Amer Ishaq Soharwardi
Bureau Chief Washington
After the Friday voting where Democrats were not able to achieve simple majority for bringing new witnesses the Senate will reconvene on Monday, skipping the normal Saturday session required by the chamber’s impeachment rules.
Both Trump’s legal team and House managers will get two hours each to deliver their closing arguments. Once that is finished the Senate will then effectively put the impeachment trial on pause until Wednesday at 4 p.m., when senators will move to vote on the articles of impeachment.
In the interim, senators will be able to use the Senate floor to speak publicly and explain their votes, unlike during the impeachment trial itself, when they are expected to sit silently.
Some, like Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham wanted togrind through Friday night and acquit Trump by early Saturday morning.
But a GOP aide said that a small group of Republicans had raised concerns about the break-neck pace and instead wanted to follow the Clinton model from 1999, which allowed for days of deliberations.
Republicans managed to pass the resolution on Friday night after shooting down a number of Democratic amendments, including a last-ditch attempt to subpoena former national security adviser John Bolton and acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney.
Despite getting their witnesses requests rejected for a second time in a day, a spokesman for Schumer claimed victory, saying Republicans had wanted to “rush through” the acquittal votes on Friday night.
Democrats wanted votes on witnesses and documents, for the House Managers to be able to make closing arguments, ample time for every member to speak, and to prevent GOP from rushing this through,” the spokesman added. It has been long three months when this impeachment hearing began in November last year after many months of a rigorous political activism by democrats to get President. Donald J Trump. On charges of abuse of power and blocking the house on getting whiteness .
