Live Updates
Impeachment trial live updates: House managers argue senators have a ‘duty’ to remove Trump from office
Feb. 3, 2020 at 11:39 a.m. PST
Trump was impeached by the House for alleged abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The crux of the case against him is the allegation that he withheld military aid and a White House meeting to pressure Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden and his son. Hunter Biden served on the board of Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company, while his father was vice president.
●Trump’s impending acquittal could have profound ramifications for future presidents.
●Senate Republicans defend decision to bar new evidence as Trump acquittal vote nears.
●Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) finds it’s lonely in the middle.
11:30 a.m.
If impeachment in election years was off-limits, founders would have said so, Rep. Lofgren says
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), one of the House impeachment managers, on Monday pushed back against the notion that Trump can’t be impeached because 2020 is an election year.
“High crimes and misdemeanors mean abuse of power against the constitutional order — conduct that is corrupt, whether or not a crime,” Lofgren said. “Now, some say no impeachment when there’s an election coming. But without term limits when they wrote the Constitution, there was always an election coming.”
“If impeachment in election years was not to be,” she added, “our founders would have said so.”
By Felicia Sonmez
11:25 a.m.
Garcia argues Trump’s removal necessary for next generation
Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-Tex.), one of the House impeachment managers, argued that Trump’s removal from office is necessary to protect democracy for the next generation.
“Little girls and boys across America aren’t asking at home what the framers meant by high crimes and misdemeanors,” she said. “But someday, they will ask why we didn’t do anything to stop this president who’s put his own interests above what was good for all of us. They will ask. They will want to understand.”
Garcia told senators that they “inherited a democracy.”
“Now we must protect it and pass it on to the next generation.,” she said. “We simply can’t give our children a democracy if their president is above the law.”
By John Wagner
11:20 a.m.
Cipollone closes by arguing that voters should decide Trump’s fate
As he wrapped up the defense team’s arguments, Cipollone told senators that the American people, not the Senate, should determine Trump’s fate.
“So at the end of the day, we put our faith in the Senate,” Cipollone said. “We put our faith in the Senate. Because we know you will put your faith in the American people. You will leave this choice to them, where it belongs.”
Cipollone added that Trump is eager to face the voters.
“We believe that this president, day after day, has put their interests first, has achieved successful results, has fulfilled the promises he made to them,” he said. “And he is eager to go before the American people in this upcoming election.”
By John Wagner
11:15 a.m.
Sen. Blunt defends Trump after Chiefs faux pas
After the Kansas City Chiefs won Super Bowl LIV Sunday night, Trump tweeted congratulations to the team, declaring they had “represented the Great State of Kansas … so very well.”
While the state of Kansas is home to a goodly portion of the Chiefs’ fan base, the team is actually based in Missouri — leading to plenty of guffaws, even after Trump deleted the tweet. Former senator Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), for one, declared Trump a “stone cold idiot.”
Her former colleague, Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), was more forgiving in speaking to reporters Monday.
Said Blunt, who had attended the game in Miami: “You’d be surprised how many members of the Senate say, ‘The Kansas City Chiefs have to be in Kansas, right?’ ”
By Mike DeBonis
11:10 a.m.
Sekulow urges Senate to end ‘totally partisan presidential impeachment’
Sekulow argued that House Democrats had presented “the first totally partisan presidential impeachment in our nation’s history” and urged “it should be our last.”
“They have cheapened the awesome power of impeachment,” Sekulow said. “And unfortunately, of course, the country is not better for that. We urge this body to dispense with these partisan articles of impeachment for the sake of the nation, for the sake of the Constitution.”
Sekulow argued that the underlying issue was not an abuse of power by Trump but “policy disputes” over Ukraine.
“Elections have consequences,” he said. “We all know that. And if you do not like the policies of a particular administration or a particular candidate, you are free and welcome to vote for another candidate. But the answer is elections, not impeachment.”
He later played videos of ceremonies of Trump signing bipartisan legislation.
“This is what the American people expect,” he said.
By John Wagner
11:00 a.m.
White House counsel claims Rep. Schiff was ‘an interested witness,’ making no mention of Cipollone
White House Deputy Counsel Patrick Philbin returned to the House Republican argument against impeachment, accusing the Democratic-led House of procedural missteps — despite the fact that the White House declined to take part in the process.
“The House violated every principle of due process and fundamental fairness in the way the hearings were conducted,” Philbin said.
