Democrats will have 24 hours over the next three days for their opening arguments in President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial in the Senate.
Opening arguments are set to start at 1 PM ET on Wednesday.
Stay tuned to Breitbart News for live updates. All times eastern.
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9:43 PM: Senate adjourns until 1 PM ET on Thursday.
9:35 PM: Schiff predicts more emails and witnesses will come out and asks the Senators if they want to know the full truth now rather than later. He says the “full truth” about the “scheme” and “corruption” will come out. He goes over the factual chronology and says tomorrow will be all about Trump’s abuse of power.
8:50 PM: Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) now up, says even before Trump’s freeze on the aid to Ukraine became public, Congress started to become concerned. She says when news of the frozen aid broke, congressional scrutiny increased. She says Sens., including Sens. Durbin, Shaheen, Portman, Blumenthal, and Johnson sent a letter to Mulvaney expressing “deep concerns” that the administration is considering not obligating the Ukraine security funds.
8:45 PM: Schiff describes Trump’s Ukraine “scheme” as “dirt for dollars.”
8:25 PM: Schiff asks Senators if they want to know what Sondland told Taylor they are going to want Taylor’s contemporaneous notes. “Demand those notes,” Schiff says. “Demand to see the truth.” He says they are “yours for the asking.”
8:00 PM: Schiff says if the Senators want to read the first-person cable from Bill Taylor, they could do something about it to get the document from the State Department.
A sketch of the protester who disrupted the impeachment trial https://t.co/KuyIGXBJeU pic.twitter.com/6oGJsFA9hf
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) January 23, 2020
7:24 PM: Schiff says Trump’s “handpicked representatives” escalated their attempts to get the Ukrainians to announce they were investigating the Bidens after Trump’s call with Ukraine’s president.
7:22 PM: Senate is back in session in prime time. Schiff says Democrats will speak for about 2 more hours.
6:35 PM: Senate takes a 30-minute dinner break.
6:25 PM: Roberts calls for order as people in the gallery start shouting…
And we’ve got our first demonstrator in the gallery. That should wake up anyone having trouble staying awake on the floor of the Senate
— Jamie Dupree (@jamiedupree) January 22, 2020
A protester just got removed from the Senate gallery after shouting something beginning with: “JESUS CHRIST …”@RepJeffries responded by quoting scripture before returning to his remarks…
— Andrew Feinberg (@AndrewFeinberg) January 22, 2020
5:55 PM: Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) says Trump’s call with Ukraine’s president was “far from perfect” and is proof that Trump wanted foreign interference in the 2020 election.
5:50 PM: Dems now repeating themselves over and over and over again about the quid pro quo:
Rep. Val Demings discusses Gordon Sondland’s testimony that a quid pro quo did occur between President Trump and Ukraine President Zelensky. https://t.co/hoTTT8ESmN pic.twitter.com/sTE1XB6KtU
— CBS News (@CBSNews) January 22, 2020
5:35 PM: Rep. Val Demings (D-FL) says, as a former chief of police, it is interesting that Bolton characterized the “corrupt scheme” as a “drug deal.” She says Bolton was trying to send them a “powerful message” in a way “every person would understand.” Demings says Bolton can testify if the Senate issues a subpoena.
Scenes from the Senate floor:
Sen Mike Lee was fiercely taking notes through Schiff’s remarks, at one point having to stop to massage the palm of his writing handSen Rand Paul, extremely focused as well.. but on a crossword puzzle, hidden not so discretely between his papers
— Ali Zaslav (@alizaslav) January 22, 2020
4:55 PM: Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO) now talking a lot about himself and the importance of military aid to Ukraine….
If Jason Crow wants to talk about how important it is to provide aid to Ukraine to fight Russia, surely he is about to point out that it was President Trump who provided lethal aid to Ukraine that President Obama refused to provide, right?
— Lee Zeldin (@RepLeeZeldin) January 22, 2020
House manager Jason Crow, an Army veteran, on military aid to Ukraine: “This is not a theoretical exercise. And the Ukrainians know it. For Ukraine aid from the US actually constitutes ~10% of their military budget. It’s safe to say that they can’t fight effectively without it.” pic.twitter.com/kPIywD7HuN
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) January 22, 2020
4:20 PM: Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX) accusing Giuliani of pushing Ukraine to investigate the Bidens. She says Giuliani was working as a private citizen and working with Trump’s knowledge and consent.
