2020: Schiff finishes his presentation. McConnell recognizes the Senate pages whose last day is Thursday. The Senate will reconvene Thursday at 1 p.m.

The whistleblower’s complaint

9:15 p.m. ET Jan. 22, 2020: Schiff is explaining the process by which the whistleblower complaint came to congressional intelligence committees.

Schiff then shows videos of Trump saying that Ukraine and China should start investigations of the Bidens.

He produces one of the president’s tweets where Trump says it is within his job description to investigate corruption no matter where it took place.

Murkowski was offended by Nadler

9:11 p.m. ET Jan. 22, 2020: CNN is reporting that Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski's spokesperson said Murkowski was “offended” by House Impeachment manager Rep. Jerry Nadler’s comments Tuesday that suggested if senators did not vote to call witnesses they were "voting for a cover-up."

“I took it as very offensive. As one who is listening attentively and working hard to get to a fair process, I was offended,” Murkowski said Wednesday, CNN reported. According to the post, her aide Karina Borger spoke for Murkowski.

Schiff takes timeline into the fall

8:48 p.m. ET Jan. 22, 2020: Schiff has concluded his remarks laying out the timeline of Trump’s actions from after the call in July until the fall. Rep.

Zoe Lofgren is speaking now. She says a letter was sent to the White House telling lawyers there that the president and Giuliani had violated diplomatic policy and/or federal law.

Is anyone watching?

8:30 p.m. ET Jan. 22, 2020: More than 11 million people watch a portion of the first day of President Donald Trump's impeachment trial on Tuesday, an event that ran some 13 hours.

Fox News got the largest piece of the audience pie with 2.65 million viewers from 12:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. ET. CBS had 1.94 million viewers from 12:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. when their live coverage ended. MSNBC followed with 1.91 million; ABC had 1.63 million and CNN and NBC both had 1.44 million each.

Poll: Support for Trump falls on party lines

8 p.m. ET Jan. 22, 2020: An Associated Press poll shows Americans are divided along party lines about whether President Donald Trump should be removed from office.

According to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, a good number of people also doubt the Senate impeachment trial will do anything to change their minds.

The AP reports: “Overall, the public is slightly more likely to say the Senate should convict and remove Trump from office than to say it should not, 45% to 40%. But a sizable percentage, 14%, say they don’t know enough to have an opinion.”

The Senate reconvenes

7:22 p.m. ET Jan. 22, 2020: The trial is resuming and Schiff is picking up the chronology of Trump’s dealings with Ukraine. He says his team will need about two more hours to finish what they have planned for tonight.

Senators are breaking for dinner

6:35 p.m. ET Jan. 22, 2020: The Senate is in recess for a 30-minute dinner break.

More on the protester

Alyssa Milano is listening

6:32 p.m. ET Jan. 22, 2020: Actress Alyssa Milano is attending a second day of the impeachment hearing.

She has been spotted in the public gallery balcony in the front row. She was not he screamer.

A disturbance in the balcony

6:22 p.m. ET Jan. 22, 2020: A man began screaming in the public gallery in the Senate chamber as Jeffries was speaking. Roberts called for the sergeant at arms to remove him from the gallery and restore order. The man is still screaming as he was taken from the gallery.

Hakeem Jeffries is speaking

5:52 p.m. ET Jan. 22, 2020: Demings has concluded her presentation and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries is now speaking. He starts his presentation by saying no one is above the law in the United States.

Giuliani is mentioned again

5:30 p.m. ET Jan. 22, 2020: Rep. Val Demings is now presenting evidence now. She is talking about Giuliani and showing a video of Paul Sondland, ambassador to the European Union, who was testifying about what Giuliani knew about the plan to ask for an investigation into the Bidens and the 2016 presidential election in exchange for a White House meeting.

Wandering senators

5:10 p.m. ET Jan. 22, 2020: Apparently attention spans, or at least short ones, are becoming a problem at the impeachment hearing. ​​​​​​​

House manager Crow complained to Chief Justice Roberts about people moving around while he is speaking. He offered to let everyone have a break then he would continue. Roberts told him to go on with his presentation.

McConnell stood up and said he had planned to suggest a 30-minute break for dinner at 6:30 p.m.

