Trumps Team Begins Impeachment Opening Arguments

Purpura says the transcript shows no quid pro quo. He says Zelensky and other officials have said there was no quid pro quo. Third, Zelensky and other officials did not even know the assistance was paused until after the call. Fourth, not a single witness testified that Trump himself said there was a quid pro quo. Fifth, the security assistance flowed on September 11 without the Ukrainian government announcing anything. Sixth, Trump has been a better friend and supporter of Ukraine than Obama.

10:15 AM: Cipollone says Senators will discover that Trump has a strong record confronting Russia, according to the House’s witnesses. Cipollone asks why Democrats would lock everyone out of it and run the process they did if they were really interested in finding the truth. He says it’s evidence Democrats don’t even really believe in the facts of their case. He says Democrats are here to “perpetuate the most massive interference” in an election in history.

10:07 AM: Pat Cipollone leads off and says they will be “respectful” of everyone’s time and will focus on two points. He says Democrats have not come “anywhere close to meeting their burden for what they’re asking you to do” and they do not intend to use all 24 hours.

JUST IN: White House counsel Pat Cipollone begins opening arguments in President Trump's defense: "We believe that when you hear the facts and that's what we intend to cover today— the facts— you will find that the president did absolutely nothing wrong." https://t.co/IdMXVhZlMN pic.twitter.com/pO5U3CW23I

— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) January 25, 2020

“You will find that the president did absolutely nothing wrong,” he says. Cipollone says they intend to go through various pieces of evidence Democrats did not decide to show. He says House Managers should have given Senators all of the facts because they are asking Senators to do something “consequential” and “very, very dangerous.” He tells Senators that Democrats are asking them to overturn the results of the last election and remove Trump from the ballot that is occurring in about nine months.  He says Democrats are asking Senators to tear up ballots and take that decision away from the American people.

10:05 AM: Senators recite the Pledge of Allegiance and the trial is about to resume. McConnell says today’s session will be 2-3 hours.

9:50 AM: House Managers will deliver their trial record (28,000 pages) to the Senate. Trump’s team is up at the top of the hour.

There’s no “evidentiary foundation” to a case built primarily on hearsay.

The Democrats’ baseless case against President @realDonaldTrump would be thrown out in a court of law.

Thankfully, fairness and due process have been restored in the Senate’s #ImpeachmentTrial. https://t.co/EPW4iHRsSR

— Rep Andy Biggs (@RepAndyBiggsAZ) January 25, 2020

House managers prepare to deliver their paper evidence to the Senate pic.twitter.com/bJto8WPTgl

— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) January 25, 2020

Story cited here.

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