--- title: GOP Divisions Up Stakes for Democrats in Impeachment Trial description: With fresh fractures emerging among Senate Republicans, the next two days of questions will be a pivotal opportunity for Democrats canonical: https://time.com/5773434/republican-divisions-trump-impeachment-trial/ author: Alana Abramson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2020-01-29T01:46:33.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-12T19:47:13.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: GOP Divisions Up Stakes for Democrats in Impeachment Trial og:description: With fresh fractures emerging among Senate Republicans, the next two days of questions will be a pivotal opportunity for Democrats og:url: https://time.com/5773434/republican-divisions-trump-impeachment-trial/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcdfffa293caac7fe/698a091ddb29876395264d2c/mitch-mcconnell-senate-impeachment.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Senate Impeachment Trial Of President Donald Trump Begins og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: GOP Divisions Up Stakes for Democrats in Impeachment Trial twitter:description: With fresh fractures emerging among Senate Republicans, the next two days of questions will be a pivotal opportunity for Democrats twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcdfffa293caac7fe/698a091ddb29876395264d2c/mitch-mcconnell-senate-impeachment.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 04:41 video:published: 2020-01-28 section: politics topics: presidential impeachment, Senate impeachment trial, Ukraine aid, John Bolton manuscript, constitutional law, partisan politics, election year, separation of powers genre: news, courtroom argument tones: formal, adversarial, urgent, measured emotions: urgency (high), defiance (medium), solemnity (medium) sentiment: negative audience: voters, political news readers, legal observers, members of Congress people: Donald Trump, John Bolton, Mitch McConnell, Chuck Schumer, Bill Barr, Alexander Hamilton organizations: United States Senate, United States House of Representatives, New York Times, Department of Justice content_suitability: politics [00:00-04:41]; health controversy [02:00-02:45] transcript_source: automatic transcription transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # Republican Divisions Put Fresh Pressure on Democrats in Trump's Impeachment Trial > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=d19bad12-0dd6-48b1-aadf-b51d83196675&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Trump Defense Team Finishes Impeachment Arguments [Watch (HLS stream): Trump Defense Team Finishes Impeachment Arguments](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/YScdBpKq.m3u8) (4:41)  _Published 2020-01-28. Donald Trump’s lawyers made their final pitch to the Senate on Tuesday afternoon, imploring senators to consider the stakes of removing a president from office for the first time in United States history._ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary Donald Trump's defense team delivers its closing argument to the Senate in the impeachment trial, urging senators to reject the articles of impeachment. The lawyer argues the case is partisan, rests on unsourced newspaper reports and a book manuscript, and that removing an elected president in an election year would set a dangerous precedent. He disputes characterizations of John Bolton's account and the President's conversations with foreign leaders. The segment closes with an appeal to Senate leaders and members to reject the articles. ## Key points - The defense describes the Senate trial as one of the most solemn constitutional duties, involving the leader of the free world. (00:00) - The lawyer argues Hamilton placed impeachment in the Senate so it would rise above politics. (00:18) - The defense says senators are being asked to remove a duly elected president in an election year. (01:05) - The President is quoted saying he never told John Bolton that aid to Ukraine was tied to investigations into Democrats, including the Bidens. (01:40) - The defense says the New York Times account of Bolton's conversation with Attorney General Barr grossly mischaracterizes what was discussed. (02:00) - The lawyer contends the House did not go through the courts to resolve its subpoena disputes and calls the impeachment partisan. (02:45) - The defense argues that impeachment based on policy disagreements and unsourced reports would paralyze future presidents before they take the oath of office. (03:52) - The lawyer concludes that the articles must be rejected because the Constitution requires it and justice demands it. (04:24) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:38] Solemn constitutional duty of the Senate. The defense frames the trial as a solemn duty and says impeachment was placed with the Senate to rise above politics. - [00:38 to 01:05] Removing an elected president. The lawyer stresses