WTF Just Happened Today

Wednesday, January 29, 2020

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What happened today? Trump’s impeachment trial moved to written questions. Senate Republicans opened the day with Sens. Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and Mitt Romney – three Republicans who have hinted they could vote to hear from witnesses – asking Trump’s legal team how they should consider abuse of power if Trump had “had more than one motive for his alleged conduct.” Trump attorney Patrick Philbin argued that if there were a motive “of the public interest, but also some personal interest,” then it “cannot possibly be the basis for an impeachable offense.” Trump’s lawyer Alan Dershowitz also argued that because Trump’s re-election is in the public interest, if Trump “does something that he thinks will help him get elected” – and even if he had political motivations to pressure Ukraine to investigate the Bidens – it “cannot be the kind of quid pro quo that results in impeachment.” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said it was unlikely that Democrats will be able to win over enough Republican votes to call witnesses and documents. Republican leaders, meanwhile, signaled that they were confident that they would be able to block new witnesses and documents and bring the trial to an acquittal verdict as soon as Friday.

What’s next? The Senate will return Thursday for another question-and-answer session, followed by four hours of debate, and then a vote on whether the Senate should seek witnesses and documents. If the Senate defeats that resolution, the trial is likely to head to a quick acquittal.

• ???? Articles: New York Times / Politico / CNN / Washington Post / NPR

• ???? Live blogs: New York Times / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg / NBC News / CNN / The Guardian / Politico

• ⚡️ Impeachment.wtf — The internet’s most comprehensive guide to the impeachment of Donald J. Trump. Maintained by the WTF community. Updated daily.

1/ The White House moved to block publication of former national security adviser John Bolton’s book, claiming it contained “TOP SECRET” and “significant amounts of classified information” that could “cause exceptionally grave harm” to U.S. national security. The letter from the National Security Council’s...

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