3:58 PM: Next up is Nadler to explain the Ukraine “scheme.” Murderer’s Row this ain’t.
Rep. Jerry Nadler: “This is the story of a corrupt, government-wide effort that drew in ambassadors, cabinet officials, executive branch agencies and the office of the president” https://t.co/w84ZEmJ80g pic.twitter.com/X3N2iG1ryY
— CBS News (@CBSNews) January 22, 2020
Sekulow: “The good news is we only have 22 hours more to go of their side and we’ll go.”
Schumer throws Ice cold water on any idea that Dems would ever be willing to trade Hunter Biden testimony for John Bolton testimony.
“I think that is off the table. That trade is not on the table,” Schumer says.— Lauren Fox (@FoxReports) January 22, 2020
3:20 PM: Schiff accuses Trump and his team of trying to destroy a “vital safeguard against tyranny” (the impeachment clause):
Lead impeachment manager Rep. Adam Schiff: “Should the Congress just get over it? Should the American people just come to expect that our presidents will corruptly abuse their office … is that what we’ve come to? I hope and pray that the answer is no.” https://t.co/7Z5eOb25cx pic.twitter.com/gdVvmjQR0R
— ABC News (@ABC) January 22, 2020
Do you think that Adam Schiff even believes his #BullSchiff after lying to the American public for 3 years?
It’s still Russia Russia Russia. ?— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) January 22, 2020
3:10 PM: Jennifer Rubin, one of the media’s favorite people “on the right.”
This is the most brilliant legal presentation I have heard. None comes close. The tone, the facts, the anticipated defenses. I am in awe.
— Jennifer Rubin (@JRubinBlogger) January 22, 2020
Every single American—even Trump supporters though they may not realize it—is incredibly lucky that Adam Schiff happens to be in office now, prepared as he is, to perform this skilled, righteous defense of our Republic.
— Evan McMullin (@EvanMcMullin) January 22, 2020
3:00 PM: Schiff says if Trump is not impeached, the Congress will send a message to future presidents that their personal interests can be above the nation’s.
Latest @pewresearch poll on impeachment as trial starts:
40% approve/58% disapprove of Trump
70% say Trump definitely/probably acted unethically
63% say Trump definitely/probably broke the law
51% say Trump should be removed from office
46% say Trump should remain in office— Susan Davis (@DaviSusan) January 22, 2020
2:45 PM: Quid Pro Quo, Russia, etc… like a broken record. Schiff also accuses Trump of using taxpayer dollars to strong-arm the Ukranians and “smear” Biden.
.@RepMarkMeadows says Adam Schiff has “repeated himself more times than a GEICO commercial”
Per @ArianaFreeman12
— Kathryn Watson (@kathrynw5) January 22, 2020
MORE: Rep. Adam Schiff: “The president and his allies have offered no explanation for this effort—except the president can abuse his office all he likes, and there’s nothing you can do about it. Can’t indict him. Can’t impeach him.” https://t.co/7Z5eOb25cx https://t.co/zL87tz1fZ2
— ABC News (@ABC) January 22, 2020
2:30 PM: Schiff tells Senators they have the full and complete power to request documents. He says a fair trial requires nothing less than hearing from witnesses.
“Other than sending our men and women to war, there is, I think, no greater responsibility than the one before you now.”
— Rep. Adam Schiff, the lead House impeachment manager, during his opening statement to the U.S. Senate #ImpeachmentPBS pic.twitter.com/ujIwXKQgH8
— PBS NewsHour (@NewsHour) January 22, 2020
1:55 PM: After accusing Trump of betraying his sacred oath of office and duty to put the country above himself, Schiff tells the Senators he will soon explain to them why the Founders put in the impeachment clause. A riveting explanation will likely follow…
We are only 24 hrs into Dems’ flimsy impeachment case & already:
✔️ Jerry Nadler pulled from the lineup after accusing Senators (jurors!) of a cover-up.
✔️Schiff quickly throws Nadler under the bus b/c of his poor performance yesterday.Dems clearly have a very weak case.
— Elise Stefanik (@EliseStefanik) January 22, 2020
Reporter: What was it like sitting there so long?
