Public Impeachment Hearings

Temple wrote:

Donald Trump's impeachment trial is not likely to satisfy a public that has turned on Trump.

important stuff is happening in the middle of the night, that slim majority is likely to fade.

The middle of the night started at 1:18 PM today.

Rule change - the two 12 hour periods for two days has been changed to three days of eight hours for opening arguments, etc.

That should make Temple happy.

directorate wrote:

Rule change - the two 12 hour periods for two days has been changed to three days of eight hours for opening arguments, etc.

That should make Temple happy.

I'm not excited..
Mich will never allow trump to be ousted.
he will die first..
So--
it will be interesting but eeehhh the outcome
has already been declared by Mitch.
no matter;
trump is impeached, forever.
Most likely he will be voted out, anyways.

THROWING PUNCHES: Chief Justice Roberts reminds BOTH sides to be appropriate



Last Update 7 mins ago
Chief Justice Roberts admonishes both sides at Senate impeachment trial, after marathon session erupts into shouting match
By Gregg Re | Fox News

A marathon, 12-hour first day in the Senate impeachment trial against President Trump erupted into a shouting match well after midnight Wednesday morning, as Trump's legal team unloaded on Democratic impeachment manager Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y. -- in an exchange that prompted a bleary-eyed Chief Justice John Roberts to sternly admonish both sides for misconduct in the chamber.

Nadler began the historic spat by speaking in support of the eighth amendment of the day, which was proposed by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., just as the clock struck midnight. The proposal would have amended the trial rules offered by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to immediately subpoena former National Security Advisor John Bolton. (McConnell's rules, which were eventually adopted in a 53-47 party-line vote at 1:40 a.m. ET, permit new witnesses and documents to be considered only later on in the proceedings, after initial arguments are made.)

Nader, who was overheard apparently planning to impeach Trump back in 2018, said it would be a "treacherous vote" and a "cover-up" for Republicans to reject the Bolton subpoena, claiming that "only guilty people try to hide evidence." Bolton has reportedly described Trump's conduct as akin to a "drug deal," and he has indicated he would be willing to testify and provide relevant information.

“It’s embarrassing,” Nadler began. “The president is on trial in the Senate, but the Senate is on trial in the eyes of the American people. Will you vote to allow all the relevant evidence to be presented here? Or will you betray you pledge to be an impartial juror? ... Will you bring Ambassador Bolton here? Will you permit us to present you with the entire record of the president's misconduct? Or will you instead choose to be complicit in the president's coverup? So far I'm sad to say I see a lot of senators voting for a coverup, voting to deny witnesses, an absolutely indefensible vote, obviously a treacherous vote.”

Trump's legal team, which had previously slammed House Democrats for failing to pursue all relevant witnesses in their own impeachment probe, immediately rose in response.

"We've been respectful of the Senate," an animated White House counsel Pat Cipollone fired back. "We've made our arguments to you. And you don't deserve, and we don't deserve, what just happened. Mr. Nadler came up here and made false allegations against our team. He made false allegations against all of you; he accused you of a cover-up. He's been making false allegations against the president. The only one who should be embarrassed, Mr. Nadler is you, for the way you've addressed the United States Senate. This is the United States Senate. You're not in charge here. ... It’s about time we bring this power trip in for a landing."


Steve Guest

@SteveGuest
Pat Cipollone shuts down Jerry Nadler: “the only one who should be embarrassed, Mr. Nadler, is you”
10:58 PM - Jan 21, 2020

The outbursts prompted Roberts, who as Chief Justice of the United States is constitutionally required to serve as the presiding judge in the impeachment trial, to admonish both sides of the debate. Roberts called the Senate the "world's greatest deliberative body" and added that "those addressing the Senate should remember where they are."

