The most massiv interference in an election in american history, and we cant allow that to happen. The American People decide elections. They have one coming up in nine months. House prosecutors use their three days to paint a damning picture of president ial obstruction. The president seeking reelection help from ukraine, then withholding, stone walling congress when it demanded documents and witnesses. If right doesnt matter, it doesnt matter how good the constitution is. It doesnt matter how brilliant the framers were. It doesnt matter how good or bad or advocacy in in trial is. If right doesnt matter, were lost. Whether minds are changing on the senate floor is a big question and a giant decisive test of that will come later this week when the democrats demand more witnesses and documents. The democrats say those witnesses and documents are essential to getting to the truth. But most republicans seem held bent on a quick resolution of this trial. Get it over. Asap. Seem like groundhogs day in the senate from what we heard from the managers yesterday and the day before. It is the same thing day after day after day. I watched schiff over and over again today repeat the same argument. It was like watching bad reruns of the brady bunch. Repetitive arguments over and over again based on little more than hearsay and the House Democrats objections to donald trump being the president. With us to share their insight and reporting, julie pace of the associated press, michael share with the New York Times. The paul cain from the washington post. The president s team took two hours of their opening presentation saturday. We do not have yet a full picture of the defense strategy. The overview crafted with two clear goals. One, keep the president happy. You will find that the president did absolutely nothing wrong. The president had reason to be concerned about the information he was being provided. Inted to show overt next several days that the evidence is overwhelming that the president did nothing wrong. Goal number 2, give republicans something to cite. If they have to explain a vote to acquit or, before that, a vote to deny democrats what they want, witnesses and new documents. How do they try to overcome the direct words from president zelensky and his administration that they felt no pressure . They tell you that the ukrainians must have felt pressure regardless of what theyve said. The speaker had said articles of impeachment are going to be drafted and where there were no plans to hear from any fact witnesses. Thats not due process. Thats why the president declined to participate in that process. It was low key. Most politicians or defense lawyers would take all their time. They want to make friends with the senate, if you will. Give them a quick early day. Was it effective in giving republicans, if you want to say this is in dispute or they rushed the process in the house. Was it effective in giving republicans a place to go, which is all this is about now. Do no harm, the math is on your side. Giving the Senate Republicans initial talking points which they seem to be taking on. One of the biggerser questions is where they go on monday. The Trump Legal Team leaned in to preview their defense to reporters, they would bring up joe biden, hunter biden. Some who are uncomfortable with the trial taking a turn in that direction. On two points, the defense of trump on the substance that he did nothing wrong. Thats a message aimed at the whole office and the occupant there. Two, i think this is salient to a lot of republicans. Democrats are going to try to impeach trump on something. This is what theyve arkd and say what democrats stumbled upon. For republicans who take that home to their home states, i think, is a pretty good message. If you listen to jay sekulow who has been the president s attorney. He was playing to the president and one of the arguments of democrats is come on, it was russia, not ukraine that meddled. Come on. The president why is the president listening to Rudy Giuliani when he has an array of career established Foreign Policy officials . Jay sekulow going back to the Mueller Report and the president s suspicion about the fbi and the intelligence community, going back to the abuses. There were abuses by the fbi in the pfizer court when maybe you dont agree with the president. But he had to right to think these things. Heres the bottom line. This is part one of the Mueller Report. Just sixtenths of a mile from this chamber sits the foreign Intelligence Surveillance court. Also known as the fisa court. The house managers in a 23hour period, kept pushing this false dichotomy that it was either russia or ukraine but not both. Now, if you go into the details, especially the president is specific, he talks about the server. There cant be two democratic security servers. Either russia or someone else hacked it. You can run mr. Sekulow through a fact check machine and youll have problems. For the president s political purposes and the republicans political purposes, effective or not . Its effective. Mitch mcconnell is happy if they dont go too far into the Conspiracy Theory world, he want them to try to stay where