WASHINGTON, Jan 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US lawmakers return to Washington Friday with President Donald Trump’s upcoming impeachment trial looming over the first Senate session of 2020, but congressional leaders are locked in stalemate over how to proceed.
As Congress braces for a frenetic January, newly uncovered evidence could
bolster Democrats’ demands for testimony from key witnesses with firsthand knowledge of Trump’s Ukraine pressure scheme at the heart of the impeachment scandal.
A series of emails published Thursday signal that the order to maintain a
freeze on military aid to Ukraine came directly from Trump, and reveal that
the Pentagon raised serious concerns about the legality of the directive.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has so far refused to transmit the two articles
of impeachment against Trump — abuse of power and obstruction of Congress — to the Senate until the chamber agrees on trial parameters that she considers fair.
No progress was made over the holiday break as to the rules of the trial,
after Trump last month became only the third US president ever impeached by the House of Representatives.
Senate Democrats want to hear from key witnesses who refused to testify
during the House investigation, and obtain documents denied to the
impeachment probe.
Republicans have balked, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
admitting last month that he was working in “total coordination” with the
White House on how to conduct the trial.
Trump stands accused of leveraging a highly sought White House meeting and $391 in military aid to Ukraine, which Kiev desperately needed to deter
Russian aggression, in exchange for investigations into Democrats including
his possible 2020 election rival Joe Biden.
The White House has rejected that narrative. — NNN-AGENCIES