"It is appropriate at this point for me to admonish both the House managers and the president's counsel in equal terms to remember that they are addressing the world's greatest deliberative body," Roberts said. "One reason it has earned that title is because its members avoid speaking in a manner, and using language, that is not conducive to civil discourse. "

Roberts continued: "In the 1905 [Judge Charles] Swayne trial, a senator objected when one of the managers used the word 'pettifogging' -- and the presiding officer said the word ought not to have been used. I don't think we need to aspire to that high a standard, but I do think those addressing the Senate should remember where they are."


Alex Salvi
@alexsalvinews
SCOTUS Chief Justice John Roberts admonishes Impeachment Managers and Pres. Trump’s Counsel for language.

“I do think those addressing the Senate should remember where they are.”
11:08 PM - Jan 21, 2020

The vote on the Bolton amendment, like the roll call on Schumer's previous failed quixotic proposals on the day, was not a final determination on any witness or document request.

At 1:30 a.m. ET, Schumer introduced his last amendment for the day -- and he unexpectedly put Roberts back in the spotlight. The proposal would have allowed Roberts to decide the appropriateness of witnesses, which Republicans nixed because the Constitution affords the Senate the sole power over impeachment trials.

That last amendment was tabled by a 53-47 party-line vote, just like ten of Schumer's other amendments on the day.

When McConnell thanked Roberts for his "patience" as the proceedings wrapped up at 1:40 a.m. ET following that vote, Roberts remarked to applause, "It comes with the job."

Shortly before the Senate impeachment trial dragged on overnight into the wee hours Wednesday with a series of Democrat-proposed subpoena requests that Republicans methodically shot down one-by-one, McConnell had offered Democrats an option: bundle all of their document requests into a "stack" for a single vote, so that the process could move along.

But, Schumer was having none of it -- and made clear that he wanted individual votes on each of Democrats' proposed amendments to McConnell's trial rules, no matter how long it took. McConnell's rules passed 53-47 followed immediately by adjournment until 1 p.m. Wednesday.

McConnell and Trump's lawyers, for their part, pointed out that Democrats' case couldn't be as open-and-shut and "overwhelming" as they had claimed, given their apparent need for scores of additional documents and witnesses even after the House-led impeachment probe.

Nevertheless, "a number" of additional amendments were going to be offered, Schumer promised. Indeed, at 10:30 p.m. ET, Schumer rose to present his sixth proposal of the day: a subpoena for the testimony of White House budget aides Robert Blair and Michael Duffey. Debate on that proposal wrapped up in a little over an hour before the Senate voted to table it.

Then, at 11:19 p.m. ET, Schumer introduced yet another amendment, in the form of a procedural modification requiring that if any party "seeks to admit evidence that has not been submitted as part of the record of the House of Representatives and that was subject to a duly authorized subpoena," then that party "shall also provide the opposing party all other documents responsive to that subpoena."  However, Trump's lawyers objected to the premise that the House's subpoenas were "duly authorized," given that the subpoenas were not issued pursuant to an impeachment inquiry authorized by a vote of the full House.

The Bolton amendment came next, followed by another procedural amendment on subpoenas.

In all, the Senate handed President Trump a series of wins throughout the day Tuesday by voting 53-47 ten separate times to effectively kill a series of previous proposals from Schumer to subpoena White House, State Department, Defense Department, and Office of Management and Budget documents, as well as acting White House Chief of Staff Mike Mulvaney, Blair and Duffey, respectively.

The party-line votes demonstrated GOP unity at the start of the trial, which is all but certain to result in the president's acquittal.

An additional, less consequential amendment on written responses was tabled by a 52-vote majority. For the first time in the day a  Republican -- Maine Sen. Susan Collins -- joined the Democrats and voted not to table the amendment.

Meanwhile, a report emerged in Politico that Democrats' lead impeachment manager, California Rep. Adam Schiff, may have publicly mischaracterized evidence in the case. Schiff had asserted that Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas “continued to try to arrange a meeting with President [Volodymyr] Zelensky" -- but the "mr Z" that Parnas was referring to in his text message was apparently not Ukraine's president, but Ukrainian businessman Mykola Zlochevsky.

"We will not back off on getting votes on all of these amendments."

— Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y

There were signs that attention was flagging in the chamber with the night winding on. As of 10 p.m. ET, the galleries to watch the proceedings contained only 29 members of the public.

Eventually, once Democrats' amendments are all defeated, the Senate voted on McConnell's underlying rules resolution in order to set the ground rules.

"It’s getting late," White House counsel Pat Cipollone said late Tuesday night. "I would ask you, respectfully, if we could simply start, maybe tomorrow we can start -- and they can make their argument, and they can, I guess, make a case that they once called 'overwhelming.' We'll see... Seriously, can we please start?”


JM Rieger

@RiegerReport
PAT CIPOLLONE: “It’s getting late. I would ask you, respectfully, if we could simply start, maybe tomorrow we can start, and they can make their argument, and they can, I guess, make a case that they once called overwhelming. … Seriously, can we please start?”
7:22 PM - Jan 21, 2020

As Democrats' amendments were summarily shot down, reports emerged that some Democrats were privately considering something of a compromise: calling for the testimony of Hunter Biden in exchange for the appearance of some key administration officials. Biden obtained a lucrative board role with a Ukrainian company while his father, Joe Biden, was overseeing Ukrainian policy as vice president.

Trump had asked in his now-infamous July 25 call with Ukraine's president for a look into Joe Biden's admitted pressure campaign to have Ukraine's top prosecutor fired.


Aaron Maté

@aaronjmate
Tuning in to impeachment to hear Dem manager Rep. Jason Crow saying that Trump endangered “US national security” by delaying weapons sales to Ukraine — sales that Obama flatly rejected.

Not just militarist Cold War garbage — also a complete joke.
7:55 PM - Jan 21, 2020

Republicans have sought to portray Trump's push for a probe as a legitimate request given the Bidens' dealings in Ukraine, while Democrats have alleged that senior administration officials would testify that the administration withheld military aid to Ukraine in order to secure a politically motivated probe. Mulvaney, for example, has publicly argued that there is nothing wrong with tying financial assistance to anti-corruption efforts and other U.S. objectives, even as the administration has denied specifically targeting the Bidens for political purposes.

Additionally, Republicans have maintained that executive privilege, a longstanding constitutional principle protecting executive branch deliberations from disclosure, by itself defeated the "obstruction of Congress" article of impeachment, while Democrats had only hearsay evidence and speculation to support their "abuse of power" charge. Neither "obstruction of Congress" nor "abuse of power" are federal crimes, and they have no established definition.

Meanwhile, the barrage of amendments Tuesday night put into doubt whether the senators would have time to meet in a closed session to converse -- which would be a valuable opportunity, given that the senators were legally barred from having any sustenance other than water or milk at their desk all day, and could not communicate verbally with one another during the proceedings.

The restriction on cellphone possession and oral interaction led some members to pass and flash written notes to each other like students in a classroom, as Democratic House impeachment managers and the president's legal team traded lengthy legalistic arguments.

At one point during the proceedings, former Bill Clinton press secretary and CNN political analyst Joe Lockhart wrote on Twitter that Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz could go to "prison," noting that Cruz's Twitter account was posting tweets during the trial. Lockhart was quickly mocked by social media users pointing out that it's common for senators' Twitter accounts to be run by staff, and Cruz's representatives confirmed to Fox News that Cruz had not sneaked his phone into the chamber.

Even Cruz's staff couldn't resist poking some fun at Lockhart, writing "COME AND TAKE IT," with an image of a cellphone.


Ted Cruz

@tedcruz
https://twitter.com/joelockhart/status/1219695347762716672 …

Joe Lockhart

@joelockhart
Replying to @tedcruz @realDonaldTrump
Senators on the floor are sworn to silence and have no electronic devices.  So how is this Senator tweeting?  Did he sneak a phone in.  Is he willing to go to prison?  Or is the tweet from someone other than Cruz.  @jack you should investigate
12:08 PM - Jan 21, 2020

It was a moment of levity in an otherwise emotionally charged day, with Democrats accusing the president of "high crimes and misdemeanors" and Republicans calling out what they see as a transparent partisan stunt.

