Partisan battle opens as Trump’s impeachment begins
PRESIDENT DONALD Trump’s impeachment trial quickly burst into a partisan fight as proceedings began unfolding.
Democrats objected strongly to rules proposed by the Republican leader for compressed arguments and a speedy trial.
Even before Chief Justice John Roberts gavelled in the session, Democrats warned that the rules package from Mr Trump’s ally, Senate Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell, could force midnight sessions that would keep most Americans in the dark and create a sham proceeding.
Mr Trump, who was at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, said the whole thing was a hoax, and he said he was sure it would “work out fine”.
“This is not a process for a fair trial, this is the process for a rigged trial,” Representative Adam Schiff, the chairman of the
House Intelligence Committee leading the prosecution, told reporters. He called it a “cover-up.”
“Sure it will be a fair trial when you’ve got 24 hours of arguments on both sides,” Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa told state reporters on a conference call.
The rare impeachment trial, unfolding in an election year, is testing whether Mr Trump’s actions toward Ukraine warrant removal at the same time that voters are forming their own verdict on his White House.
The Democrats say the prospect of middle-of-the-night proceedings, without allowing new witnesses or even the voluminous House records of the trial, will leave the public without crucial information about Mr Trump’s political pressure campaign on Ukraine and the White House’s obstruction of the House impeachment probe.
“The McConnell rules seem to be designed by President Trump for President Trump,” said the Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer.
He vowed to call for a series of votes to amend the rules and demand evidence and documents, but it seemed unlikely Republicans would break ranks to allow this.
“This is a historic moment,” Mr Schumer said.