Democratic prosecutors on Thursday presented their evidences on their second day of presentations at the political trial against the president, Donald Trump, amid partisan quarrels and far from an agreement with the Republicans on whether to include more witnesses and documents in the process.
Relying on history lessons and presentations with documents, videos and slides, the team of seven prosecutors continued bashing their arguments on Thursday, focusing on the first charge against Trump for his alleged abuse of power, in addition to detailing the constitutional framework for his possible dismissal .
From the lectern, the Democratic legislator for New York, Jerrold Nadler, offered a brief review of the only two other political trials in the history of the United States: those of Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998.
Nadler argued that the irregularities allegedly committed by Trump even exceed those committed by former Republican President Richard Nixon.
Nixon resigned from office in 1974 shortly after the House of Representatives Judicial Committee approved three charges against him – for the scandal known as “Watergate” – for him to be subjected to a political trial, or impeachment. Nixon resigned before the final vote.
“No president has used his office to force another nation to help him cheat in our elections … the president’s behavior is wrong, illegal, dangerous,” Nadler warned. “This behavior is not about putting the US First; this behavior is to put Donald Trump first. ”
The Democratic legislator, Adam Schiff, leader of the prosecutors team, concluded the nine-hour day as he began it: with the warning that Trump broke the law, it represents a threat to national security and, in his opinion, must be dismissed .
Schiff thanked senators for showing “empathy” and an “open mind.”
But both parties have entrenched themselves in their positions and do not seem to show signs of even attempting a dialogue: Democrats demand more witnesses and documents, and Republicans reply that if their case is so strong and they have hard evidence, there is no need for more witnesses
Only the Democrats believe there is sufficient evidence that Trump did abuse power and obstructed Congress investigations by refusing to hand over documents.
Democrats reject the argument that the president has “executive privilege” to safeguard the internal deliberations of his government, and ensure that, in any case, there are protocols to protect sensitive information.
And this trial, what is it about?
The trial now stems from the accusation of House Democrats that Trump launched a campaign to pressure Ukraine to investigate his political rivals in exchange for millions of dollars in military aid, and thus facilitate his re-election. year.
Specifically, the opposition says, Trump conditioned the delivery of the 400 million dollars that Congress had already approved for Ukraine by asking the president of that country, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, to announce an investigation against former vice president, Joe Biden, his possible rival in the presidential race this year.
Texas Democratic lawmaker Sylvia Garcia presented the argument that Trump did not really care about the investigation or fight corruption in Ukraine, but only wanted
To prove that argument, the Democrats of the Lower House who act as prosecutors at the trial, used the words of several key figures who testified in front of the Lower House but were blocked from testifying at the Senate trial.
Among them, are the European Union ambassador, Gordon Sondland, who had endorsed in his testimonies the talks he had in early 2019 that Trump “didn’t give a damn about —” corruption in Ukraine or that, of In fact, the investigation was done to Biden: it was only necessary to announce it, to harm the Democratic candidate.
In that way, the task of Garcia and the rest of the prosecutors has been to rivet that Trump abused his power by pressing Ukraine for “his own political benefit” and not, as the Administration argues, because he was worried about some improper Biden in That country.
Trump’s investigation against Biden “was unfounded” and there was no evidence to carry it out, Garcia summarized.
On its third and final day of arguments, tomorrow, Friday, the accusation will focus on the second charge, obstruction of Congress, to persuade public opinion that Trump tried to cover up his pressure on Ukraine by refusing to provide witnesses and documents.
Today’s day has been characterized by isolated moments of humor in the full Senate – and some expressions of disdain among Republicans -, in parallel to the acrimony that both parties maintain in the corridors of the Capitol.
Will there be witnesses?
The ‘million-dollar question’ remains precisely if Republicans – who seek to control the narrative of the trial – will allow the inclusion of witnesses and documents that the White House refused to give during the House of Representatives investigation last year .
In every encounter with the press, the Democrats insist that there is additional evidence that would prove Trump’s guilt, and urged Republicans to allow them at trial.
Democrats would need the support of at least four Republican senators to achieve that goal. For now, they don’t seem to have it.
In this regard, the leader of the Democratic minority in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, suggested that negotiations are ongoing, but did not specify whether his bench is closer to getting the “yes” of the Republicans.
Schumer also denied that his party is acting for political reasons, as the Republicans claim, although the trial will probably have repercussions at the polls on November 3.
We want the truth, “Schumer said,” maybe the (additional) test is exculpatory, useful for Trump, maybe it is more incriminating, but we want the truth and the political cards will fall where they should fall. “
Meanwhile, Virginia Democratic Senator Mark Warner told Telemundo News that he believes it is difficult to anticipate the impact of the trial in the elections, but denied the Republican complaint that it is “a farce.”
Warner, who is running for re-election this year, believes that, in the end, his bench will gain the support of “4 or 5” Republicans to demand more witnesses.
A joint survey by the AP news agency and the NORC Center for Public Affairs indicated that 45% of voters tend to believe that the Senate should dismiss Trump, and 40% think otherwise. About 70%, however, believes that Trump should allow members of his Administration to testify.
Witness exchange? Nothing likely
The Democrats made it clear that they will not accept a “barter” in which the appearance of Biden’s son, Hunter, is required in exchange for that of former National Security ex-advisor, John Bolton.
For their part, Republicans refuse to summon Bolton; to the head of the Cabinet, Mick Mulvaney; or to the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, among others.
Instead, Republicans demand the testimony of Hunter because he was a member of the board of directors of Burisma, an energy company in Ukraine in which according to his accusation, he won millions of dollars for no reason, and that is the corruption that Trump would be battling. Democrats reply that this is not a “relevant witness” in the trial.
The team of Democratic prosecutors staged on Thursday their second consecutive day of arguments to get a vote in favor of the impeachment of the president. Photo: AP
Apparently, the Democratic arguments have not yet managed to make cracks among the Republicans, who maintain a united front in defense of Trump.
The Republican senator from Missouri, Roy Blunt, told reporters that the Democratic presentations are “admirable” but, in his opinion, “offer almost nothing new.”
The defense will begin presenting your case next Saturday, and will also have up to 24 hours over three days to do so.
The Administration has said it wants a short, fast and fair trial, but it is unknown if that means the Senate will expedite the vote to exonerate or dismiss Trump next week.