The White House served notice to the House in October that it would not cooperate with the impeachment inquiry.
Philbin also took aim at Schiff, as Trump and other top Republicans have frequently done, calling the House Intelligence Committee chairman “an interested witness who had been involved in — or at least his staff — in discussions with the whistleblower, then guided the factual inquiry in the House.”
Democrats have countered that argument by noting that Schiff has said he never talked to the whistleblower and doesn’t know the individual’s identity. A senior Democratic official also argued last month that Cipollone and other White House lawyers are “actual fact witnesses, unlike any of the House managers” due to their knowledge of Trump’s efforts to cover up his alleged misconduct.
By Felicia Sonmez
10:20 a.m.
Starr cites Martin Luther King Jr. in defense of Trump
Trump defense counsel Kenneth Starr began closing arguments Monday by urging senators to consider whether the impeachment process was fair, invoking the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and cheating in football.
Appealing to the principles of freedom and justice — “freedom whose contours have been shaped over the centuries” — he alluded to a famous King quote, saying that the moral arc of the universe bends toward justice. He said fundamental fairness means “playing by the rules.”
“It’s why we don’t allow deflated footballs or stealing signs from the field,” Starr said.
Starr’s statement was a reference to two sports scandals. One involved the 2016 suspension of Tom Brady of the New England Patriots over his role in a scheme to deflate footballs. The other involved the Houston Astros’ recent sign-stealing scandal, which cost several people their jobs, including the team’s manager and general manager.
“Rules are rules,” Starr continued. “They’re to be followed. And so I submit that a key question to be asked as you begin your deliberations [is], were the rules here faithfully followed? 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.”
Best known for serving as special prosecutor in the Bill Clinton impeachment, Starr argued that rules and tradition were “followed scrupulously” in previous impeachments.
By Brittany Shammas
9:55 a.m.
Cipollone says Democrats are seeking to overturn 2016 election
Cipollone opened the presentation of Trump’s lawyers arguing that Democrats are trying to overturn the 2016 election and “interfere” in the 2020 election by impeaching Trump.
“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,” Cipollone said. “At the end of the day, this is an effort to overturn the results of one election and to try to interfere in the coming election that begins today in Iowa.”
Cipollone said Trump’s lawyers would present their arguments in “a very efficient period of time,” suggesting that they might not use the full two hours that have been allotted to them.
By John Wagner
9:10 a.m.
Trump raises questions about whistleblower, Schiff
Just as the Senate was breaking for lunch, Trump weighed in on the trial in tweets, in which he raised questions about the whistleblower whose anonymous complaint sparked the impeachment inquiry and Schiff, the lead House manager.
“Where’s the Whistleblower?” Trump tweeted. “Where’s the second Whistleblower? Where’s the Informer? Why did Corrupt politician Schiff MAKE UP my conversation with the Ukrainian President??? Why didn’t the House do its job? And sooo much more!”
Trump was referring to an opening statement by Schiff at an Intelligence Committee hearing last year. Schiff offered an embellished version of the rough transcript of the July phone call, in which Trump pressed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for investigations that could benefit him politically.
Schiff said at the time that he was offering the essence of what was said on the call and later referred to it as being partly parody.
In an earlier tweet Monday as the House managers were presenting their arguments, Trump derided what he called “the totally partisan Impeachment Hoax.”
By John Wagner
9:05 a.m.
Rep. Schiff quotes late congressman Elijah Cummings
Schiff, the lead impeachment manager, quoted the late congressman Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.) as the House managers wrapped up the first hour of their presentation.
“When the history books are written about this tumultuous era, I want them to show that I was among those in the House of Representatives who stood up to lawlessness and tyranny,” Schiff quoted Cummings as saying at the outset of the impeachment inquiry.
Schiff reserved the balance of the managers’ time, meaning they will get a chance to speak again after senators hear from Trump’s lawyers.
After he finished, the senators began a lunch break.
By John Wagner
8:55 a.m.
Rep. Zeldin says presentation by Rep. Demings wasn’t ‘wacky enough’
Shortly after Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.) wrapped up her presentation, Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.), a close ally of Trump, offered his assessment on Twitter.
“My only criticism of Val Demings’ closing argument just now is that it wasn’t angry, hysterical, loud & wacky enough. Holy cow,” Zeldin tweeted.
By John Wagner
8:50 a.m.
Rep. Jeffries warns of a ‘new normal’ in which presidents are not held accountable
As the House managers continued to argue for Trump’s conviction, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) warned against a “new normal” in which presidents are not held accountable.
