House Managers, Trump's Legal Team Face Final Questions in Impeachment Trial

Senators will question lawyers for both sides in President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial for a second day Thursday, a day before a pivotal vote is planned on whether to call witnesses. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he’s still lobbying moderate Republicans to vote for admitting witnesses and evidence into the Senate impeachment trial, even as senior Republicans express confidence they can shut that effort down. “The fate of much of the future of how this republic conducts itself is on the shoulder of four Republicans,” the New York Democrat told reporters Thursday. Senators Mitt Romney and Susan Collins have indicated they will vote with Democrats for witnesses. Schumer would need at least two other Republicans to break ranks in order to have 51 votes. Senators are expected to vote Friday on whether to allow witnesses. If a witness vote fails, lawmakers will likely proceed to vote on a verdict, and Trump is all but certain to be acquitted in the Republican-controlled Senate. GOP Senator Lindsey Graham said Thursday that he’s “getting more optimistic” that Republicans will have the votes to block calling witnesses. Schumer said his last-ditch appeal to Republicans is to convince them that in order for the trial to be fair, it needs to include testimony from outside witnesses. “I think some of them are weighing it,” he said. Senators will have eight more hours Thursday to question Trump’s lawyers and the House managers. The first day’s questioning covered a variety of issues including whether abuse of power is an impeachable offense, when Trump began seeking an investigation of former Vice President Joe Biden, what witnesses could be called in addition to John Bolton, and Chief Justice John Roberts’ role in handling witnesses’ testimony. Outside the Senate chamber, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer acknowledged that Democrats’ effort to call Bolton to testify is an “uphill fight” because of intense pressure on Republican senators not to agree. The Senate plans on Friday to debate and vote on whether to call witnesses. If witnesses are rejected, the Senate could move quickly to final votes on whether to convict or acquit Trump. Trump wants the trial to be completed before he delivers his State of the Union address to Congress on Tuesday. Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2TwO8Gm QUICKTAKE ON SOCIAL: Follow QuickTake on Twitter: twitter.com/quicktake Like QuickTake on Facebook: facebook.com/quicktake Follow QuickTake on Instagram: instagram.com/quicktake Subscribe to our newsletter: https://bit.ly/2FJ0oQZ Email us at [email protected] QuickTake by Bloomberg is a global news network delivering up-to-the-minute analysis on the biggest news, trends and ideas for a new generation of leaders.