Trump impeachment: Schumer warns of ‘rushed trial with little evidence, in the dark of night’ – live | US news

It appears Trump is watching the Senate impeachment trial from Davos, where he is attending the World Economic Forum.

The president advised his Twitter followers to read the “transcripts,” inaccurately referring to the memos the White House released about Trump’s calls with the Ukrainian president.

However, the White House memo from Trump’s July phone call with Volodymyr Zelenskiy actually showed the US president asking his Ukrainian counterpart for a “favor” before going on to discuss political investigations.

Presenting the House impeachment managers’ argument against Mitch McConnell’s impeachment trial resolution, Adam Schiff played clips of Trump that Democrats say underscore the president’s abuse of power.

One of Schiff’s clips included Trump falsely saying in July, “Then, I have an Article II, where I have to the right to do whatever I want as president.”

Article II of the constitution outlines the president’s “executive power,” but it does not grant the commander-in-chief unchecked power.

The office of senator Susan Collins, a Maine Republican whose approach to Trump’s impeachment trial is being closely watched because of her tough reelection race this year, said she pushed for changes to the resolution outlining trial procedures.

In another change to Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell’s impeachment resolution, evidence from the House impeachment inquiry will be automatically added to the record unless there’s an objection.

Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell’s resolution outlining rules for Trump’s impeachment trial now allows each side to have three days to present their arguments, instead of two.

That change could allow the trial to wrap up around 9 p.m. ET for three consecutive days, instead of ending at around 1 a.m. ET for two days.

Democrats had complained that the original schedule was meant to allow arguments to stretch into the early hours of the morning, when most Americans would not be watching the proceedings.

White House counsel Pat Cipollone used his time on the Senate floor to denounce Trump’s impeachment.

“We believe that once you hear those initial presentations, the only conclusion will be that the president has done absolutely nothing wrong,” Cipollone told senators.

“And that these articles of impeachment do not begin to approach the standard required by the Constitution.”

Cipollone then reserved the rest of his hour of time to rebut the arguments of the House impeachment managers.

White House counsel Pat Cipollone has now taken the Senate floor to argue in favor of majority leader Mitch McConnell’s resolution outlining rules for Trump’s impeachment trial.

Cipollone will be given up to an hour to argue in favor of the resolution, and then the floor will be turned over to the House impeachment managers, who will argue against the resolution.

But several congressional reporters noted the reading of the resolution included a significant change from yesterday.

Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell’s resolution outlining rules for Trump’s impeachment hearing is now being read on the floor.

After that, the president’s legal team and the House impeachment managers will each get an hour to debate the proposal.

Minority leader Chuck Schumer will then be able to begin introducing amendments to the resolution aimed at allowing new evidence and witness testimony to be uncovered during the trial, but McConnell has said he will move to table the measures.

As a reminder, senators are not allowed to speak during the debate.

John Roberts, the chief justice of the Supreme Court, has sworn in senator Jim Inhofe, who missed last week’s swearing-in because of a family medical emergency.

Every senator has now been sworn in, and the impeachment trial of Donald Trump can resume.

A debate over majority leader Mitch McConnell’s resolution outlining potential rules for the impeachment trial will soon begin.

The White House has issued a statement denouncing House impeachment managers’ argument that Pat Cipollone, the White House counsel who will represent Trump during the impeachment trial, has a conflict of interest because he was told about concerns regarding the president’s Ukraine call.

“The Democrats are an utter joke – they have no case, and this latest political stunt proves it,” said White House spokesman Hogan Gidley. “The idea that the Counsel to the President has to turn over protected documents and confidential information is ludicrous, and to imply he can’t represent the President of the United States in an impeachment proceeding is completely absurd.”

The Senate is minutes away from beginning debate on the resolution outlining rules for Trump’s impeachment trial, and the House impeachment managers have just filed a reply to the brief from the president’s team.

“President Trump’s brief confirms that his misconduct is indefensible,” the reply reads. “President Trump’s lengthy brief to the Senate is heavy on rhetoric and procedural grievances, but entirely lacks a legitimate defense of his misconduct.

“It is clear from his response that President Trump would rather discuss anything other than what he actually did.”

The fiery brief from the president’s team derided Trump’s impeachment as “a dangerous perversion of the Constitution that the Senate should swiftly and roundly condemn.”

Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer warned that the impeachment trial rules proposed by majority leader Mitch McConnell would “result in a rushed trial with little evidence, in the dark of night.”

The New York Democrat argued the rules should be taken as further evidence of Trump’s guilt. “The McConnell rules seem to be designed by President Trump for President Trump. It asks the Senate to rush through as fast as possible and makes getting evidence as hard as possible,” Schumer said.

“If Leader McConnell is so confident the president did nothing wrong, why don’t they want the case to be presented in broad daylight?”

Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer is now speaking on the floor, denouncing the press restrictions enforced on Capitol Hill for the impeachment trial.

“Some may not want what happens here to be public,” Schumer said. “We do.”

Congressional reporters have repeatedly complained about the restrictions, warning that they represent an unprecedented infringement on press freedoms.