The Democratic House managers have concluded the final day of their opening statements in the impeachment trial of President Trump.
The President's defense team is expected to take the podium at 10 a.m. ET tomorrow to deliver their opening remarks.
In case you missed it, here's what happened today:
- Democrats wrap up arguments: Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado opened the day by continuing to try to get ahead of arguments likely to come from the President's legal team when they begin their presentation tomorrow, pushing back on expected defense about the withholding of US security aid. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries claimed in his remarks that the President worked hard to hide his misconduct. "The President tried to cheat. He got caught, and then he worked hard to cover it up," he said.
- Republican senators derided the arguments as repetitive: GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham said today that the House impeachment managers have been “very professional, very respectful” in presenting their case, despite a couple of “dust-ups” at the beginning of the trial. But he criticized Democrats for being repetitive, saying the managers are “over-trying their case."
- Shorter session tomorrow: The President's lawyers will begin their arguments, and the Senate is starting earlier at 10 a.m. ET. The President's attorney Jay Sekulow previewed what tomorrow's arguments would look like, saying, "I guess we would call it a trailer, and a coming attractions would be the best way to say it. And obviously, three hours to put it out, so we will take whatever time is appropriate in the three hours to lay out how the case is going to look like and next week is the full presentation."
- Trump is not happy about the session: The President complained about the start date on Twitter this morning, saying, "looks like my lawyers will be forced to start on Saturday, which is called Death Valley in T.V." Graham, a Trump ally, said he spoke to the President recently and Trump told him he's "bored" by the proceedings.
- Democratic leader urges senators to support witness vote: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer asked his Republican colleagues to join Democrats in voting for witnesses and documents at the Senate trial. At least 51 senators must vote in order to subpoena documents and witnesses. If all 47 senators who caucus with the Democrats vote for the motion, at least four Republican senators would need to join them in order to pass it.