"It's a partisan impeachment they've delivered to your doorstep in an election year," Cipollone thundered early in the day, pointing out that Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, and others, were being pulled off the campaign trail. "Some of you should be in Iowa."


Leader McConnell

@senatemajldr
It will be telling if the House managers try to get the Senate to pre-commit ourselves to supplementing the investigation they themselves oversaw and decided to shut down. Just last week, they said their case as it already exists is “overwhelming” and “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
6:16 PM - Jan 21, 2020

"They're not here to steal one election, they're here to steal two elections," Cipollone added.

Trump attorney Patrick Philbin said Democrats' document requests were a "stunning admission" that House prosecutors, who had full rein to conduct their own impeachment inquiry, were now essentially asking the Senate "to do their job for them."

California Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren, one of the House Democrats' impeachment managers, countered in her remarks on the Senate floor that additional documents were needed to provide "clarity."

“As powerful as our evidence is," Lofgren said, "we did not receive a single document from an executive branch agency including the White House itself."

Lofgren specifically sought, among other materials, summary notes from an Aug. 30, 2019 meeting between Trump, Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in which they apparently tried to convince the president that freeing up aid money for Ukraine would be "the right thing to do."

“It would be wrong for you senators ... to be deprived of the relevant evidence,” Lofgren said.


Rudy Giuliani

@RudyGiuliani
It is impossible to address all the  Dem lying today.
Schiff deliberately editing the text to perpetrate a fraud concerning me with regard to the identity of Mr. Z is just one of his many lies.
There should be discipline for Members who conspire to defraud and are serial liars.
11:09 PM - Jan 21, 2020

After the 53-47 vote to table his first subpoena request for White House documents Tuesday afternoon, Schumer introduced a second amendment seeking a slew of State Department documents and records. McConnell quickly moved to table that amendment after two hours of debate were concluded, and it was also rejected by a 53-47 vote.

Then, Schumer tried once more, this time with an amendment to seek documents from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that were related to the suspension of Ukrainian aid. That, too, failed with a 53-47 vote and was quickly followed by the debate on the Mulvaney amendment.

However, McConnell abruptly backed off some of his proposed rules for the proceedings earlier Tuesday, easing plans for a tight two-day schedule and agreeing that House evidence will be included. He acted after protests from senators, including fellow Republicans who made their concerns known in private at a GOP lunch.

Without comment, the Republican leader submitted an amended proposal after meeting behind closed doors with his fellow senators as the trial opened. The handwritten changes would add an extra day for each side's opening arguments, instead of just two days, and stipulate that evidence from the Democratic House's impeachment hearings would be included in the record.

A spokeswoman for Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins, a moderate, said that she and others had raised concerns. Collins sees the changes as significant improvements, the spokeswoman said.

Additionally, Ohio GOP Sen. Rob Portman and a substantial number of other Republicans from across the party's ideological spectrum reportedly wanted to make the changes. Some argued that the two-day limitation would have helped Democrats cast Republicans as squeezing testimony through in the dead of night.

The turnaround was a swift lesson as the White House's wishes run into the reality of the Senate.

The White House wanted a session crammed into a shorter period to both expedite the trial and shift more of the proceedings into the late-night hours, according to a person familiar with the matter but unauthorized to discuss it in public.

For his part, though, President Trump appeared undeterred by the proceedings.

“READ THE TRANSCRIPTS!” the president tweeted from overseas, as he returned to his hotel far away from Washington's impeachment drama, at a global leaders economic conference in Davos, Switzerland.

Fox News' Chad Pergram, Mike Emanuel, Jason Donner, and Adam Shaw contributed to this report, as well as The Associated Press.

