President Donald Trump's impeachment trial heads toward a historic conclusion this week. Senators are all but certain to acquit him on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, but there’s still plenty of drama to unfold before the final vote Wednesday.
The impeachment trial is expected to resume at 11 a.m. on Monday. Watch live below, courtesy of PBS NewsHour.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTK0MOfLVOM
The vote is expected to cap a months-long investigation into whether Trump improperly withheld U.S. military aid from Ukraine in a bid to pressure it to launch investigations into Democratic rival Joe Biden.
On Friday, after a dramatic night, the Senate voted 51-49 to block Democratic calls for new witnesses and documents. Only Republicans Susan Collins of Maine and Mitt Romney of Utah voted with Democrats. Even new revelations from former national security adviser John Bolton did not sway other GOP senators, who said they'd heard enough.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called that decision “a tragedy on a very large scale," as protesters' chants reverberated against the walls of the Capitol.
Some Republicans acknowledged Trump’s actions with Ukraine were questionable or wrong, but they say impeachment is not the appropriate response.
That was the distinction drawn by Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, who cast a critical vote against calling witnesses. Alexander says he doesn't need more evidence on whether Trump did what he is accused of doing, but he says he doesn't think the president's actions rise to an impeachable offense.
Other Republicans are expressing similar sentiments as the trial moves toward a near-certain acquittal. Trump's GOP allies hold the Senate majority, and there's nowhere near the two-thirds needed for conviction and removal. The Trump legal team initially asserted the president did “absolutely nothing wrong."
In a frenetic week, the 2020 presidential election kicks off in Iowa on Monday and Trump will give his State of the Union address Tuesday, before senators cast their final votes Wednesday.
