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Impeachment trial of President Trump
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Sen. Lisa Murkowski: "I cannot vote to convict"
Moments ago on the Senate floor, GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski announced that she can’t vote to convict.
Murkowski was critical of the House, Senate and the President in her remarks, saying at one point, “The President’s behavior was shameful and wrong.”
Sen. Lisa Murkowski is now speaking about impeachment
US Sen. Lisa Murkowski — a key GOP senator who voted against having witnesses at the impeachment trial — is speaking on the Senate floor now regarding the current court of impeachment and the upcoming vote on the articles of impeachment.
Democratic senator calls for Senate to censure Trump
Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, speaking from the Senate floor today, explained why he thinks the Senate should censure President Trump.
He said while there won’t be 67 votes to remove Trump, he believes a “bipartisan majority of this body would vote to censure President Trump for his actions in this manner.”
He went on to say that Trump’s behavior “cannot go unchecked by the Senate.”
Democratic senator says he's "undecided" on how he'll vote in Trump's impeachment trial
Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat from West Virginia, spoke from the Senate floor this afternoon about his vote in the impeachment trial of President Trump.
He said he’s undecided.
“I remain undecided on how I will vote,” Manchin said.
GOP senators won’t say if Trump acted appropriately
Republican senators continued to sidestep questions about whether President Trump acted appropriately over Ukraine.
Sens. Steve Daines, John Barrasso and John Thune did not answering directly when asked if Trump acted appropriately.
Asked by CNN if Trump’s conduct was appropriate, Thune said, “I don’t think that’s the question at hand. The question is whether or not what he did is impeachable, or whether he should be removed from office and a Senate conviction and I think that that outcome .. is without a doubt that the President will be acquitted.”
Asked again if he agrees with Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander that the President acted inappropriately, Thune said, “I think that, you know, whether or not you agree or disagree or disapprove of his behavior his conduct with respect to Ukraine, the question that the Senate has to answer is whether or not warrants removal from office.”
Daines would only remark on House manager Adam Schiff saying, “His comments, I sense somebody who is very frustrated is my takeaway.”
Schumer: "Each Democrat is going to make up his or her own mind"
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer spoke to reporters at the conclusion of the closing statements. He argued that the defense team has not actually rebutted the House managers’ case, though he did not guarantee that every Democrat will be united in voting to convict President Trump.
Schumer argued that many Republicans agree with the managers’ case, even if they won’t say so publicly.
He went on to say “it takes strength and courage … to go against a president who you know will be vicious and unrelenting against you.”
On the Trump defense team, he said, “They can’t point to what’s wrong with the articles of impeachment. They can’t rebut the arguments for witnesses and documents. They can’t rebut that the President did something that rises to the level of impeachment.”
The impeachment trial has adjourned
House managers and the President’s defense have wrapped up their closing arguments. The trial has adjourned.
Schiff: "History will not be kind to Donald Trump"
House manager Adam Schiff argued during his closing remarks that President Trump cannot be trusted.
Schiff acknowledged during his argument that going into the trial the prosecution team knew that it would be tough to get a conviction.
“Now, we have known since the day we brought these charges that the bar to conviction requiring fully two-thirds of the Senate may be prohibitively high,” he said.
Schiff added: “And yet the alternative is a runaway presidency and a nation whose elections are open to the highest bidder.”
He continued his remarks by telling the senators, “I hope and pray that we never have a president like Donald Trump in the Democratic Party, one that would betray the national interest and security to help with his reelection.”
He said that they did have a president like Trump that he hopes his party “would impeach him and Democrats would lead the way.”
Schiff continued: “History will not be kind to Donald Trump.”
Watch part of Rep. Schiff’s closing remarks here:
House managers make their case against Trump: "The Senate can still do the right thing"
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, one of the seven House impeachment managers, urged senators to “do the right thing.”
Jeffries, a Democrat from New York, told senators that they have proven their case against President Trump “with a mountain of evidence.”
“President Trump tried to cheat. He got caught. And then he worked hard to cover it up,” Jeffries said. “President Trump corruptly abused his power. President Trump obstructed a congressionally and constitutionally required impeachment inquiry with blanket defiance. President Trump solicited foreign interference in an American election and shredded the very fabric of our democracy.”
He went on to make the case against acquitting Trump. Here’s what Jeffries said:
Watch the moment here:
Fewer senators are taking notes today
The mood seems more subdued today with fewer senators taking notes and more eyes wandering around the room.
Sen. Bernie Sanders was fidgety as he typically is, coughing at one point and then taking a sip of water.
Sens. Gary Peters, Thom Tillis and John Hoeven walked to the back of the room to stand as the hour wore on.
The visitor gallery was less crowded than normal today.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren was taking notes on a notepad under her desk. Sens. Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Cory Gardner are still taking notes intently.
Meanwhile, Sen. Joe Manchin drank from a glass of milk on his desk.
Trump's defense team urges senators to reject the articles of impeachment
The President’s defense team just finished speaking at the closing arguments of the impeachment trial.
White House counsel Pat Cipollone urged senators to reject the articles of impeachment against President Trump.
Cipollone called for a bipartisan vote of acquittal for Trump that he said would “end the era of impeachment once and for all.”
The House managers are now continuing their closing arguments.
GOP senators urge Trump to avoid mentioning impeachment at his State of the Union address
Senate Republicans are urging President Trump to avoid mentioning impeachment and Ukraine during the State of the Union address tomorrow evening.
It’s a sign that they are worried that his comments could put them in an awkward position, especially since a number have settled on the idea that he acted inappropriately but it wasn’t impeachable — and Trump insists he acted perfectly.
