13 Witnesses. Over 28,000 Pages Of Documents.

Even The House Managers Say ‘We Heard From Enough Witnesses To Prove The Case Beyond Any Doubt At All’

“[T]he strategy to deluge the Senate also carries significant risks as the House managers tried to hammer home somewhat contradictory messages: their case is ‘overwhelming,’ but at the same time it’s incomplete without calling new witnesses and subpoenaing documents they say are necessary …” (“Dems Unload ‘Overwhelming’ Impeachment Case On The Senate — Even As They Press For More,” Politico, 1/22/2020)

Over 7 Days, The Senate Has Already Heard Testimony From 13 Different Witnesses In 192 Video Clips And Received Over 28,000 Pages Of Documents

During the impeachment trial’s opening phase, 192 video clips of 13 different witnesses were played in the Senate:

1.       Gordon Sondland, United States Ambassador to the European Union

2.       William Taylor, former Acting United States Ambassador to Ukraine

3.       Tim Morrison, former Senior Director for Europe and Russia on the National Security Council

4.       Jennifer Williams, special adviser on Europe and Russia for Vice President Mike Pence

5.       David Holmes, political counselor to the United States Embassy in Ukraine

6.       Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, Director for European Affairs on the National Security Council

7.       Fiona Hill, former Senior Director for Europe and Russia on the National Security Council

8.       Kurt Volker, former United States Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations

9.       George Kent, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs

10.   Marie Yovanovitch, former United States Ambassador to Ukraine

11.   Laura Cooper, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine, Eurasia

12.   David Hale, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs

13.   Joseph Maguire, Acting Director of National Intelligence

(Congressional Record, 1/21-28/2020)

“Democrats delivered 28,578 pages of evidence to the Senate on Saturday, marking the formal transfer of the House's impeachment record that supported their case to remove President Donald Trump from office.” (“28,578 pages of evidence,” Politico, 1/25/2020)

AP Photo Caption: “House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., arrives at the Senate with carts of documents as work resumes in the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, at the Capitol in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020.” (“Trump Lawyers Argue Democrats Just Want To Overturn Election,” The Associated Press, 1/25/2020)

Yet Sen. Schumer And Other Senate Democrats Insist On New Witnesses And Documents

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): “[W]e must have witnesses and documents in order to have a fair trial.” (Sen. Schumer, Remarks, 1/16/2020)

 

• SCHUMER: “The very least we can do is examine the facts, review the documents, hear from witnesses, try the case.” (Sen. Schumer, Remarks, 1/21/2020)

SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA): “[R]esponsibility now rests on the shoulders of each member of the United States Senate…. Which means demanding that the American public and each member of this body receive all evidence, documents and individuals who are witnesses so that we can engage in a fair deliberation and make a decision …” (Sen. Harris, Press Conference, 1/16/2020)

SEN. MICHAEL BENNET (D-CO): “I think it's imperative that the Senate have witnesses, that the Senate examine records.” (Fox News’ “Cavuto Live,” 1/18/2020)

SEN. PAT LEAHY (D-VT): “We need these witnesses.” (MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports,” 1/17/2020)

SEN. TOM UDALL (D-NM): “[W]e’ve got to have the evidence, we’ve got to have the documents, we have got to have the witnesses …” (Sen. Udall, Press Conference, 1/23/2020)

Democrat House Managers: ‘We Heard From Enough Witnesses To Prove The Case Beyond Any Doubt At All,’ ‘We Realized We Had The Evidence We Were Going To Get, And That It Was Sufficient To Prove Our Case’

 

HOUSE MANAGER REP. JERRY NADLER (D-NY): “We brought the articles of impeachment because despite the fact that we didn’t hear from many witnesses we should have heard from, we heard from enough witnesses to prove the case beyond any doubt at all.” (CNN’s “Outfront with Erin Burnett,” 1/15/2020)

 

• REP. NADLER: “Those are the facts. They are overwhelming, there is no denying them. Having reviewed the evidence we come to our second question, is the president’s proven conduct impeachable? The answer is simple--is simple, absolutely.” (U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee Hearing, 12/11/2019)

 

CNN’s JAKE TAPPER: “But what do you say to those who say, that’s what exactly what the House Democrats did by not going to court to try to force subpoenas and force witnesses?”