“A president who can obstruct and thwart the impeachment power becomes unaccountable,” Jeffries said. “He or she is effectively above the law. Such a president [is] more likely to engage in corruption with impunity. This will become the new normal, with this president and for future generations.”
Earlier, Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.), another House manager, outlined what she termed Trump’s “corrupt scheme” involving Ukraine.
“The evidence that was presented to you is damning, chilling, disturbing and disgraceful,” Demings said. “President Trump weaponized our government and the vast powers entrusted to him by the American people and the Constitution to target his political rival and corrupt our precious elections [and] subverted our national security and our democracy in the process. He put his personal interests over those of the country, and he violated his oath of office in the process.”
By Brittany Shammas and John Wagner
8:30 a.m.
Censure Trump? Don’t count on it, senators say.
With an acquittal of Trump all but assured after a two-week impeachment trial, a handful of Republican senators have opted to declare Trump’s conduct “inappropriate” but not impeachable — which has fueled speculation that Congress could pursue the less grave sanction of censure for the president.
Multiple senators of both parties dismissed the idea as they arrived at the Capitol on Monday.
Asked to gauge the appetite for censure among Republicans, Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) said, “ … zero.”
The vast majority of Republicans, he said, believe that Trump committed no wrongdoing and that he has been subjected to a partisan, politically motivated investigation.
“The only time I ever heard that question is from reporters,” he said.
Several Democrats said they were also uninterested in the idea, calling it a punishment well short of what Trump’s alleged conduct deserves.
“What he did was an impeachable offense — I think it’s absolutely obvious, and giving a slap on the wrist doesn’t do any good,” said Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.).
Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) suggested that a censure would only allow Republicans to skirt responsibility for protecting Trump, saying, “I’m not bailing them out.”
One Democrat who was open to the idea was Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, who said that “some additional action may well be appropriate,” but that he would want to speak with colleagues before endorsing the idea.
By Mike DeBonis
8:15 a.m.
Rep. Crow tells senators they have a duty to remove Trump from office
Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) began closing arguments on behalf of the House managers, telling senators that they have a duty to remove Trump from office.
“I submit to you on behalf of the House of Representatives that your duty demands that you convict President Trump,” Crow said, “Now, I don’t pretend that this is an easy process. It’s not designed to be easy. It shouldn’t be easy to impeach or convict a president. Impeachment is an extraordinary remedy, a tool only to be used in rare instances of grave misconduct. But it is in the Constitution for a reason in America.
“No one is above the law. Even those elected president of the United States, and I would say especially those elected president of the United States.”
Crow continued to argue that the House managers had proved Trump to be a threat to the coming election.
“If you believe, as we do and as we have proven, that the president’s efforts to use his official powers to cheat in the 2020 election jeopardize our national security and are antithetical to our democratic tradition, then you must come to no other conclusion than that the president threatens the fairness of the next election,” he said.
By John Wagner
8:00 a.m.
Murkowski says she agrees that Trump’s behavior was inappropriate
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said on her way into Monday’s closing arguments that she believes Trump’s conduct was inappropriate.
Asked if she agreed with Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) that Trump acted inappropriately, she said, “I would concur.” She said little else.
Murkowski had been considered a key potential swing vote but voted against calling witnesses in the Senate trial.
By Brittany Shammas and Mike DeBonis
7:55 a.m.
Sen. Jones remains undecided about how he’ll vote
Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.) said Monday that he remains undecided about whether he will vote to acquit Trump in the Senate trial.
“I want to hear the arguments and conversations with colleagues,” Jones said.
He is one of a handful of Democrats whom Republicans are courting to vote with them to acquit Trump on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
By Mike DeBonis
7:30 a.m.
Sen. Durbin calls Senate proceedings a ‘show trial’
Senate Minority Whip Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) on Monday criticized the proceedings in the Republican-led Senate as a “show trial” and said the chamber is “failing” the American people.
“Senators will soon hear closing arguments from House managers & the President’s defense team, bringing this show trial closer to its rigged conclusion,” Durbin said in a tweet about a half-hour before the trial was set to resume. “The American people wanted the truth — in rushing to an ending without witnesses or documents, the Senate is failing them.”
By John Wagner
7:00 a.m.