Many senators seem to be having a tough time staying in their seats, according to several media reports.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told CNN that the repetition in House managers’ presentations is becoming difficult to sit through.

“I think we’re already beginning to lose certainly the television audience and maybe the press to some extent, but certainly senators are struggling to try to see why we have to sit there, sit hearing the same arguments over and over and over and over again,” Cornyn said.

Other senators, both Republican and Democratic have been seen standing along the back wall or leaving the chamber for a break.

President Trump likes Rand Paul’s tweet

Jason Crow is speaking now

4:40 p.m. ET Jan. 22, 2020: Crow tells the story of a Ukrainian soldier who died during a mortar attack, tying his death to the hold on military aid to Ukraine.

Giuliani is tied into the plan

4:30 p.m. ET Jan. 22, 2020: Garcia lays out a case that points to Rudy Giuliani as the person who pressed Ukraine for a probe into Biden’s dealings with Ukrainian officials.

Nadler completes his presentation

4:17 p.m. ET Jan. 22, 2020: Nadler used videos of two women -- Marie Yovanovitch and Fiona Hill -- during his presentation. The two are diplomats.

He has completed his part of the presentation and Rep. Sylvia Garcia is now speaking.

The trial has resumed

4 p.m. ET Jan. 22, 2020: The recess is over and the trial has resumed. Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-New York, is presenting the next part of the House presentation.

A recess is called

3:29 p.m. ET Jan. 22, 2020: As Schiff ends his introduction, McConnell calls for a 20-minute recess.

We are two hours in

3:22 p.m. ET Jan. 22, 2020: Schiff has talked for more than two hours now. That means there are approximately 22 hours left for the House managers to present their case against President Trump.

He quotes from Thomas Paine as he ends his presentation, “These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.”

'Corruptly used a White House visit ... ’

It’s more than crazy

2:55 p.m. ET Jan. 22, 2020: Its more than crazy, Schiff says, talking about what Ambassador Bill Taylor said about a quid pro quo with Ukraine. “It’s abuse of power,” he said.

“And I don’t’ think impeachment power is a relic. If it’s a relic, how much longer can our republic last?”

The White House responds:

Schiff’s narrative continues

2:15 p.m. ET Jan. 22, 2020: Schiff continues to craft the chronology he claims ties together Trump’s actions involving Ukraine and a quid pro quo.

He is using clips of Trump and is presenting the House case by tying together the testimony of several witnesses, mostly diplomats who were connected to Ukraine.

A letter from 21 state attorneys general

2:05 p.m. ET Jan. 22, 2020: Twenty-one Republican attorneys general plan to deliver a "friend of the Senate" letter to the U.S. Senate on Wednesday.

The letter will be in support of Trump’s legal defense in the impeachment trial.

It reads, in part: “Impeachment should never be a partisan response to one party losing a presidential election. If successful, an impeachment proceeding nullifies the votes of millions of citizens. The Democrat-controlled House passing of these constitutionally-deficient articles of impeachment amounts, at bottom, to a partisan political effort that undermines the democratic process itself.

Even an unsuccessful effort to impeach the President undermines the integrity of the 2020 election.

Here’s how the House managers case will go

1:44 p.m. ET Jan. 22, 2020: Schiff has laid out how the House managers will present their case.

First, he said, what Trump did will be presented in a narrative form including a timeline. Then, Schiff said, managers, will explain the constitutional framework of impeachment.

Then managers will show how Trump committed impeachable actions.

Rand Paul isn’t impressed with Schiff’s presentation

Removing Trump by the election isn’t a sure thing

1:33 p.m. ET Jan. 22, 2020: Schiff says the impeachment action against Trump was brought now because there is no guarantee of a fair election in November.

The House impeachment managers have 24 hours over a three-day period, to make their case against Trump.

They do not have to use the full 24 hours.

Schiff begins the House presentation

1:13 p.m. ET Jan. 22, 2020: Rep. Adam Schiff has begun the House manager’s opening arguments.

Schiff told reporters prior to the trial that the managers would present “a factual chronology” of the events that have led to Trump’s impeachment.

He starts by quoting Alexander Hamilton.