they did for most of it. Where you just dont get into ukraine, crowd strike, those things. He wants them to stick to, this is not an impeachable offense. Not something you can rule from office. Nine months away we have an election. Mcconnell will be happy and appear somewhat dignified. Theres a delicate balance to it. I think the timing question. There was something somewhat powerful about having a twohour approach, which they repeatedly contrasted with 20 to 1, 2, 3 hours the democrats put. There was something powerful about the idea were going to be able to take that detailed and tedious presentation down in a couple of hours. On the other hand, there were some senators that we all talked to afterwards who were at least eager for a little bit more to hang this on. Right . They did want to see a little bit more detail, a little bit more of a the meat of the White House Defense so that when they go home to their districts, they can actually point to an actual defense. To that point, some of the bigger names that the president added to his defense team, we have not seen them or heard from them in the senate trial. Ken starr, the former independent counsel in the bill clinton days. A powerhouse lawyer. Alan dershowitz, the former harvard law professor. They will get the floor tomorrow. Mr. Dershowitz says hes going to make a case that this does not rise to the test of impeachment. Mr. Starr will make a similar case. It doesnt reach the the president snows when you talk about the death valley of television, maybe he wanted to save them for the weekday. He knows how important the first day was. By all accounts, he was pleased with his team. What the defense said yesterday was kind of get the top line points out, that the president did nothing wrong, that this is a way to, for democrats get in the way of the 2020 elections going on. Gives a tidbit for the sunday shows today and it has a big preview or a show for monday. We dont expect the president s team to use all their time. I would be interested to see what kind of argument they lay out. We havent heard too much, for example about the bidens. How much will the white House Counsel team delve into that. We saw a little bit how the house managers tried to prebutt that argument in their arguments. That gives us that gives the White House Team a clear explanation to go into them at length. Maybe those are the fireworks that the president is seeking on monday. Well have to wait and see tomorrow. To that point, one of the the things that in a trial, youre the defense, youre trying to stir up reasonable doubt. Look how he held up aid to ukraine. They made that out to be exceptional. They detailed with dam ning evidence that about the people being startled and stunned. When it happened. About people raising questions whether it was legal. Jay sekulow, you might be suspect about this. Hes trying to create a safe place for republicans. We froze aid to ukraine. Not unique. President trump has placed holds on aid a number of times. We just take basic Due Diligence to figure this out. In september 2019, the administration announce thad it was withholding over 100 million in aid to afghanistan over concerns about government corruption. If you go back and study the history, they are very different issues in how they were handled and how the process worked. But it was announced. You know whether its the Central American countries or afghanistan or other places, they announced it, they told congress as they have a duty to do. I think theres a big difference. Thats an example as you say, of mr. Sekulow and the White House Team giving republicans a talking point. But it doesnt necessarily stand up under scrutiny when you look at the details. So the lead house manager, adam schiff came out quickly with his team after. I wouldnt say quickly. It took a half an hour in a hot room as he was once again, relitigating afterwards. His point was, the democrats know the math here. They do not have the 20 votes. Even if they kept all the democrats to convict or remove the president. The only way in a miracle, is to first get witnesses and extend the trial. That is their main goal. He came out afterwards saying the president s lawyers did a good job but forgot some things. Theres no mention of the president s chief of staff. What about Mick Mulvaney who admitted in a press conference just like this, of course, we did. It happens all the time. Get over it. No mention of the president s chief of staff. Why is that . They said the house managers goal should be to give you all of the facts. That is our goal. Its just not theirs. Because Mick Mulvaney has some of these facts. Its a very strong argument to make to the American People. Theres a lot more we could learn if the senate would demand the documents. But most of the senators at that point were gone. Are they listening . Democrats felt after yesterday that that was the one thing that the White House Legal Team really made a mistake on. They were opening the door at several different points as they made their case, to oh, well, yeah, the way we can figure that out is if we call mulvaney. If we call bolton. They felt like they cracked the door open. But well get into it in more detail. The witness question, the numbers arent there yet. 