The Senate, controlled by Republicans, rejected 11 requests by Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer to subpoena new White House witnesses and State Department documents during the ongoing impeachment trial of US President Donald Trump.
The accusations against Trump involve abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, stemming from his alleged withholding of military aid for Ukraine in an effort to push for an investigation into his political rival, Joe Biden.
During the first day of the impeachment trial, which stretched late into Tuesday night, lawmakers voted along party lines to reject about 8 of Schumer’s amendments in a series of 53-47 votes.
The rejected amendments/resolutions include:
- -Demand for evidence from the White House
- -Demand for evidence from the State Department
- -Demand for evidence from the Office of Management and Budget
- -Demand for testimony from Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff
- -Demand for evidence from the Defense Department regarding the delay on security aid to Ukraine
- -Demand for testimony by former national security advisor John Bolton
- -Allowing motions to subpoena witnesses after a question period by senators
- -Allowing the chief justice to demand probative evidence relative to either impeachment article
- -Demanding information from White House aide Robert Blair
- -Demanding information and documents from Office of Management and Budget aide Michael Duffey
- -Prohibiting selective introduction of evidence when information has been subject to a subpoena and allowing for review of classified material
After verbal altercations between Trump’s legal team and House Judiciary chair Jerrold Nadler, wherein Nadler accused Republicans of “voting for a coverup” by rejecting attempts to acquire more evidence, Supreme Court Justice John Roberts rebuked both parties “in equal terms” for their language and personal attacks, reminding them to maintain civil discourse.
He urged everyone to “avoid speaking in a manner and using language that is not conducive to civil discourse”.
After 13 hours of non-stop trial, some senators appeared to doze off, leading to an adjournment until Wednesday at 1pm ET for day 2 of the impeachment trial.