The Senate is reconvening

1:05 p.m. ET Jan. 22, 2020: The impeachment trial is beginning again with an opening prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance.

Trump is ok with witnesses -- to a degree

12:45 p.m. ET Jan. 22, 2020: He is okay with top aides testifying but “national security” issues could keep them from doing so., President Trump said Wednesday from an economic forum in Switzerland, but “national security” issues could keep them from doing so.

“We have a great case," Trump said before he left for Washington from a global economic forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Trump praised the work of his legal team saying they are doing a “very good job.”

Schumer on the performance of Trump’s lawyers

12:20 p.m. ET Jan. 22, 2020: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Trump’s defense team appeared “unprepared, confused and unconvincing” as they debated House impeachment managers Tuesday.

“If there’s one thing we learned on the floor it’s that Leader McConnell and Senate Republicans don’t want a fair trial,” Schumer said.“The impeachment trial of President Trump begins with a cloud hanging over it.”

We’re back!

12:00 p.m. ET Jan. 22, 2020: Welcome back to the second day of the Senate impeachment trial.

End of Day One

The Senate is adjourned

1:51 a.m. ET Jan. 22, 2020: The Senate adjourns just short of 2 a.m. The Senate will reconvene at 1 p.m. Wednesday afternoon. Come back here at noon for the beginning of live updates.

Resolution vote

1:43 a.m ET Jan. 22, 2020: The vote is being taken on McConnell’s resolution. It passes 53-47.

The amendment is tabled

1:40 a.m. ET Jan. 22, 2020: Again the amendment is tabled on a 53 to 47 vote.

A vote on the amendment

1:37 a.m. ET Jan. 22, 2020: McConnell makes a motion to table the amendment. The roll call vote is being conducted now.

The last amendment of the night is offered

1:30 p.m. ET Jan. 22, 2020: In essence, the amendment says that Roberts will decide who is relevant to testify if witnesses are subpoenaed.

The amendment is tabled

1:29 p.m. ET Jan. 22, 2020: The amendment is tabled on a 52-48 vote. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, voted with the Democrats on this amendment.

Another amendment is introduced; voted on

1:23 p.m. ET Jan. 22, 2020: The amendment addresses the timing of written responses. The House managers are for it, the White House counsel is against it. The roll call vote is going on now.

The amendment is tabled

1:17 p.m. ET Jan. 22, 2020: Again the amendment is tabled on a 53 to 47 vote.

A vote on the ninth amendment

1:14 a.m. ET Jan. 22, 2020: McConnell makes a motion to table the amendment. The roll call vote is being conducted now.

A ninth amendment is introduced

1:05 a.m. ET Jan. 22, 2020 The amendment looks to change the resolution by saying witnesses need to be available to testify and not just rely on a deposition for testimony.

The amendment is tabled

12:59 a.m. ET Jan. 21, 2020: Again the amendment is tabled on a 53 to 47 vote.

A vote on the amendment

12:57 a.m. ET Jan. 22, 2020: McConnell makes a motion to table the amendment. The roll call vote is being conducted now.

An admonishment from Roberts

12:58 a.m. ET Jan. 22, 2020: Roberts scolds both House managers and White House counsel to “remember where they are” after a contentious exchange between the two sides.

‘We don’t deserve that’

12:41 a.m. ET Jan. 22, 2020: Cipollone says Nadler made false allegations about the White House counsel, the president and the members of the Senate. “We don’t deserve that,” Cipollone said.

“They ask you to do something they didn’t do themselves then accuse you of a coverup when you don’t do it,” Cipollone said.y

He says the Democrats have spent the day complaining that the can’t make their case.

Sekulow slams him for calling executive privilege “nonsense.”

Bolton was ‘personally involved,’ Nadler says

12:21 p.m. ET Jan. 22, 2020: House manager Jerry Nadler is making the case for a subpoena to be issued to John Bolton.

Nadler says Bolton’s attorney has told House investigators that Bolton was “personally involved” in many of the issues that are related to the articles of impeachment.

The eighth amendment is introduced

12:04 a.m. ET Jan. 22, 2020: Schumer offers his eighth amendment to McConnell’s resolution. The amendment is a request to subpoena former White House chief of staff John Bolton.