HOUSE MANAGER REP. ZOE LOFGREN (D-CA): “We did go to court, as you know.”

TAPPER: “But you didn’t pursue it in court. You ultimately...”

LOFGREN: “Ultimately...”

TAPPER: “... withdrew the cases and went to the Senate.”

LOFGREN: “... we realized we had the evidence we were going to get, and that it was sufficient to prove our case.” (CNN’s “State of the Union,” 1/26/2020)

• REP. LOFGREN: “You know, we have evidence proving the case through, for example, at the meeting when Bolton said it was a drug deal, well, we have fact witnesses, Hill was there, Vindman was there, Sondland was there.” (MSNBC, “Live,” 1/27/2020)

HOUSE MANAGER REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): “It is true that the record compiled by the House is overwhelming. It is true the record already compels the conviction of the President in the face of unprecedented resistance by the President. The House has assembled a powerful case, evidence of the President’s high crimes and misdemeanors that includes direct evidence and testimony of officials who were unwilling and unwitting in this scheme and saw it for what it was.” (Rep. Schiff, Congressional Record, S380, 1/21/2020)

 

• REP. SCHIFF: “That is certainly the most serious allegation against the president, now proven by the House in this case.” (MSNBC, 1/28/2020)

 

• REP. SCHIFF: “Donald Trump was impeached in article I for abuse of power, and that article provides that: … ‘President Trump solicited interference of a foreign government, Ukraine, in the 2020 election.’ That has been proved. He did so through a scheme or course of conduct that included soliciting the Government of Ukraine to publicly announce investigations that would benefit his reelection, harm the election prospects of a political opponent, and influence the 2020 Presidential election to his advantage. That has been proved. …  That has been proved. … That has been proved. … That has been proved. … That has been proved. … That has been proved. … That has been proved. … That has been proved. … That has been proved. … That has been proved. … That has been proved. … That has been proved. … That has been proved. … That has been proved. Article II: Obstruction of Congress. … In his conduct of the office of President of the United States--and in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed--Donald J. Trump has directed the unprecedented, categorical, and indiscriminate defiance of subpoenas issued by the House of Representatives pursuant to its ‘sole Power of Impeachment.’ That has been proved. … That has been proved. … That has been proved. … That has been proved. … That has been proved. … That has been proved. … That has been proved. … That has been proved. … That has been proved. … That has been proved. … That has been proved. … This has been proved. … That has been proved. … That has been proved. President Trump thus warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States.” (Rep. Adam Schiff, Congressional Record, S560-S561, 1/24/2020)

House Managers: ‘The Evidence Is Already Overwhelming’

REP. SCHIFF: “Our view is the evidence is already overwhelming.” (CNN’s “New Day,” 1/27/2020)

• REP. SCHIFF: “And so, this is a threat to the integrity of the upcoming election, and we don’t feel it should wait -- in particular when we already have overwhelming evidence of the president’s misconduct.” (MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show, 12/2/2019)

 

• REP. SCHIFF: “But look, we have provided overwhelming evidence in this report of a scheme to pressure the current president to the Ukraine to conduct these political investigations. … [B]ut there is I think grave risk to the country with waiting until we have every last fact when we already know enough about the president’s misconduct to make a responsible judgment about whether we think that is compatible with the office of the presidency.” (Rep. Schiff, Press Conference, 12/3/2019)

 

• REP. SCHIFF: “The evidence of the president’s misconduct is overwhelming and uncontested …” (Rep. Schiff, Press Conference, 12/10/2019)

 

REP. NADLER: “There is an overwhelming case beyond any reasonable doubt that the president betrayed the country ...” (Rep. Nadler, Press Conference, 1/15/2020)

