Mıchael Gabrıel Hernandez
22 January 2020•Update: 23 January 2020
WASHINGTON
Opening arguments in U.S. President Donald Trump's impeachment trial began Wednesday with House of Representatives prosecutors laying out the case for the commander-in-chief's removal.
After Chief Justice John Roberts gaveled in the session, Adam Schiff, the Intelligence Committee chairman who is leading a team of seven House prosecutors, led opening remarks, telling assembled senators the case against the president is "overwhelming."
Schiff said the conduct undertaken by the president is "precisely" that feared by the founding fathers,
"In corruptly using his office to gain a political advantage, in abusing the powers of that office in such a way to jeopardize our national security and the integrity of our elections, in obstructing the investigation into his own wrongdoing the president has shown that he believes that he is above the law, and scornful of constraint," he said from the Senate well.
The House impeached Trump in December on two articles tied to his multiple attempts to have Ukraine announce criminal investigation into leading Democratic nominee Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, on corruption allegations.
Trump pressed Ukrainian officials to open the probes at the same time he held up hundreds of millions of dollars in congressionally-appropriated security assistance to Ukraine, which a non-partisan government watchdog said earlier this month was a violation of the law.
The aid was badly-needed by Ukraine, which is continuing to fight a war in the country's east against Russia-backed militias. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also sought an Oval Office meeting with Trump amid his investigation push.
"Witness testimony, text messages, emails, and the call record itself confirm a corrupt quid pro quo for the White House meeting, an official act available only to the president of the United States, in exchange for the announcement for political investigations," said Schiff. "President Trump corruptly used an official White House visit for a foreign leader to compel the Ukrainian president into helping him cheat in the next election."
In addition to abuse of power, the House passed a second charge, obstruction of Congress, which is tied to the president's refusal to cooperate in the House probe, and his directive to top officials and federal agencies to do the same.
House prosecution managers have 24 hours spread over three days to make their case before Trump's defense team has its turn. That could begin as soon as Saturday, and would kick-start a new three-day cycle.
After arguments are completed, senators will have up to 16 hours to ask questions of the teams, which must be submitted in writing to Roberts, the chief justice overseeing proceedings, who would then read them aloud.
Wednesday's arguments follow a marathon session Monday in which senators passed a resolution governing the trial's proceedings after hours of legislative back-and-forth that ran into the early morning hours.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell backed down from some of the most contentious articles in his initial rules package, expanding the number of days the sides are allowed to make their cases, and allow for the evidence the House gathered during its investigation to be automatically entered into the record.
But left for later is whether the Senate will call witnesses in Trump's trial, a key demand for Democrats who want to see several top current and formal officials take the stand, including former National Security Advisor John Bolton, and Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney.
