Today is the final day of the opening arguments for the Senate Trial of President Trump. In light of this, House Managers turned their attention to the obstruction of justice charges brought against the president. The charges against him are rather well-documented, but many Republican representatives appear to be hearing about Trump’s misconduct for the first time during the hearing.
A notable oddity of the trial so far has been the number of senators who seem to not be paying any attention to the trial proceedings. So far, twenty Republicans have walked out of the Senate chambers for varying lengths of time, while nine Democrats have done the same. Meanwhile, some senators, primarily Republicans, have been spotted nodding off during the trial.
Granted, the trial sessions are many hours long, and the only beverages senators are allowed to have with them in the chamber are water and milk. However, the disparity of passionate arguments occurring while some senators catch up on their sleep is unusual, to say the least.
The House seeks to illustrate the case that President Trump used his office to pressure Ukraine for a political favor by withholding military aid in a quid pro quo arrangement. In exchange, Trump sought investigations into Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, pursuing a debunked conspiracy theory that Hunter got a job at a Ukrainian company due to his dad’s office as vice president.
The house case also includes allegations of obstruction of justice. Trump has tried, multiple times, to block testimony from key witnesses in the trial. House prosecutors argue that the president tried to use his office to cover up any evidence of wrongdoing on his part, intimidating witnesses like a former ambassador to Ukraine, and misrepresenting the facts of his call with the Ukrainian president.
Addressing the senate, Adam Schiff implored them to consider their own well-being. “Do you think for a moment that any of you, no matter what your relationship with this president, no matter how close you are to this president, do you think for a moment that if he felt it was in his interest, he wouldn’t ask you to be investigated? Do you think for a moment that he wouldn’t?”
“And if somewhere deep down below you realize that he would, you cannot leave a man like that in office,” the House Democrat added.
