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President Donald Trump’s lawyers made closing arguments to senators Monday, aiming their final message in the impeachment trial more toward history than swaying the voting lawmakers, the Associated Press reported. Trump is expected to be acquitted Wednesday in the Republican-led Senate as the party prepares for the upcoming 2020 election.
House Democratic prosecutors, meanwhile, drew on the Founding Fathers and common sense to urge senators — and the voters who elected them — to see that Trump’s actions are not isolated but a pattern of behavior that, left unchecked, will allow him to “cheat”‘ in November.
“For a man like Donald J. Trump, they gave you a remedy and meant for you to use it. They gave you an oath, and they meant for you to observe it,” Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank, said. “We have proven Donald Trump guilty. Now do impartial justice and convict him.”
White House counsel Pat Cipollone implored senators to do the opposite — to acquit Trump and leave the decision to the American people later this year: “Leave it to the voters to choose.”
Most senators acknowledge the House Democratic managers have essentially proven their case, according to AP.
Trump was impeached in December on two charges: that he abused his power like no other president in history when he pushed Ukraine to investigate rival Democrats, and he then obstructed Congress by instructing aides to defy House subpoenas.
The case House Democrats presented centered on Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, running an unofficial foreign policy, outside of the U.S. State Department and established institutions for diplomacy. As part of the “scheme,” the Democrats alleged Trump held up $391 million in U.S. aid from Ukraine, a fragile ally battling Russia, for his personal political gain. The money was eventually released after Congress intervened.