Democrats float idea of censuring Trump if he’s acquitted
Senate Democrats are floating the idea of censuring Trump if he is acquitted in his impeachment trial as expected on Wednesday.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said Monday that Republicans should “at the very least” agree to censure Trump for his behavior toward Ukraine.
“If they were serious about punishing misconduct and they don’t want to vote to impeach and remove,” he said on CNN, “at the very least, at the very least, they should have enough respect for the system to introduce a resolution of censure after Wednesday.”
In a separate television appearance, Sen. Michael F. Bennet (D-Colo.) voiced a similar sentiment when asked if the Republican-led Senate should censure Trump.
“I think if we can, we should,” Bennet said during an appearance on MSNBC.
The two Democrats’ comments come in the wake of a number of Republicans voicing concern that Trump’s conduct toward Ukraine was inappropriate even if it did not rise to the level of impeachable conduct.
Bennet also argued that Trump had stonewalled Congress more than any president including Richard M. Nixon and the Senate should voice its disapproval.
“I hope in the days ahead we think of a way to put this on the record,” he said.
Van Hollen said that Republican senators need to do more than voice quiet disapproval of Trump’s actions.
“These kind of whispers about inappropriate conduct only give the president a green light,” he said. “And the fact that more Republicans are not actually standing up and condemning his conduct is very alarming.”
By John Wagner and Brittany Shammas
5:40 a.m.
Meadows says he’s optimistic some Senate Democrats will vote to acquit Trump
Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), one of Trump’s staunchest defenders, said Monday that he is optimistic that some Democrats will join with Republicans in voting to acquit Trump on Wednesday.
“I’m optimistic that there will be a bipartisan acquittal,” Meadows said during an appearance on Fox News from Iowa, where he is among the Trump surrogates touting his candidacy ahead of the Iowa caucuses on Monday night.
Meadows also said that House Democrats were driven by partisan politics in their decision to pursue Trump’s impeachment.
“We’re in a partisan political divide right now that it doesn’t matter how perfect anything is,” Meadows said. “If they really looked at the facts, they wouldn’t have impeached him at all.”
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who appeared alongside Meadows, said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) had miscalculated how impeachment would play out.
“She messed this up all the way around because the facts were always on the president’s side,” Jordan said.
By John Wagner
5:15 a.m.
Sen. Ernst seeks to clarify comments about a potential Biden impeachment
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) sought Monday to clarify comments from the weekend in which she raised the possibility that Biden could be impeached if elected president for his conduct related to Ukraine.
In an interview with Bloomberg News on Sunday, Ernst warned that Republicans could immediately push to impeach Biden over his work in Ukraine as vice president if he wins the White House, saying he “should be very careful what he’s asking.”
The grounds for impeachment, Ernst told Bloomberg, would be “for being assigned to take on Ukrainian corruption yet turning a blind eye to Burisma because his son was on the board making over a million dollars a year.”
During an appearance Monday on Fox News, Ernst said she had raised a “very hypothetical situation” and does not think Biden will become president.
“The Democrats have set the bar so low for impeachment that it doesn’t matter who the next president could be, depending on which party is in charge in Congress, that we could see an ever-constant rotation of impeachment proceedings, and I don’t think that is in the benefit for the United States people,” Ernst said.
In Biden were to become president, it is highly unlikely the House would move to impeach him if it remains under Democratic control.
In the Fox interview, Ernst also expressed disappointment that Trump will not be acquitted before his State of the Union address on Tuesday.
“I really would have loved to have closed this out, moved on, and unfortunately the timing did not work that way,” she said.
By John Wagner
4:35 a.m.
Jill Biden says focus on Hunter Biden has been ‘just disgraceful’
Jill Biden, the wife of the former vice president, said Monday that Republican attacks on Hunter Biden during the impeachment process have been “just disgraceful.”
“As a mother, it’s really tough to see your son attacked, and this is all about Donald Trump,” Jill Biden said of her stepson during an appearance on CNN. “This is not about Hunter Biden … It’s just disgraceful.”
Before Friday’s Senate vote not to hear from witnesses, Trump and other Republicans floated the possibility of calling Hunter Biden to testify in the Senate trial.
Trump allies have said his interest in the Bidens was understandable given the history of corruption with Burisma, the Ukrainian energy company on whose board Hunter Biden served while his father was vice president.
“Hunter has done nothing wrong. Why would Hunter be called?” Jill Biden said. “It’s been very hurtful. So we’re just moving forward. We knew Trump would be tough, and we knew he would probably tell lies, as he continues to do, and we were ready for it.”
