Lev Parnas's attorney turned over Trump tape about Yovanovitch to the House Intelligence Committee
From CNN's Jim Acosta
Attorney Joseph Bondy, left, and Lev Parnas depart federal court December 2, 2019 in New York City. Stephanie Keith/Getty Images/FILE
Joseph Bondy, attorney for indicted Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas, said he turned over audio of President Trump talking about former Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch to the House Intelligence Committee, confirming a report in the New York Times.
Bondy said he had Parnas go back through his "cloud" and Parnas found the audio.
What's this about: Trump was captured on tape at a 2018 dinner with Parnas and another indicted Giuliani associated, Igor Fruman, demanding the firing of Yovanovitch, who was then the US ambassador to Ukraine, according to Bondy.
"Get rid of her!" a voice appearing to belong to Trump says on the recording, according to ABC News, which on Friday first reported its existence.
"Get her out tomorrow. I don't care. Get her out tomorrow. Take her out. OK? Do it."
CNN has not reviewed the tape.
6:46 p.m. ET, January 24, 2020
Senators take a 30-minute break
The Senate trial is on a 30-minute break for dinner.
House impeachment managers will resume their remarks after the break.
6:37 p.m. ET, January 24, 2020
Jeffries: Trump impeachment investigation "largely tracks" with Nixon
Senate TV
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries said during remarks this afternoon that the "sequence of events" in the Trump impeachment "largely track those in the Nixon proceedings."
He summarized the Nixon inquiry like this:
"The House Judiciary proceedings began in October of 1973 when resolutions calling for President Nixon's impeachment were introduced and the House referred to the judiciary committee. Over the next several months, the committee investigated the Watergate break-in and the cover-up among other matters. Using its existing investigatory authority the committee also hired a special counsel and other attorneys to assist in these efforts. Most importantly, all of this occurred before the House approved a resolution directing the judiciary committee to investigate whether grounds to impeach Richard Nixon existed."
Jeffries argued that the course of events in the Trump inquiry is "entirely consistent with the Richard Nixon precedent."
In addressing how Trump has repeatedly criticized the process of the impeachment, Jeffries said that the President "is a suspect, a suspect who may have committed a high crime or misdemeanor."
"He cannot tell the detectives investigating the possible constitutional crime what they should do in the context of their investigation," he said.
6:02 p.m. ET, January 24, 2020
House manager Jerry Nadler calls Trump "a dictator"
Senate TV
House manager Jerry Nadler closed out his remarks this afternoon with some of the most fiery language that's been heard so far directed at President Trump, calling him "a dictator."
The New York Democrat said Trump is the "first and only president ever to declare himself unaccountable and to ignore subpoenas backed by the Constitution's impeachment power."
He continued: "If he is not removed from office, if he is permitted to defy the Congress entirely, categorically, to say the subpoenas from Congress in the impeachment inquiry are nonsense, then we will have lost, the House will have lost, the Senate certainly will have lost, all power to hold any president accountable."
Nadler said Trump "wants to be all powerful. He does not have to respect the Congress. He does not have to rescue the representatives of the people. Only his will goes."
"He is a dictator. This must not stand, and that is why another reason he must be removed from office," Nadler said.
Watch the moment:
5:45 p.m. ET, January 24, 2020
Trump allies showed up at the trial this afternoon
From CNN's Kristin Wilson
Rep. Mike Johnson, left, and Rep. Mark Meadows confer before speaking to reporters during a break in the impeachment trial on Friday, January 24. J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Republican Reps. Mark Meadows, Lee Zeldin and Mike Johnson — all staunch defenders of President Trump —slipped in around 4:45 p.m. ET to watch the impeachment trial.
About today's proceedings: Democratic House managers are wrapping up their opening statements.
6:11 p.m. ET, January 24, 2020
Anderson Cooper will be live here soon. What are your impeachment questions?
Former federal prosecutor Anne Milgram is joining Anderson Cooper to answer your impeachment questions live at 6:30 p.m. ET.
Submit them here and tune in to get caught up on the impeachment trial. It will air at the top of your screen here.
5:25 p.m. ET, January 24, 2020
Trump makes no mention of impeachment during mayors event
From CNN's Maegan Vazquez
Alex Brandon/AP
President Trump did not bring up the ongoing Senate impeachment trial during his remarks at an event hosting mayors at the White House this afternoon.
Trump said the event, hosting a bipartisan group of mayors, was an effort “to strengthen the bonds of cooperation between federal and local governments.”
Trump went on to praise what he saw as the administration’s accomplishments. He said American communities have been “lifted up by our booming economy,” and that the US has created “the most inclusive economy anywhere in the world.”
He also talked about the administration's work on criminal justice.
“People aren’t going back to jail at anywhere near the clip (they used to)”, he said.
He also touted national declines in murders in US cities and declines in opioid addiction and overdose deaths.
Trump signed Securing American Nonprofit Organizations Against Terrorism Act of 2019 into law. The legislation appropriates $75 million per year, for the next five years ($375 million total), to protect our houses of worship and other nonprofits from terrorist attacks through target hardening and enhanced security measures, according to the White House.
5:10 p.m. ET, January 24, 2020
Romney reacts to length of trial: "Oh jeez, no one's watching"
From CNN's Michael Warren
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
During the break, GOP Sen. Mike Braun walked by his neighbor, Republican Sen. Mitt Romney, and told him, “I think we’ve got another six hours.”
Romney looked genuinely surprised and overwhelmed. “Oh jeez,” he said, shaking his head. “No one’s watching!”
A few seconds later, GOP Sen. Tim Scott walked by and said something to Romney, who responded, “I’m dying, I’m dying!” He then opened up a bag of what looked like peanuts, then walked over to talk to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
The session was back in order a little after 4 p.m. ET. There were quite a few tardy senators on both sides, but once most people got back in their seats, most looked fairly attentive.
4:29 p.m. ET, January 24, 2020
Trump lawyer attacks obscure Justice Department official
From CNN's Marshall Cohen
CNN
The Democratic House managers hammered away at President Trump today for his tendency to contradict or reject US intelligence assessments about Russia and Ukraine.
It’s true that Trump has repeatedly questioned, dismissed, or contradicted the public assessments from US intelligence agencies about Russia’s efforts to assist his campaign in 2016, and many other national security topics, including the killing of a Saudi journalist and the North Korean nuclear program. Special counsel Robert Mueller’s report cited testimony from several top Trump aides, who said Trump views information about Russian meddling as “a challenge to the legitimacy of his election.”
Speaking with reporters during a break, Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow offered an explanation for Trump’s behavior.
“There was all this discussion about why the President was suspicious of some of his intelligence information, some of the leaders he was dealing with within his own government,” Sekulow said. “Well, the No. 3 at the Department of Justice, his wife was working for a firm that was working on a dossier against the sitting President of the United States … we’re concerned about it.”
“For the life of me, I can’t figure out why he’s still there," Sekulow added.
This was a reference to Bruce Ohr, a senior Justice Department official who met with retired British spy Christopher Steele during the 2016 campaign and funneled information from his “dossier” to FBI investigators. During that time, Ohr’s wife worked as a researcher for Fusion GPS, an opposition research firm that hired Steele to dig up information about Trump’s ties to Russia.
The Justice Department inspector general said in a report last year that Ohr made “consequential errors in judgement” by meeting with Steele without notifying his superiors. But the report rejected Trump’s claims that Ohr’s work, and the Steele dossier, was what caused the FBI to open its investigation in July 2016 into links between the Trump campaign and Russia.
