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The deed has been done as of Wednesday. As promised, the House voted and decided to send the two articles of impeachment against Donald Trump to the Senate, abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Seven Democrats have been appointed to prosecute the impeachment trial, only the 3rd in American history. The impeachment trial comes as an election year begins.
In the vote, only one Democrat joined the Republicans who unanimously noted “no.”
On Tuesday, new details were revealed of Trump’s pressure on Ukraine. According to the New York Times, dozens of notes, text messages and other records from Rudoplh W. Giuliani, Trump’s personal lawyer and his associate Lev Parnas on behalf of the president have surfaced, included notes on getting President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine to announce an investigation of former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and his son. The documents also include a May 2019 letter from Mr. Giuliani requesting a meeting with Mr. Zelensky in which he said Mr. Trump had “knowledge and consent” of his actions.
Senior Democrats said in a statement, that these documents “demonstrate that there is more evidence relevant to the president’s scheme, but they have been concealed by the president himself. There cannot be a full and fair trial in the Senate without the documents that President Trump is refusing to provide to Congress,” they said.
“The American people deserve the truth, and the Constitution demands a trial,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said.
Mitch McConnell of the Senate said that senators would be ready to recieve the articles and take sworn oathss to render “impartial justice” in trial shortly after. But McConnell now says the Senate would put off considering the terms of the trial or the substance of the case for nearly a week, until next Tuesday. Allowing Trump to sign a new trade agreement with Canada and Mexico, but also give senators a vacation before diving into the case.
Written by Clarke Jones
Source: The New York Times