The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
» Democratic prosecutors say “bogus” Ukraine theory led to Trump’s abuse of power,
President misused power in 10 separate ways for political benefit in 2020 election, House prosecutors argue.
WASHINGTON — Democratic House prosecutors argued in President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial Thursday that he was swept up by a “completely bogus” Ukraine theory pushed by attorney Rudy Giuliani that led to his abuse of presidential power and then impeachment.
What happened
As the Democrats pressed their case for a second day before skeptical Republican Senate jurors, they displayed video images of the nation’s top FBI and Homeland Security officials warning the public off the theory that it was Ukraine, not Russia, that interfered in the 2016 election.
It was just one of 10 separate ways, the prosecutors argued, that Trump abused power for his own personal political benefit ahead of the 2020 election — the first article of impeachment against him.
“That’s what Donald Trump wanted investigated or announced: this completely bogus Kremlin-pushed conspiracy theory,” said Rep. Adam Schiff, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee who is leading the prosecution.
Trump is accused of seeking the investigation — and probes of political foe Joe Biden and Biden’s son — while holding back congressionally approved military aid as leverage.
Trump is facing trial in the Senate after the House impeached him last month, accusing him of abusing his office by asking Ukraine for the investigations while withholding the aid from a U.S. ally at war with bordering Russia. The second article of impeachment accuses him of obstructing Congress by refusing to turn over documents or allow officials to testify in the House probe.
Republicans, growing tired of the long hours of proceedings, have defended Trump’s actions as appropriate and say the process is a politically motivated effort to weaken him in the midst of his reelection campaign. Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate, and acquittal is considered likely.
The Democrats’ challenge is clear as they try to convince not just fidgety senators but an American public divided over the Republican president in an election year.
With Chief Justice John Roberts presiding, Democrats argued on Thursday that Trump’s motives were apparent.
“No president has ever used his office to compel a foreign nation to help him cheat in our elections,” Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, told the senators. He said the nation’s founders would be shocked. “The president’s conduct is wrong. It is illegal. It is dangerous.”
They disagreed with Trump’s claim he had good reasons for pressuring Ukraine to investigate his political foes.
It was Trump who engaged in a shocking abuse of power, not former Vice President Biden or other Trump foes, said Rep. Sylvia Garcia of Texas. There is “no evidence, nothing, nada” to suggest that Biden did anything improper in dealings with Ukraine, said the former judge.
Trump, with Giuliani, pursued investigations of Biden and his son Hunter, who served on a Ukrainian gas company’s board, and sought the probe of theories of what nation was guilty of interference in the 2016 U.S. election.
On dual tracks, Democrats prosecuted their case while answering in advance the arguments expected from the president’s attorneys in the days ahead.
At one point, they showed video of a younger Lindsey Graham, then a South Carolina congressman and now a GOP senator allied with Trump, arguing during Bill Clinton’s 1999 impeachment that no crime was needed for impeaching a president. Trump’s defense team is now arguing that the impeachment articles against the president are invalid because they do not allege he committed a specific crime.
About defenders’ turn
The president’s defenders waited their turn, which may come on Saturday.
“We will be putting on a vigorous defense of both facts, rebutting what they said,” and the Constitution, said attorney Jay Sekulow.
Ahead of the day’s proceedings, Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri said the Democrats were putting forward “admirable presentations.” But he said, “They’ve basically got about one hour of presentation, and they gave it six times on Tuesday and eight times yesterday. There’s just not much new here.”
On Thursday morning, Trump tweeted: “Most unfair & corrupt hearing in Congressional history!”
What’s next
Each side has up to three days to present its case. After the House prosecutors finish, likely today, the president’s lawyers will have as long as 24 hours. It’s unclear how much time they will actually take, but Trump’s team is not expected to finish Saturday, according to a person unauthorized to discuss the planning and granted anonymity. The Senate is expected to take only Sunday off and push into next week.
After that senators will face the question of whether they want to call witnesses to testify.