The amendment is tabled

11:59 p.m. ET Jan. 21, 2020: Again the amendment is tabled on a 53 to 47 vote.

A vote on the amendment

11:57 p.m. ET Jan. 21, 2020: McConnell makes a motion to table the amendment. The roll call vote is being conducted now.

The arguments begin on the seventh amendment

11:45 p.m. ET Jan. 21, 2020: The arguments have restarted as the seventh amendment to McConnell’s resolution is being considered. It is a request for evidence to be shared with both sides so one side does not have an unfair advantage.

Schiff gives a relatively short defense of the amendment that is an argument over how evidence and subpoenas should be dealt with.

Sekulow responds to Schiff’s argument by saying that the Democrats should be happy that this matter was not brought before a grand jury.

A seventh amendment is requested

11:23 p.m. ET Jan. 21, 2020: McConnell requests a five-minute break after Schumer introduces his seventh amendment of the day.

The sixth amendment is tabled

11:16 p.m. ET Jan. 21, 2020: Schumer’s sixth amendment has been tabled on a party-line vote, 53-47.

Roll call vote on tabling the amendment

11:12 p.m. ET Jan. 21, 2020: McConnell asks for the amendment to be tabled. The vote is taking place now.

Blair and Duffy and subpoenas

11:05 p.m. ET Jan. 21, 2020: House manager Sylvia Garcia has finished her argument for the amendment naming the reasons Blair and Duffy need to testify about their role in holding up military aid to Ukraine in exchange for an announcement of an investigation into the Bidens.

Pam Bondi, former Florida attorney general, immediately challenges Garcia’s presentation saying she has some fact errors in her defense of the amendment.

Bondi goes on to slam the House impeachment inquiry as a “one-sided circus." She says the House did not go to court to get a ruling on subpoenas for Duffy and Blair because they did not want to have a judge tell them they are trampling on the rights of the two men.

A sixth amendment is introduced

The amendment is tabled

10:30 p.m. ET Jan. 21, 2020: For the fifth time tonight, one of Schumer’s amendments have been tabled on a party-line vote, 53-47.

Amendment vote

10:23 p.m. ET Jan. 21, 2020: McConnell makes a motion to table the amendment. Roll is being called now.

The argument for both sides is over

10:10 p.m. ET Jan. 21, 2020: Crow finishes his defense of the amendment that calls for subpoenas from the Department of Defense by talking about soldiers in Ukraine waking up to face Russian forces this morning.

Patrick Philbin is back to speak against the amendment, slamming the House for their work product -- the articles of impeachment -- and the results of the inquiry.

A Biden for a Bolden?

10 p.m. ET Jan. 21, 2020: The Washington Post is reporting that Democrats are considering allowing Republicans to call Vice President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, as a witness. The deal, the Post reports, would come in exchange for testimony from John Bolden or one of the other three witnesses Democrats wish to question.

A fifth amendment

9:40 p.m. ET Jan. 21, 2020: Schumer puts forth a fifth amendment to subpoena Department of Defense documents. The amendment is being read now.

Following the reading, each side will have one hour to speak in support or against the amendment.

No deal on bundling

9:30 p.m. ET Jan. 21, 2020: McConnell tries to broker a deal with Schumer to put all the amendments together and deal with them at one time. Schumer says he does not want to bundle them and is willing to have the votes on amendments continue tomorrow.

McConnell calls for a quorum -- or a vote on attendance.

The amendment is tabled

9:28 p.m. ET Jan. 21, 2020: The amendment is tabled on a 53-47 party-line vote.

A vote on the amendment

9:22 p.m. ET Jan. 21, 2020: The arguments on the fourth amendment -- to subpoena Mick Mulvaney -- have ended and McConnell has called for the amendment to be tabled. A roll call vote is underway.

“Can we please start?”

9:05 p.m. ET Jan. 21, 2020: Michael Purpura, deputy counsel to the president, refutes Jeffries’ claims saying that Mulvaney did nothing wrong because withholding aid was not wrong.

Cipollone is complaining that the proceedings are going on too long. “They haven’t even started,” Cipollone said of the House managers.

“Can we please start?” Cipollone says of the way the day’s arguments have gone.