Jon Tester: It’s like sitting on a tractor, man.
— Alan He (@alanhe) January 22, 2020
1:35 PM: Sanders not in favor of witness swap:
.@BernieSanders was asked about a Biden/Bolton etc. swap this morning and said that he would not be interested in either Biden testifying https://t.co/1ectsZE05K pic.twitter.com/AN4v3r5bk7
— Cara Korte (@CaraKorte) January 22, 2020
1:32 PM: Schiff tells the Senators that the “weight of history” will be upon them as they decide whether to remove Trump from office.
Rep. Adam Schiff quotes from Alexander Hamilton at the start of House impeachment managers’ opening arguments in the trial of Pres. Donald Trump. https://t.co/0hIIoIlYSY pic.twitter.com/x8ZZ7GmTRd
— ABC News (@ABC) January 22, 2020
1:30 PM: Schiff said he will start with a “factual chronology,” and he meant it.
Schiff is laying out the case against Trump that is familiar to anyone who has followed the US House over the past few months – but for many Senators, this may be the first time they have heard the allegations fully laid out.
— Katherine Gypson (@kgyp) January 22, 2020
The more we hear from Adam Schiff, the more the GOP is getting unified against this partisan charade!
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) January 22, 2020
1:15 PM: Schiff droning on and on about how Trump acted in a way that the Founders feared. Accuses Trump of trying to “cheat” in the 2020 election by withholding aid from Ukraine unless they announced they were investigating the Bidens.
Rep. Adam Schiff: “Pres. Trump withheld hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid…to secure foreign help with his reelection—in other words, to cheat.”
“His scheme was undertaken for a simple but corrupt reason: to help him win reelection.” https://t.co/C7AyPvvSTr pic.twitter.com/Nmgbm1xpEE
— ABC News (@ABC) January 22, 2020
I just asked Joe Biden about Senate Democrats considering swapping testimony of him or his son in exchange for John Bolton: “No they’re not,” Biden said.
Some of them are. “No they’re not,” he said again. Would he consider testifying? “No they’re not,” he said a third time.
— Matt Viser (@mviser) January 22, 2020
1:10 PM: First up is Schiff, the House’s head impeachment manager. The Senate will take a short break after about two hours.
Rep. Adam Schiff: The framers of the Constitution “devised a remedy as powerful as the evil it was meant to combat—impeachment.” https://t.co/C7AyPvvSTr pic.twitter.com/01LfU02fGL
— ABC News (@ABC) January 22, 2020
1:05 PM: Senators join Roberts in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance as day two is about to begin.
12:50 PM: Chief Justice John Roberts has arrived to preside over the Senate. He will soon gavel in the second day of the impeachment trial.
12:45 PM: Schiff, again pushing for witnesses, making the point at a press conference that Trump’s team (Sekulow) conceded that the Senate is not a “court of appeals.” He says Democrats will begin the trial with a “factual chronology” because House Managers cannot assume Senators know all of the details.
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Trump earlier called the trial “a total hoax” and “a disgrace.”
.@PaulaReidCBS: “Mr. President, do you want to hear from witnesses in the impeachment trial? Your team has been a little inconsistent.”
President Trump: “I’ll tell you the way I look at it, it’s a total hoax. It’s a disgrace.” https://t.co/anmIdCHO6a pic.twitter.com/A1QGVD9BsR
— CBS News (@CBSNews) January 22, 2020
Schumer claims Trump’s team was “unprepared” last night as he pushed amendment after amendment, keeping the Senate in session until 2 AM. Schumer refused McConnell’s offer to bundle all of the amendments.
Sen. Chuck Schumer: “The White House defense were unprepared, confused and totally unconvincing. White House counsel resorted to the kind of histrionics you see on Fox News evening broadcasts.” https://t.co/gSRupclymD pic.twitter.com/2KftsxKv7Z
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) January 22, 2020
One of the House Managers pouncing on Trump’s comments:
The second article of impeachment was for obstruction of Congress: covering up witnesses and documents from the American people.
This morning the President not only confessed to it, he bragged about it:
“Honestly, we have all the material. They don’t have the material.” pic.twitter.com/DPAEFHIDjS
— Rep. Val Demings (@RepValDemings) January 22, 2020
