Rep. Adam Schiff makes closing remarks on the first day of opening arguments in the Senate impeachment trial of President Trump: 'What brought us here is that some courageous people came forward — courageous people that risked their entire careers.'
-House managers begin 3 days of opening arguments-Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer calls Tuesday 'a dark day and a dark night' for SenateAfter about eight hours of presentation, the first day of arguments by the House managers concluded just before 10 p.m.
"Despite the clearer letter of the law, the White House mobilized to keep the information in the whistleblower complaint from Congress," Schiff said. Toward the end of his remarks, Schiff once again made an impassioned plea to call for witnesses and documents, suggesting more players could be implicated in Trump's"scheme."
Senate floor during the impeachment trial for President Donald Trump, Jan. 22, 2020, in Washington, DC.Relying on the testimony of David Holmes, Ambassador Bill Taylor and Gordon Sondland, Schiff attempted to illustrate how concerned diplomats abroad were at the withholding of aid and what the president expected of Ukraine and Zelenskiy.
"I think the House managers made a very serious strategic error today," Cruz said."Adam Schiff's arguments to open the day today directly drew into question Hunter Biden and made not only his testimony relevant which it already was but it is now critical." “Before I begin, I would like to thank the chief justice and the senators for your temperate listening and your patience last night as we went into the long hours,” Nadler, D-N.Y., says. “Truly, thank you.”
“With Ambassador Yovanovitch out of the way, the first chapter of the Ukraine scheme was complete. Mr. Giuliani and his agents could now apply direct pressure to the Ukrainian government to spread these two falsehoods,” Nadler says. “And who benefited from this scheme? Who sent Mr.
Senate floor during the impeachment trial for President Donald Trump, Jan. 22, 2020, in Washington, DC. Republicans are honing their argument against witnesses, making an appeal to voters who say they’re fed up with Washington politics and want Congress to get stuff done. While Schiff was still speaking about the pressure campaign on Ukraine, President Trump tweeted"NO PRESSURE" while flying back from Davos, Switzerland.2:32 p.m. Both Republicans and Democrats seem engaged with Schiff's presentation
Lead manager House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff delivers an opening argument during the second day of the Senate impeachment trial of President Donald Trump in this frame grab from video shot at the Capitol, Jan. 22, 2020. At the same time, they play multiple video clips of Trump and acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney -- with them saying publicly what they have denied.
"Mulvaney didn't just admit that the president withheld the crucial aid appropriated by Congress to apply pressure on Ukraine to do the president's political dirty work. He also said that we should just get over it," Schiff said, then playing the clip. Schiff made the argument that the White House is downplaying the call, saying it's just about the call and not the preparation leading up to the phone call and all the conversations around it and about it.
"In this way the president used official state powers available only to him and unavailable to any political opponent to advantage himself in a democratic election. His scheme was undertaken for a simple but corrupt reason, to help him win re-election in 2020," Schiff continues. He also takes a shot at the president's defenders and their argument, saying that former Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz and others are claiming a president can't be impeached for abusing power because they aren't contesting that he did so.
Lead House Manager Rep. Adam Schiff delivers his opening argument in the impeachment trial against President Donald Trump, Jan. 22, 2020, at the Capitol."We went well into the morning as you know, until I believe around two in the morning, and you paid attention to every word and argument that you heard from both sides in this impeachment trial, and I know we are both deeply grateful for that," Schiff says, in a noticeably less combative tone than he took on Tuesday.
Republican senators ABC News talked to this morning don't think their Democratic colleagues accomplished much during Tuesday's marathon session, although at least one acknowledged the fiery tone, which drew criticism from Chief Justice John Roberts, was not ideal. Chief Justice Roberts scolded both House manager Jerry Nadler and the president's legal team - White House counsel Pat Cipillone and his personal lawyer Jay Sekulow for their tone and language as the debate stretched into the early hours of this morning.Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says that the reason the Senate debate last until almost 2 a.m.
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer calls on reporters during a news conference at the Capitol, Jan. 22, 2020. Sen. Amy Klobuchar tells ABC's Devin Dwyer she’s “less and less encouraged” but “still holding out hope” there will be witnesses in the trial. House impeachment manager Rep. Adam Schiff speaks during impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump in the Senate at the U.S. Capitol, Jan. 21, 2020, in Washington, D.C.
President Donald Trump gives a press conference at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 22, 2020.
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