Mulvaney knew about the military aid early on, Jeffries claims

8:48 p.m. ET Jan. 21, 2020: Jeffries lays out a case that says Mulvaney not only knew about what was going on with military aid being withheld from Ukraine but had a hand in making sure the aid was withheld.

The trial is back in session

8:15 p.m. Et Jan. 21, 2020: The trial has reconvened and Rep. Hakeem Jefferies is speaking. He is arguing in favor of subpoenaing Mulvaney.

Mulvaney refused to answer a subpoena from the House.

President Trump, who is in Europe, has tweeted once today about the proceedings.

Vote on the third amendment and a recess

7:25 p.m. ET Jan. 21, 2020: McConnell calls for a vote to table the third amendment. It passes on a 53-47 party-line vote.

Schumer proposes a fourth amendment to the resolution to subpoena acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney.

McConnell calls for a 30-minute recess.

The aid to Ukraine

7:05 p.m. ET Jan. 21, 2020: The aid that was provided to Ukraine included lethal weapons, something the previous administration failed to do, Sekulow said after Crow finished a detailed trail of email between DOD and OMB officials.

Crow repeated that he knows what it feels like to not have the equipment you need in combat. Sekulow said the aid Crow is talking about was for future expenditures, it was not for current spending.

Crow responded to Sekulow saying that in combat, delays matter, and that it was Congress that got the aid to Ukraine by passing another law.

Schiff says the argument that Ukraine eventually got the aid is a bad one since they got the aid because Trump “got caught.”

Sekulow ends his response by saying, “This all started with a whistleblower. Where is that whistleblower.”

A third amendment that will be tabled

6: 45 p.m. ET Jan. 21, 2020: McConnell let the senators know that after the arguments for and against Schumer’s amendment for documents from the Department of Defense and the Office of Management and Budget he will move to table that amendment and break for 30 minutes for dinner.

In the meantime, House manager Rep. Jason Crow is pitching the argument for the amendment. He says the search for documents about funding military action is close to his heart as he was a soldier in the Middle East.

The second amendment from Schumer is tabled

6:31 p.m. ET Jan. 21, 2020: The amendment is tabled again along party lines -- 53-47. A third amendment is introduced by Schumer. Two hours of debate on the amendment will begin soon.

The vote on the second amendment

6:29 p.m. ET Jan. 21, 2020: After a short response from Sekulow to Demings’ presentation and a longer response to Sekulow from Schiff, a motion to table the amendment is called by McConnell.

Demings ends her defense

6:04 p.m ET Jan. 21, 2020: Demings goes over the testimony of diplomats connected to Ukraine and what she describes as their disbelief over Trump’s actions.

She showed text messages between U.S. envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker and U.S. diplomat Bill Taylor, where, Demings said, the quid pro quo was discussed.

Collins says she is in on witnesses

The trial has resumed

5:18 p.m. ET Jan. 21, 2020: Rep. Val Demings from Florida is speaking on behalf of Schumer’s amendment to issue subpoena’s to the State Department. She has one hour to make her case in favor of the amendment.

She is stressing that there is ample evidence, including Trump’s own statements, to point to Trump’s wrongdoing. She says there is even more evidence that State Department officials knew a quid pro quo was happening with Ukrainian officials.

Demings is the former chief of police for the Orlando Police Department. She is the first woman to hold that position.

Another recess

4:48 p.m. ET Jan. 21, 2020: A short recess is called before the arguments for and against the second amendment are started.

The amendment is tabled

4:40 p.m. ET Jan. 21, 2020: The vote to table the amendment passes 53-47, falling along party lines. The amendment is tabled, or set aside.

An amendment to subpoena records from the State Department is put forth by Schumer. It is being read now.

The vote on the amendment

4:35 p.m. ET Jan. 21, 2020: McConnell rises to ask that the amendment be tabled - or to end any further debate on the matter, killing the amendment. The clerk is calling the roll now.

Lofgren answers Philbin

4:27 p.m. ET Jan. 21, 2020: Lofgren says there is no truth to Philbin’s claims the House is not ready to proceed with the impeachment.

She yields to Schiff who says the House is ready, but the question is will the Senate let them put on their case.

