Democrats Press the Case for Trump's Removal on First Day of Impeachment Trial Arguments

With the entire Senate sitting before them, bound to silence, Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday began their allotted three days for arguments in support of removing President Donald Trump from office.

The day, which effectively began Trump’s historic impeachment trial after two earlier days of ceremony and debate over the trial rules, saw the House of Representatives’ Democratic impeachment managers trace the details of what they called the president’s abuse of power and obstruction in the Ukraine scandal.

“If not remedied by his conviction in the Senate, and removal from office, President Trump’s abuse of his office and obstruction of Congress will permanently alter the balance of power among the branches of government,” said Rep. Adam Schiff, one of the impeachment managers.

“The president has shown that he believes that he’s above the law and scornful of constraint.”

Though rules of the impeachment trial meant the the Republican senators and Trump’s defense team had to keep silent (though the Senate didn’t always abide by this), the president himself sounded off on the prosecution from Switzerland.

While attending the World Economic Forum, Trump, 73, told reporters he wished he could attend the Senate trial and “sit right in the front row and stare into their corrupt faces,” according to The New York Times.

“We’re doing very well,” Trump said, according to The Times. “I got to watch enough. I thought our team did a very good job. But honestly, we have all the material. They don’t have the material.”

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Democrats think they do, and the House’s months-long investigation has broadly corroborated the case against the president.

Trump’s team, in turn, has attacked the process of this particular impeachment as unconstitutional and Trump allies have suggested that whatever the president did was within his scope of powers as a leader.

On Wednesday, Schiff spoke for hours on the Senate floor, laying out the case against President Trump and reiterating the work of the House’s impeachment investigation.

“Over the coming days, you will hear remarkably consistent evidence of President Trump’s corrupt scheme and cover-up,” said Schiff, 59. “There is no serious dispute about the facts underlying the president’s conduct. This is why you will hear the president’s lawyers make the claim that you can’t impeach a president for abusing the powers of his office because they can’t seriously contest that that is exactly, exactly what he did.”

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Democratic lawmakers have been given 24 hours over three days to make their argument before the Senate, where Trump is still likely to be acquitted given the Republican majority.

House lawmakers say their investigation shows Trump withheld some $400 million in aid to Ukraine, and other political support, while pressuring the country’s president to investigate Trump’s political rivals ahead of the 2020 election.

“President Trump’s objective was not to encourage a foreign government to investigate legitimate allegations of misconduct or wrongdoing abroad,” Schiff said. “Rather, the president simply wanted to reap a political benefit by tarnishing a political rival.”

The president has adamantly insisted he did nothing wrong, despite the House investigation, and he’s chided other conservatives from even ceding he may have been improper with Ukraine.

His supporters in Congress have said they are reluctant to proceed with an impeachment process they believe is a revenge scheme by Democrats for their surprise loss in the 2016 election.

Though they can’t speak at the impeachment trial, Republican lawmakers are still able to voice their opposition during the Democrats’ opening arguments on social media.

Sens. Lindsey Graham and Ted Cruz both tweeted in support and fuel baseless claims surrounding former Vice President Joe Biden‘s son Hunter Biden, which is at the core of Trump’s impeachment.

Sen. Mike Lee wrote on Twitter that “I am taking notes and am unimpressed.”

What’s Next?

Democrats have two more days to argue — on Thursday and Friday — before Republicans prepare for their response, likely starting Saturday.

Each side has 24 hours over three days, though it’s unclear how much of that time each side will actually use.

After opening arguments, senators will be allowed to submit written questions for the prosecution and defense teams, likely starting Wednesday.

Following that will be a key vote on whether the Senate will allow for additional witnesses and evidence to be brought into the trial. Democrats have pushed for this, against Republican resistance, though some Republican senators have signaled they may vote to allow witnesses.

Democrats are hoping to hear testimony from top Trump administration officials who either refused or were instructed by the White House not to participate in the House investigation that led to Trump’s impeachment in December.

So far, key witnesses such as John Bolton, a former national security advisor, have said they would be willing to testify if asked, while Trump himself has said he’d like to testimony from Bolton, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, White House Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney and former Energy Secretary Rick Perry.

“I’ll leave that to the Senate, the Senate is going to have to answer that,” Trump said Wednesday, according to NBC News.