NEW: New witnesses unlikely, Trump impeachment trial could end quickly, say GOP sources
Senators return at 1 p.m. Thursday for a second day of questions to House managers and President Donald Trump’s legal team in his impeachment trial as attempts by Democrats to rally votes for new witnesses appear to have stalled.
In the late hours of debate on Wednesday, Trump's defense team offered two new controversial defenses. In one -- even if Trump intentionally withheld military aid from Ukraine in exchange for an investigation into Joe Biden, White House lawyers argued, those actions are not grounds for impeachment. “I think the most important thing was that the White House deputy counsel said that it's okay to take dirt on your opponent from a foreign government as long as it's credible. And you know what, that's not true. That's actually against the law,” Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow told reporters.The argument from the White House counsel reinforces a controversial statement President Trump himself made in a June interview with ABC News.
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