Lofgren finishes her presentation

4:12 p.m. ET Jan. 21, 2020: Lofgren has completed her defense of the Schumer amendment. She took nearly one hour to do so. Now, Patrick Philbin, a member of Trump’s legal team, is responding.

Philbin says the Democrats are not ready to continue in a trial if they are still looking for evidence to be presented. What the House is doing, Philbin says, is asking the Senate to do their job for them.

Philbin says subpoenas issued by the House were invalid since there was no vote to launch an impeachment investigation.

Philbin says that the issue is not whether the Senate will consider if there will be witnesses, but when there may be witnesses. He repeats that the House should be able to make a presentation that they have spent weeks on.


Rep. Zoe Lofgren is speaking

3:33 p.m. ET Jan. 21, 2020: Lofgren is speaking in favor of Schumer’s amendment. She says the most important documentary evidence will be found at the White House and that is why Trump wants them to remain “hidden.”

She is now giving senate members a history lesson on impeachment and how witnesses and documentary evidence were part of the trials of the past.

Schiff responds to Cipollone’s response to his presentation

3:30 p.m. ET Jan. 21, 2020: After the break, Schiff is recognized to speak in favor of Schumer’s resolution. He goes on the attack against the president’s attorneys saying they have no defense of McConnell’s resolution.

Schiff says he won’t call Cipollone a liar when he said Trump’s attorneys were not allowed to attend private depositions, but that Cipollone was “mistaken.”

Lindsey Graham responds to Schiff’s presentation

After the break

3:11 p.m. ET Jan. 21, 2020: When the senators return from the break they will hear arguments for and against Schumer’s amendment to subpoena the White House for documents. The debate can last for two hours.

A short break

2:53 p.m. ET Jan. 21, 2020: Schumer’s resolution is read and McConnell asks for a 15-minute break.

Schumer offers amendments

2:45 p.m. ET Jan. 21, 2020: With both Schiff and the president’s attorneys finishing their remarks about McConnell’s resolution, Schumer rises to introduced an amendment to the resolution to subpoena White House documents. The resolution is being read now.

Cipollone is speaking again

2:30 p.m ET Jan. 21, 2020: Cipollone addresses Schiff’s comments. He points out that Schiff made up a false version of Trump’s call to the Ukrainian president. He also says there is evidence that was given in private to the House investigators that the president’s legal team has not seen.

“He has the temerity to come into the Senate and say we have no use for courts,” Cipollone says about Schiff’s comments.

Cipollone asks Schiff for documents concerning his conversations with the whistleblower who first alerted Congress to Trump’s call to

He claims Schiff has yet to turn over any document related to his contact with the whistleblower.

Cipollone wonders why impeach now, why not wait for the election to remove a president from office. “It’s a partisan impeachment. ... They want to remove President Trump from the ballot."

Schiff is done; Sekulow is speaking now

2:17 p.m. ET Jan. 21, 2020: Schiff takes nearly his entire allotted time to argue against McConnell’s motion. Jay Sekulow, Trump’s attorney, is now answering Schiff’s arguments. Cipollone took three minutes when he spoke, which leaves Sekulow 57 minutes to respond to Schiff’s arguments.

Sekulow says that when Robert Mueller’s investigation “didn’t pan out, it became Ukraine.”

Sekulow turns to the question of executive privilege which Democrats point to as a part of the obstruction of Congress article of impeachment.

He points out that Schiff, Rep. Jerry Nadler and Speaker Nancy Pelosi were on the other side of executive privilege question when it concerned President Barack Obama and then-Attorney General Eric Holder.

He asks why the House held the articles of impeachment for 33 days -- to try to set the rules in the Senate, Sekulow says.

A second change to the resolution

1:50 p.m. ET Jan. 21, 2020: Another change in the resolution released Monday is that the House’s records from its impeachment hearings will automatically be entered into evidence unless there’s an objection. The draft of the resolution released earlier would have required a vote to have that evidence entered into the record.

Cipollone takes a little time; Schiff takes a lot

1:40 p.m. ET Jan. 21, 2020: Cipollone takes only a few minutes to say that the charges against Trump are not true. He had up to one hour to present his argument for the resolution.