Sens. Marco Rubio, Bill Cassidy, Joni Ernst and Kevin Cramer all cautioned the President against focusing on impeachment during his remarks tomorrow.
Trump attorney encourages senators to consider freedom, justice and fundamental fairness
The President’s impeachment attorney Kenneth Starr invoked American history and pop culture as he made his closing remarks, which centered on the concept of freedom.
During his second round of remarks on the Senate floor during the impeachment trial, Starr recalled Irving Berlin’s World War I-era composition of God Bless America, noting that Berlin came to the United States as an immigrant at the age of five.
“The nation is about freedom,” Starr said, going on to invoke Dr. Martin Luther King’s iconic “I have a dream” speech and the Lincoln Memorial.
King spoke about freedom, Starr said, but also “freedom and justice.”
Starr said King often spoke about a 19th century Unitarian abolitionist, Theodore Parker, who said the “moral arc of the universe points toward justice.”
Starr encouraged the Senate to consider freedom, justice and fundamental fairness.
He then referenced the New England Patriots’ infamous Deflategate: “It’s why we don’t allow deflated footballs.”
And the Houston Astros’ 2017 season: “Or stealing signs from the field.”
“Rules are rules,” Starr said, encouraging senators to consider whether the rules were “faithfully followed” as they make their deliberations.
“If not, if that is your judgment, then with all due respect the prosecutors should not be rewarded. Just as federal prosecutors are not rewarded. You didn’t follow the rules. You should have,” he said, questioning whether the court has “proven trustworthy” and whether there has been “full and fair disclosure.”
Watch here: Ken Starr tells House managers they ‘didn’t follow the rules’
Here's what one undecided senator was doing during lunch
During the lunch break, Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat from West Virginia, and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski whispered back and forth at Manchin’s desk.
Sen. Manchin still hasn’t revealed which way he intends to vote on Wednesday.
Murkowski, a closely watched Republican, said earlier today she has made up her mind on how she’ll vote but didn’t disclose whether she plans to vote to acquit or convict.
White House counsel argues "the only conclusion" is to acquit Trump
The President’s defense team is now giving their closing arguments.
White House counsel Pat Cipollone began by saying the defense will complete their presentation “in a very efficient period of time.”
Cipollone continued: “You understand the arguments that we’ve been making, and at the end of the day, the key conclusion, we believe the only conclusion based on the evidence and based on the articles of impeachment themselves and the Constitution, is that you must vote to acquit the President.”
He repeated a Trump team talking point that the impeachment “is an effort to overturn the results of one election and to try to interfere” in the next presidential election.
Watch the moment:
The Senate trial has resumed
The senators are back from lunch. It is now the defense team’s turn to make their closing arguments.
Here's what it's like inside the Senate chamber today
Before the two sides presented their closing arguments, there was conviviality in the chamber. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and White House counsel Pat Cipollone shook hands and smiled. Cipollone made a joke and laughed.
Republican and Democrats chatted. President Trump’s attorney Ken Starr went over to the House managers’ table and talked with Rep. Adam Schiff.
Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine crossed the aisle to talk to McConnell, Cipollone and Trump attorney Jay Sekulow. Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris and Republican Sen. Jim Risch also chatted. So did Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin and GOP Sen. Shelley Moore Capito.
But there were also signs that the senators would rather be elsewhere. There were some stragglers. As Rep. Jason Crow began the House managers’ presentation, Sens. Jerry Moran, John Barrasso, Tim Scott, Bill Cassidy, Mike Braun and Dianne Feinstein entered the chamber.
GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham took out a newspaper. Manchin put in eyedrops. Sen. John Hoeven stood along the back wall, swaying. Sen. Amy Klobuchar cracked a joke to Sen. Chris Coons before leaving the chamber.
And as his wife Jane looked on from the visitor’s gallery above, Sen. Bernie Sanders fought the urge to sleep.
Meanwhile, here are today’s top stories other than impeachment
As President Trump’s impeachment trial reaches its closing stage in Washington today, The Brief’s Bianca Nobilo has been keeping track of the day’s headlines outside Capitol Hill.
Here’s what you need to know:
- Coronavirus: More than 17,000 cases of the infection have been confirmed worldwide as the virus continues to spread. Chinese stocks also suffered their worst day in years. The Shanghai Composite plummeted 7.7% and the Shenzhen Component Index fell nearly 8.5%, wiping away billions in market value.
- Iowa caucuses: Democratic primary voters will kick-start the 2020 race by caucusing tonight. Voters in Iowa will choose who they want to face Trump in the November presidential election.
- London terror: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said the early release of convicted terrorists must come to an end, following a terror-related knife attack in south London on Sunday.
- Turkey-Syria tensions: At least six people have been killed near Idlib after coming under “heavy artillery fire” by the Syrian regime, the Turkish Defense Ministry said.
Watch more:
House impeachment managers are expected to speak again
The Democratic House managers have finished the factual portion of their final arguments, according to a Democratic aide working on the impeachment inquiry.
The aide added that the managers will do final closing speeches following the White House presentation.
Some GOP senators don't agree that Trump's actions were inappropriate
Several Republicans either would not say they agreed with the notion that President Trump did something wrong — or they flatly said he did nothing wrong.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, a Republican from Tennessee, would only say: “We want to make certain that we finish up this impeachment, that we move away from this, and that we get back to things that people want to focus on. And we always want to be certain that people act appropriately within their offices.”
Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, said his only concerns are with the “merits of the case” that Democrats bought forward. And GOP Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma said, “I don’t” agree with Sen. Lamar Alexander.
About Alexander’s comments: The Tennessee Republican said he believes President Trump acted improperly and crossed a line in the Ukraine scandal but said the President’s actions are “a long way from treason, bribery, high crimes and misdemeanors.”
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