 

HOUSE MANAGER REP. VAL DEMINGS (D-FL): “And, look, my message to the president and his lawyers, after listening to their presentation on yesterday, would be, regardless of what you say, the truth still matters, and the evidence against the president is overwhelming. … while the evidence that we have is overwhelming in our case.” (ABC’s “This Week,” 1/26/2020)

• REP. DEMINGS: “The evidence against this president is overwhelming. It’s overwhelming.” (MSNBC’s AM Joy, 1/26/2020)

• REP. DEMINGS: “Senators, I know we have covered a lot of ground, but as we have shown, there is overwhelming and uncontradicted evidence of the President’s scheme to solicit foreign interference in this year’s Presidential election.” (Rep. Demings, Congressional Record, S510, 1/23/2020)

HOUSE MANAGER REP. JASON CROW (D-CO): “We presented overwhelming evidence of the president’s misconduct.” (CBS’ “Face the Nation,” 1/26/2020)

HOUSE MANAGER REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): “The facts are uncontested. The evidence is overwhelming.” (MSNBC, 1/23/2020)

• REP. JEFFRIES: “We have provided overwhelming evidence of President Trump’s guilt.” (Rep. Jeffries, Congressional Record, S556, 1/24/2020)

HOUSE MANAGER REP. SYLVIA GARCIA (D-TX): “So as this first slide indicates, in this portion of our presentation, we will discuss the evidence that shows overwhelmingly that President Trump directed this scheme with corrupt intent, with one corrupt objective: to obtain foreign assistance in his reelection bid in the 2020 United States Presidential election.” (Rep. Garcia, Congressional Record, S493, 1/23/2020)

REP. LOFGREN: “We have an overwhelming case.” (CNN’s “State of the Union,” 1/26/2020)

And Many Senate Democrats Have Been Saying, As Far Back As October, That ‘I Think The Evidence Is Clear,’ ‘The Case Is Already Overwhelming,’ ‘For Many Of Us, This Isn’t A Mystery That Still Needs To Be Unwound,’ ‘After Those Arguments I’d Be Certain That … The President Would Be Convicted’

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): “The arguments of the House managers were overwhelmingly on the merits, on the facts…. I thought about this as I was listening. If this was an actual trial, and you were a jury, after those arguments I’d be certain that the [House] managers would prevail and the president would be convicted.” (Sen. Schumer, Press Conference, 1/22/2020)

 

MSNBC’s KATY TUR: “If the vote was put to you today, I know this is an ‘if,’ to convict the president in the Senate and remove him from office would you be voting yes?”

SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA): “Yes, based on everything I’ve seen. Yes…. The main subject of the impeachment, which is the issue of yet again, Donald Trump eliciting help from a foreign government to interfere in our election of our President of the United States. In this case we’ve basically got a confession.  We’ve got a display of consciousness of guilt and attempt to cover up. You know, I don’t know how much more we need … But based on everything we know, including an admission by this president, I don’t know that it leads in any other direction except to vote yes, which is what I believe I will do based on everything I know.” (MSNBC’s “MSNBC Live,” 10/07/2019)

FOX 11 LOS ANGELES’ ELEX MICHAELSON: “Have you seen enough evidence so far to impeach? Have you seen enough evidence to convict, yourself?”

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA), Presidential Candidate: “Yes!”

MICHAELSON: “So you would vote right now to remove our president?”

SEN. WARREN: “Look, I think the evidence is clear.” (“Sen. Warren Says She’d Vote To Convict President Trump,” Fox 11 Los Angeles, 10/4/2019)

• SEN. WARREN: “So I think the presentations are just overwhelming. I mean, it's really just walks us through step by step by step the corruption of Donald Trump and his entire Trump administration…” (CNN’s “Special Report,” 1/23/2020)

CNN’s DANA BASH: “From what you have seen, is there any chance that you would vote to acquit the president?”

SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN), Presidential Candidate: “At this point, I don’t see that. But I’m someone that wants to look at every single count. I have made very clear I think this is impeachable conduct.” (CNN’s “State of the Union,” 12/01/2019)

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): “Trump’s actions threaten our democracy. But the greater threat would be if America became a place where such misdeeds went unpunished. Fortunately, our Constitution tells us in no uncertain terms that the president’s actions deserve the strongest penalty Congress can provide — removal from office. If the rule of law means anything, we must follow its command.” (Sen. Blumenthal, Op-Ed, “Yes, Trump Is Guilty Of Bribery,” The Washington Post, 12/03/2019)

• Headline of Sen. Blumenthal’s December 3^rd Op-Ed: “Yes, Trump is guilty of bribery” (Sen. Blumenthal, Op-Ed, “Yes, Trump Is Guilty Of Bribery,” The Washington Post, 12/03/2019)

 

• SEN. BLUMENTHAL: “After lengthy fact-finding & compelling public testimony, the case is clear: President Trump tried to trade away our national security for a personal political favor. Merely soliciting a bribe is bribery. Ineffective criminals are still criminals.” (Sen. Blumenthal, @SenBlumenthal, Twitter, 12/18/2019)

 

• SEN. BLUMENTHAL: “… the case is already overwhelming.” (Sen. Blumenthal, Press Conference, 1/16/2020)

MSNBC’s HALLIE JACKSON: “So there is a possibility you’ll vote to acquit him? You could maybe vote to acquit him is what I hear you saying.”

SEN. MAZIE HIRONO (D-HI): “No, that is not what I’m saying at all, Hallie. What we have on one side is all of the factual evidence on the House side that led to the articles of impeachment. We have that…. So we have all the factual evidence. What I want to hear from the president is, what are his defenses? Does he have an explanation that exonerates him? Short of that, I’m going to vote on the basis of the facts. And the facts are that he committed an impeachable act and I will vote to convict him.” (MSNBC’s “MSNBC Live with Hallie Jackson,” 12/19/2019)

• SEN. HIRONO: “I would be prepared to vote to convict him.” (Politico, 1/03/2020)

• SEN. HIRONO: “In my view, Adam Schiff, who read the two articles of impeachment, made a clear case for how the president abused his power and obstructed Congress.” (CNN, 1/16/2020)

• SEN. HIRONO: “But what’s already there is damning enough of what the president did.” (CNN’s “Erin Burnett OutFront,” 1/22/2020)

SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): “I think the first thing to note is that, for many of us, this isn’t a mystery that still needs to be unwound. The evidence that we have thus far makes it crystal clear, to me at least, that the president directed a vast conspiracy to defraud taxpayers of dollars to try to convince a foreign power to intervene in the United States’ 2020 presidential election. So, I think it’s first important to make clear that, for many of us, we think the story is pretty well filled in.” (MSNBC’s “The Beat With Ari Melber,” 1/6/2020)

• SEN. MURPHY: “The president’s actions are impeachable and worthy of removal, and personally I think it would be kind of disingenuous to not share my opinion given how much information I have in front of me.” (Politico, 1/03/2020)

• SEN. MURPHY: “This is still an unfolding scandal, but all the evidence tells one story: the President committed an intolerable act of corruption, one that cannot stand in a democracy.” (Sen. Murphy, @ChrisMurphyCT, Twitter, 1/16/2020)

SEN. BOB CASEY (D-PA): “You’re dealing with a president, clearly, I think by the evidence, who solicited the interference of a foreign government in the upcoming election and also, as part of that, made a request to that government to investigate a political opponent and at the same time to investigate a debunked, loopy theory about the last election. So it’s a grave matter. I think senators take it very seriously.” (CNN, 1/22/2020)

• SEN. CASEY: “This record, which came over from the House, is substantial, it is compelling and I think it lays out the fundamental case for both abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.” (Sen. Casey, Press Conference, 1/23/2020)

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