Adam Schiff is now speaking in opposition to McConnell’s resolution. He says the most important decision senators will make will come today when they vote to have witnesses or not.

He goes on to charge senators with making this trial “like every other trial” by allowing documents and witnesses to be introduced.

He has twice said that Trump was trying to cheat in the next election and that he is withholding information that would “cover up his misdeeds.”

He reminds Republican senators who have promised McConnell to support his resolution that they have sworn an oath “that supersedes all else.”

Schiff says most Americans don’t believe that the trail will be fair.

The president is not innocent, he says.

Apparently, there is a change in the timing of the trial

The trial reconvenes

1:18 p.m. ET Jan. 21, 2020: Chief Justice John Roberts enters the Senate chamber, swears in a senator who was not present last week when all the other senators were sworn in begins the trial in earnest.

The sergeant in arms is reading the organization resolution brought by McConnell. The resolution lays out how the trial will be conducted.

Trump’s attorney, Pat Cipollone, has risen to speak first in support of the resolution by McConnell.

White House team bulks up

1:15 p.m. ET Jan. 21, 2020: The White House has added several Republican House members to be a part of the president’s legal team. They are Reps. Jim Jordan, Ohio; John Ratcliffe, Texas; Mike Johnson, Louisiana; Mark Meadows, North Carolina; Debbie Lesko, Arizona; Lee Zeldin, New York; Elise Stefanik, New York and Doug Collins, Georgia.

The White House in a statement said the group has “provided guidance to the White House team, which was prohibited from participating in the proceedings concocted by Democrats in the House of Representatives."

What they will be doing and if they will have a speaking part in the proceedings is unclear.

In the ‘dark of night’

1 p.m. ET Jan. 21, 2020: Schumer says McConnell’s proposed impeachment trial rules would “result in a rushed trial with little evidence, in the dark of night.”

The Senate is now in recess and will go back into session in a few minutes to continue with the impeachment trial.

No new evidence

12:36 p.m. ET Jan. 21, 2020: McConnell vows to move to table any amendment to his impeachment trial organization resolution if that amendment concerns introducing new evidence into the trial.

Schumer is speaking now. He repeats what he said earlier that the organization resolution is “nothing short of a national disgrace.”

The Senate has reconvened

12:34 p.m. ET Jan. 21, 2020: McConnell has begun to speak from the floor of the Senate. He is talking about the resolution he will soon put forward that spells out how the trial will be conducted.

Here is the letter House Democrats sent to Pat Cipollone


Does Schumer have the four votes?

12:01 p.m. ET Jan. 21, 2020: Schumer needs 51 votes to get any amendments to McConnell’s resolution passed, meaning he needs all the Democrats and independents to vote for his amendments plus four Republicans to join in. Most believe he will not get Republican support for his amendments.

Schumer says McConnell’s resolution is ‘national disgrace’

11:15 a.m. ET Jan. 21, 2020: Sen. Chuck Schumer, Senate minority leader from New York, said McConnell’s resolution is “nothing short of a national disgrace.”

Schumer said that after McConnell’s resolution is voted on, he intends to introduce amendments to the resolution later today “to fix the many flaws” in it. He says his first amendment will be to subpoena documents from the White House.

Impeachment managers call out Cipollone

10:15 a.m. ET Jan. 21, 2020: The House impeachment managers are claiming White House counsel Pat Cipollone, who will represent Trump during the Senate trial is a fact witness to the actions that have led to Trump’s impeachment.

“In preparation for the trial of Donald J. Trump before the Senate, we write to notify you that evidence received by the House of Representatives during its impeachment inquiry indicates that you are a material witness to the charges in both Articles of Impeachment for which President Trump now faces trial,” said the managers.

The managers are Reps. Adam Schiff, Jerrold Nadler, Zoe Lofgren, Hakeem Jeffries, Val Demings, Jason Crow and Sylvia Garcia.

“You must disclose all facts and information as to which you have first-hand knowledge that will be at issue in connection with evidence you present or arguments you make in your role as the President’s legal advocate so that the Senate and Chief Justice can be apprised of any potential ethical issues, conflicts, or biases.”

Cipollone has not responded to the claims.



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