Numerous videos at https://www.foxnews.com/politics/senate-impeachment-trial-begins-with-win-for-the-white-house-as-dems-rules-proposal-is-nixed

Related stories:

OOPS? BIDEN TEAM TOUTS UKRAINE ACTIVIST WHO CALLED HUNTER BIDEN'S ACTIONS 'VERY BAD'
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-hunter-ukraine-activist-corruption-daria-kaleniuk

JIM JORDAN: THE FOUR FACTS DEMS CAN'T CHANGE
https://www.foxnews.com/media/rep-jim-jordan-claims-4-key-impeachment-facts-that-democrats-cannot-change

TRUMP'S LEGAL TEAM GOES ON THE OFFENSIVE
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-impeachment-trial-begins-with-bitter-dispute-over-rules

IMPEACHMENT TRIAL RULES SEEM WRITTEN IN THE WHITE HOUSE, NOT THE SENATE, SCHUMER SAYS
https://cms.foxnews.com/wp/wp-admin/post-new.php

Schiff and Dershowitz spar over whether abuse of power is impeachable offense
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/schiff-and-dershowitz-spar-over-whether-abuse-of-power-is-impeachable-offense

Damn Schiff is SO boring. How many times do we have to hear him say the same thing over and over and over?

directorate wrote:

Damn Schiff is SO boring. How many times do we have to hear him say the same thing over and over and over?

you listen to trumps rallies
and
they are carbon copies, same ranting for years.
and
his tweets are the same type of rants.

the only difference is;
Schiff speaks facts with documents as proof
trump rants all kinds of crazy nonsense shit.

so-- Schiff speaking Boring facts
and trump speaks incoherently rambling

anyways--
Mitch will not oust trump.

I haven't watched--
I read papers and watch news headlines of the day.
I don't listen to pannels, just the report.

trump is safe. no need for you guys to get upset.

I do suggest you listen to the facts. tho..

JANUARY 22, 2020 / 3:48 PM / UPDATED AN HOUR AGO
Opening of Trump impeachment trial draws 11 million TV viewers
Lisa Richwine | Reuters

(Reuters) - About 11 million TV viewers watched the start of the U.S. Senate impeachment trial of President Donald Trump on Tuesday when lawmakers sparred for hours over witnesses and records for the historic proceedings, according to Nielsen ratings data.

The total fell short of the roughly 13.8 million viewers across 10 broadcast and cable television networks who tuned in last November for the first day of the House of Representatives impeachment inquiry into Trump.

The audience figure on Tuesday covered the 4-1/2 hours of daytime coverage by six cable and broadcast networks that aired live telecasts on Tuesday.

The networks were Walt Disney Co’s ABC, ViacomCBS Inc’s CBS, Comcast Corp’s NBC and MSNBC, AT&T Inc’s CNN and Fox Corp’s Fox News.

On Tuesday, Senate Republicans rejected Democratic efforts to obtain evidence and call witnesses. Debate stretched past midnight before final rules were approved.

The trial, which resumed on Wednesday with opening arguments, is the third presidential impeachment trial in U.S. history [L1N29R0SB].

Trump was impeached by the Democratic-led House in December on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress for pressuring Ukraine to investigate former Democratic Vice President Joe Biden, a political rival, and impeding the inquiry into the matter.

The Republican president denies any wrongdoing. He is almost certain to be acquitted by the Republican-controlled 100-member Senate, where a two-thirds majority is needed to remove him from office.

The TV ratings do not include people who watched live coverage via online streaming or followed the event on social media.

Carlson is actually pretty funny ...the vid is a half hour long and I skipped through some of it, but what I saw was amusing

Ranking Democrat Senator Dianne Feinstein Left Senate During Schiff Testimony – Said “Goodnight” and Went Home…

Many people are becoming aware the Senate impeachment trial is an exercise in politics, nothing more. The votes are already decided; the trial is simply a pantomime.

To highlight the point, Democrat Senator Dianne Feinstein, the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, simply walked out during the trial when Adam Schiff was testifying; said “goodnight” and just went home.

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2020/01/22/ranking-democrat-senator-dianne-feinstein-left-senate-during-schiff-testimony-said-goodnight-and-went-home/

Wait!

