Trump’s Trial Opens On Fast Track, Dems Arguing For Removal

Speaker 1: 00:00 Arguments supporting the removal of president Trump from office. We'll begin today in the Senate. The impeachment trial began Tuesday with a marathon of amendments and votes on the rules for the trial. Arguments between house managers and the president's attorneys went on into the early morning hours in Washington with presiding judge chief justice John Roberts finally admonishing both sides for their lack of decorum. Joining me is legal analyst in Eaton for a recap and a preview of what lies ahead in the Senate trial today. And Dan, welcome to the program. Speaker 2: 00:31 Thank you. Good morning Maureen. Speaker 1: 00:32 Well, first of all, let's hear that admonishment from chief justice Roberts. Speaker 3: 00:37 I think it is appropriate at this point for me to admonish both the house managers and the president's council in equal terms, uh, to remember that they are addressing the world's greatest deliberative body. One reason it has earned that title is because its members avoid speaking in a manner and using language that is not conducive to civil discourse. Speaker 1: 01:03 Now, that happened after testy exchanges on both sides. Late last night when I think you could say nerves were afraid. And so Dan, do you think we can expect more of that kind of guidance from justice Roberts as the trial continues? Speaker 2: 01:17 Well, the key thing in what you said, Maureen, is that kind of guidance. And the answer is yes. You can expect that a chief justice Roberts will weigh in to maintain decorum. That is something he cares a lot about. And that's really what he sees his role in this proceeding. It's not substantive in any meaningful way, although there's some question about whether he's going to rule on evidence in the sentence power to overturn it. But mostly you're going to see him keeping order as the chief justice and letting the parties, as they say, argue their case. Speaker 1: 01:48 Now it's been pointed out by disinterested parties that a few comments made by president Trump's attorneys yesterday were demonstrably false. Are any of these speakers under oath? Speaker 2: 02:00 No. Maureen, no, they're not. And that's an important point because arguments are not evidence. And so, uh, to the stents that people make arguments in a court of law any way that would not be admissible unless there were admissible, it would not be usable unless there were admissible evidence to, uh, support, uh, that, uh, those arguments. So when, uh, the precedent does lawyers or the, uh, house managers, uh, speak in hyperbole or things that are demonstrably false, it's not evidence, but that's that the senators are going to, uh, be entitled to rely on anything at all in making the decision they come to and their decision. Maureen is not subject to further review. Speaker 1: 02:39 Now the Senate took votes on the format of the trial yesterday. The original plan from Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell was to have the 24 hours allotted. Both legal teams spread over just two days, but there was a change there wasn't there? Speaker 2: 02:53 Well, there was a change from two days, which would've been 12 hour days, a two a three days. And that was a result of apparently some discussion in the Senate Republican lunch caucus that immediately proceeded the formal introduction of the resolution. But there was another change that didn't get as much attention that ended up being more consequential. And it relates to a point that I just made in the original a resolution which I had and I interlineated as it was being read on the floor. Uh, it said, uh, that the record would, uh, may be admitted into evidence by motion made after the Senate is disposed to the question about whether there would be additional evidence by subpoena. What does that mean? It would mean that the Senate could actually vote not to admit any of the evidence that the house had gathered during the impeachment proceedings. And ultimately what the actual resolution said, uh, is that the evidence will be admitted subject to emotion by the president's lawyer to object on the grounds of hearsay and other evidentiary basis to exclude, uh, parts of the house manager's evidence. That means that the evidence essentially is going to come in presumptively and the Senate will have it fully before it in making any determination they make on whether to convict or acquit. President Trump, Speaker 1: 04:07 there were many amendments offered to subpoena documents and witnesses where any of the Democrats amendment successful. Speaker 2: 04:13 There were not. The cost as they came was a, there was one vote, uh, as Susan Collins voted, uh, to agree to extend the time to respond to any motions that were due to be filed at nine o'clock, uh, this morning, Eastern time, uh, to 24 hours instead of two hours, which is a crazy, a short period of time to respond, uh, to a motion. It turns out that at least from what I've read from the newsfeeds, no motions have actually been filed. So, uh, they're going to launch right into argument with the house manager is going to start their three days, eight hour days argument, uh, at one o'clock today Eastern time. Speaker 1: 04:47 The big question going into this trial, uh, has been whether there will be witnesses and further documents after the house managers present their case. W where does that decision stand right now? Speaker 2: 04:59 Well, let's see. A lot of people are focusing on this as well. Uh, they defeated the idea of the Republican majority said, uh, no subpoenas, no witnesses, but it really should have had the words for now at the end of that because it's clearly in the resolution that that question can be taken up after the house managers and the president's lawyers have their arguments in. There's further arguments in there, questions from senators, but from up to 16 hours that are submitted, by the way, in writing, at the end of that whole process, uh, there will be an opportunity to make a motion, uh, for, uh, the subpoenaing of further witnesses like John Bolton and Mick Mulvaney and, uh, also further document, uh, documentary evidence that supports or rebuts, uh, the claims that are made against the president with respect to the articles of impeachment. Speaker 1: 05:47 So as this trial gets underway again at 10 o'clock this morning, what are we expecting might happen today? Speaker 2: 05:54 This is really going to be the meat of it. We heard a of it with the house managers, uh, uh, in their argument about the process because they laid out a lot of their case with video clips and PowerPoints and so forth. So a lot of what we are going to see today with respect to the house, the first day of the house manager's opening argument we saw yesterday because they comprehensively previewed their case and a lot of this has already been in writing. Each side is submitted over 100 page, two pages of briefs laying out their position. So what we're going to see is the house managers, at least on the first day, lay out the heart in the first day to capture the attention of their case that the president, uh, abused his power and committed obstruction of Congress. The two articles of impeachment. Speaker 1: 06:38 Finally, just anecdotally, a lot of people have said this is the first impeachment trial of a president during an election year, but that you found out that's not the case. Speaker 2: 06:46 It's really not the case. Actual AIDS, the very first presidential impeachment trial was Andrew Johnson in 1868, which was a presidential election year. Remember that president Johnson was never actually elected that office. He took over after president Lincoln was assassinated. Uh, so that was an election year. He was acquitted by a single vote by a Senator from Kansas who switched, uh, who was viewed to switching his vote. And he ultimately didn't get the democratic nomination for president that year. And ultimately, you list the assessed grant was elected president. Speaker 1: 07:15 Great, great. Historical anecdote there. I've been speaking with legal analysts, Dan Eaton. Dan, thank you for joining us. Speaker 2: 07:23 Thank you. It was great to be with you, Maureen. Speaker 1: 07:25 Hey, PBS will resume live coverage of the Senate impeachment trial when it begins this morning at 10.