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When bipolar i overwhelms, vraylar helps smooth the ups and downs. Robin hood and little john runnin through the forest laughin back and forth at what the otherne has to say theres a booking for every resolution. Book yours at booking. Com car vending machines and buying a car 100 online. Vented now weve created a brand new way for you to sell your car. Whether its a year old or a few years old, we want to buy your car. So go to carvana and enter your license plate, answer a few questions, and our technowizardry calculates your cars value and gives you a real offer in seconds. When youre ready, well come to you, pay you on the spot, and pick up your car. Thats it. So ditch the old way of selling your car, and say hello to the new way at carvana. Democrats case against the president was relentless and yes, repetitive. President trump solicited foreign interference in the u. S. Election for one particular objective. To benefit his own reelection. To seek help in cheating in a u. S. Election. No president has ever used his office to compel a foreign nation to help him cheat in our election. He is trying to cheat to win. Even republicans who are solid votes for the president gave the democrats high marks. But this late friday was seen as an unforced error. Cbs news reported last night that a trump confidant said that goch gop senators were warned vote against the president and your head will be on a pike. I dont know if thats true. When i read that, i was struck by the irony, by the irony. I hope its not true. I hope its not true. A lot of people in the chamber said that a lot of republican senators were visibly angered at that. Including republican senators who matter on the question of witnesses. I will point out later, they were very angry at that. But, again, people like susan collins, Lisa Murkowski that were closely watching. They clarified later saying they might have lost me on that argument, but thats not going to matter at the the end of the day also from our reporting at the washington post. The president has taken a hands off approach to those swings because he doesnt have established relationships with collins or murkowski. He notes that overt pressure on them directly does not matter. I think mcconnell especially and particularly the white house and the president has been trying to give them space to make the decision that they will ultim e ultimately come to the end of the day on witnesses. We look at every statement they make and try to see if something read into it. Susan collins, i tend to like information and would anticipate i would vote for more. That would tell you shes a likely yes vote. Mitt romney, i think its likely ill be in favor of witnesses. I vbt made die sigs. Lamar alexander, were going to listen to the answers. Lisa mour could you ski, theyre basically saying you guys got to go through the courts. We didnt. But we need you to. Thats the most telling. She seems to be laying the groundwork. She would be key. There might be two. To get four, you need Lisa Murkowski. She would be three. She seems to be making a case, you know what, no. Four senators in this current climate for republicans is really, really difficult. Theres simply not a track record of republicans taking a position opposed to the president or Mitch Mcconnell in this climate right now. You could see maybe one or two doing it. Four to move forward on witnesses seems difficult. Murkowskis argument has some resonance within republican circles. If you feel like these witnesses are so important, if this is something we should have heard from, why not do it on the democratic side . How could you have impeached the president without this level of information . Its actually not a bad argument. The democrats understand this. They know the math and they know loyalty. A to the president and b, mr. Mcconnell. So theyre trying to almost guilt the republicans. Because they know that privately, a lot of republicans dont like this. They dont like Rudy Giuliani running Foreign Policy. They dont like when they read the transcript the president says its a perfect call. Hakeem jeffries trying to say you know better. In a perfect call, the president would not pressure a Foreign Government to target a u. S. For in a perfect call, the president would not solicit foreign interference in the 2020 election. This was not a perfect call. Many, if not most republican senators would tell you privately this was not a perfect call. That does not mean theyre going to vote for witnesses when they get there, correct . Yes. Theyve said it over and over. Mike brawn, from indiana, hes said that. It wasnt a perfect call. Its not the way significant, indiana. Mike pence he is very much on trumps team. Hes one of the senators who races down to the microphones when theres a break to try and join in on the Trump Defense team. So its just a high hurdle to get four. I dont think youre going to get four unless you get 14. You have to have a real dam break to get there to get which is why. The democrats get the math. Which is why adam schiff in h