Don't the impeachment rules state that

"Every senator must sit in their seats and listen to ALL testimony, under penalty of pain or prison."

Grackle wrote:

BTW, why are you *centering* your text? ...It's a post, not a fuk'n poem ...lol

A+ !! very good.
You are correct- I centred the post.
didja like it? no matter I do.
(( it's cool !

Trump impeachment: Senators play games and nap during trial
2 hours ago | BBC


US senators have been accused of falling asleep, playing games and breaking other rules during President Donald Trump's impeachment trial.

Jim Risch and Jim Inhofe are among members who have apparently nodded off during the lengthy hearings.

Crossword puzzles, fidget spinners and at least one paper airplane have been spotted with senators.

The trial has heard that Mr Trump's alleged abuse of power threatens American democracy.

The senators are acting as the jury to decide whether the president should be removed from office.

The upper chamber of US Congress prides itself as a hallowed sanctum of decorum.

But some of its members - Republican and Democrat alike - have this week been accused by US media of acting like bored schoolchildren.

The rules call for senators to remain seated during the impeachment trial.

But at least nine Democrats and 22 Republicans left their seats at various times on Thursday, according to Reuters news agency.

They included Democratic White House hopefuls Bernie Sanders, Amy Klobuchar and Michael Bennet.

Marsha Blackburn, a Tennessee Republican, defended herself on Thursday after she was spotted reading a book in the chamber.

She tweeted that the tome - How Trump Haters Are Breaking America, by Kim Strassel - "provides good insights into today's proceedings".

"Busy mamas are the best at multi-tasking," she added. "Try it."

Mr Risch, a Republican who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was seen this week slumped motionless with his eyes closed at his desk during the hearings.

A spokesman for the Idaho senator denied he had been asleep, telling the Wall Street Journal he was just listening closely "with his eyes closed or cast down".

Mr Inhofe, an Oklahoma Republican, was spotted on Wednesday by an NBC reporter appearing to briefly doze off before he was nudged by Senator Todd Young, an Indiana Republican who sits next to him.

Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat, was observed leaning on his right arm with his hand covering his eyes for 20 minutes.

On Thursday, Richard Burr, a North Carolina Republican, handed out fidget spinners, a children's toy, to fellow senators to help them while away the hours in the chamber.

"I saw somebody grab up a few of them, so they must have some real anxiety going along with this," said Mike Braun, an Indiana Republican. He said he did not require one of the gizmos.

Phones, laptops and tablets are a regular accessory during normal Senate hearings, but all electronics have been banned in the chamber for this trial, leaving many restless.

Pat Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, was heard drawling "my precious" as he retrieved his phone from the cubby outside the chamber.

Some senators have apparently found a way around the strict rules by wearing smart watches.

Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, reportedly worked on a crossword puzzle and made a paper airplane as Democratic prosecutors laid out their case on Wednesday.

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democratic front-runner for the 2020 White House nomination, was spotted by an ABC News reporter playing an unspecified game on paper.

Talking is banned on the floor during arguments and senators are daily admonished by the Senate sergeant-at-arms to remain silent during proceedings "on pain of imprisonment".

But on Wednesday, two Republicans - Tim Scott of South Carolina and Ben Sasse of Nebraska - threw caution to the wind and began whispering after hours of passing notes to each other.

There are also strict rules against food, but senators have been spotted munching chocolate and chewing gum.

Press access to the chamber has been heavily restricted during the Senate trial, meaning there are fewer cameras to catch senators' unguarded moments.

But other senators have appeared to pay close attention to the trial with some diligently taking notes.

Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, was observed scribbling away with what appeared to be a quill pen.

Mr Trump is only the third president ever to be impeached, but he is unlikely to be convicted in a chamber that is controlled by his fellow Republicans.

Before Thursday's arguments began, some Republican senators said they had heard nothing new in Democratic prosecutors' arguments and had already made up their mind to clear the president. A two-thirds majority votes is required to remove Mr Trump from office.