Jill Biden also expressed disappointment with Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), who has said an investigation of Hunter Biden is still warranted outside the impeachment process.
“I don’t know what happened to Lindsey,” Jill Biden said, recounting the time Graham and her husband spent together while he was a senator from Delaware. “We used to be great friends … And now, he’s changed.”
By John Wagner
4:30 a.m.
Senate to hear final arguments starting at 11 a.m.
The Senate is set to hear closing arguments Monday from House impeachment managers and Trump’s lawyers starting at 11 a.m.
Both sides will have up to two hours to make their case, under a resolution adopted along party lines on Friday after the Republican-led Senate voted against hearing from Bolton and other witnesses in the historic impeachment trial.
The Senate is expected to vote to acquit Trump late Wednesday afternoon. In the meantime, senators will be given time to make floor speeches about the articles of impeachment against Trump.
By John Wagner
4:00 a.m.
Trump has no public events scheduled Monday
As the Senate hears final arguments in his impeachment trial, Trump has no public events planned on Monday. The only appointment on his calendar advertised by the White House is lunch with Vice President Pence.
By John Wagner
3:30 a.m.
Trump competing in Iowa caucuses on Monday
While Democrats have dominated the headlines in Iowa, Trump will also be competing in the caucuses on Monday night.
In the Republican contest, he faces former Massachusetts governor Bill Weld and former congressman Joe Walsh of Illinois.
While Trump will not be in Iowa himself, his campaign plans to bring in many surrogates, including acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Trump’s two older sons, Trump Jr. and Eric.
By John Wagner
3:00 a.m.
Coalition of liberal advocacy group plans protest rallies
A coalition of liberal advocacy groups is planning to hold dozens of rallies across the country on Wednesday in protest of Trump’s expected acquittal after a trial in which Republicans decided it was unnecessary to hear from witnesses.
Organizers say more than 120 gatherings are planned from coast to coast, many of them near or outside the home-state offices of GOP senators.
Groups leading the effort include Common Cause, Public Citizen and Stand Up America.
“Senate Republicans have thrown all Democratic norms and decades of precedent out of the window by preventing witnesses from testifying before the Senate,” Sean Eldridge, president of Stand Up America, said in a statement. “Any ‘acquittal’ made after blocking key evidence is not an exoneration, it’s a coverup. We’re mobilizing thousands of protesters across the country to make it clear that voters are watching, and we’ll remember who chose cowardice over patriotism.”
By John Wagner
2:00 a.m.
Trump to deliver State of the Union address a day ahead of expected acquittal
Trump is preparing to deliver his State of the Union address on Tuesday, a day ahead of his expected acquittal in the Senate impeachment trial.
He won’t be the first president to deliver such an address while on trial.
A Republican-controlled House impeached President Bill Clinton in December 1998 on grounds that he had lied to a federal grand jury and obstructed justice about his relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
Clinton’s trial in the Senate was ongoing in January 1999 during his State of the Union address, in which he made no mention of impeachment.
In an interview Sunday with Fox News host Sean Hannity, Trump said he has no plans to delay his annual address.
“No, I’m going to have it,” Trump said in the interview, which aired on Fox ahead of the Super Bowl. “It’s going to be done. We’re going to talk about the achievements that we’ve made.”
By John Wagner
Impeachment: What you need to read
Here’s what you need to know to understand the impeachment trial of President Trump.
What’s happening now: House impeachment managers and Trump’s legal team will present closing arguments today for four hours, following last week’s vote not to call witnesses to testify. Follow live coverage here.
What happens next: The Senate will vote Wednesday on whether to remove or acquit Trump on impeachment charges. Here’s more on what happens next.
How we got here: A whistleblower complaint led House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to announce the beginning of an official impeachment inquiry on Sept. 24. Closed-door hearings and subpoenaed documents related to the president’s July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky followed. After two weeks of public hearings in November, the House Intelligence Committee wrote a report that was sent to the House Judiciary Committee, which held its own hearings. Pelosi and House Democrats announced the articles of impeachment against Trump on Dec. 10. The Judiciary Committee approved two articles of impeachment against Trump: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. When the full House of Representatives adopted both articles of impeachment against him on Dec. 18, Trump became the third U.S. president to be impeached.
Stay informed: Read the latest reporting and analysis on impeachment here.
Listen: Follow The Washington Post’s coverage with daily updates from across our podcasts.
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