U.S. senators on the spot to explain their coming vote at Trump trial
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Senate's top Republican exhorted fellow senators on Tuesday to acquit President Donald Trump in his impeachment trial, warning that the fate of the republic depended on it, even as his Democratic counterpart called Trump a threat to democracy.
The House impeached Trump on Dec. 18 on charges of abuse of power for asking Ukraine to investigate political rival Joe Biden and his son Hunter and obstruction of Congress for blocking testimony and documents sought in the investigation.
"While we can debate the president's judgment when it comes to his dealings with Ukraine - or even conclude that his actions were inappropriate - the House's vague and overreaching impeachment charges do not meet the high bar set by the founders for removal from office," Thune said in his speech. Trump has called for the whistleblower's identity to be exposed. The intelligence community has not named the whistleblower, and Democrats have said identifying such individuals could expose them to retaliation and deter others from reporting wrongdoing within the government.
McConnell echoed the arguments made by Trump's legal team that Democrats were seeking to annul the 2016 election in which Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton.
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