that senators are being asked to remove a duly elected president in an election year. - [01:05 to 02:05] Disputing the Bolton account. The defense cites the President's denial of tying Ukraine aid to investigations and disputes the New York Times account of Bolton's claims. - [02:05 to 03:12] Criticizing the House process. The lawyer argues the House acted partisanly and did not pursue constitutional remedies in court. - [03:12 to 04:41] Warning against a low impeachment bar. The defense warns that partisan impeachment would become the new norm and urges rejection of the articles. ## Key quotes - [00:10] Defense lawyer: "The trial of the leader of the free world and the duly elected President of the United States." - [00:18] Defense lawyer: "It is not a game of leaks and unsourced manuscripts." - [01:40] Donald Trump: "I never told John Bolton that the aid to Ukraine was tied to investigations into Democrats, including the Bidens." - [01:50] Donald Trump: "If John Bolton said this, it was only to sell a book." - [03:52] Defense lawyer: "The bar for impeachment cannot be set this low." ## Questions this video answers - What does the defense team ask the Senate to do with the articles of impeachment? [04:24] - Why does the defense argue impeachment should be decided above politics? [00:18] - How does the President respond to John Bolton's claims about Ukraine aid? [01:40] - What does the defense say about the New York Times account of the Barr and Bolton conversation? [02:00] - What precedent does the defense warn future presidents would face if impeachment is based on policy disagreements? [03:52] ## Content suitability - politics [00:00-04:41]: Entire segment is political, covering presidential impeachment and partisan disputes. - health controversy [02:00-02:45]: Not applicable; omit if reviewing strictly.  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Updated: Dec 12, 2023 7:47 PM UTCPublished: Jan 29, 2020 1:46 AM UTC Donald Trump’s lawyers made their final pitch to the Senate on Tuesday afternoon, imploring senators to consider the stakes of removing a president from office for the first time in United States history.  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Updated: Dec 12, 2023 7:47 PM UTCPublished: Jan 29, 2020 1:46 AM UTC The stakes just got higher for the [Democratic lawmakers](https://time.com/5768535/democrat-impeachment-managers-case/) prosecuting the impeachment trial of [President Donald Trump.](https://time.com/5773233/trump-defense-impeachment-trial/) With fresh fractures emerging among Senate Republicans on whether new evidence should be allowed in the trial, the next two days of questions and answers will be a pivotal opportunity for House Democrats to persuade enough undecided Republicans to break with their party, which has insisted no new witnesses or documents be permitted. In a closed-door meeting on Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told Republicans that they currently did not have the necessary votes to block additional witnesses, according to one Congressional source, and laid out the case for why they should unify against it. In order for additional witnesses and documents to be considered, the Senate Democratic Caucus, assuming they stay united, needs at least four Republicans to vote with them. Just a week ago, it didn’t look like Democrats were going to be able to scramble the votes to pull it off. But the calculation changed after the [New York _Times_ reported](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/26/us/politics/trump-bolton-book-ukraine.html) on Sunday that Trump’s former National Security Adviser John Bolton is alleging in a draft of his upcoming book that the President admitted last summer he was withholding aid to Ukraine until the country’s President, [Volodymyr Zelensky](https://time.com/5767100/ukraine-prime-minister-oleksiy-honcharuk-resigns/), publicly announced an investigation into a top political rival. Bolton has already said he would testify in the Senate if he is subpoenaed. The revelations seemed to reinforce that more moderate Republican Senators who were already on the fence, like Maine Sen. Susan Collins and Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, could vote for his appearance. “The reports about John Bolton’s book strengthen the case for witnesses and have prompted a number of conversations among my colleagues,” Collins said in a statement Monday. Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski has also indicated she is open to hearing from Bolton, while Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander has repeatedly said he has not decided one way or the other. The actual vote almost certainly will not take place until Friday, after Senators complete the allotted sixteen hours of submitting written questions to the managers and Trump’s defense team. (McConnell said Wednesday the period would be split over the course of two days). A lot can happen in two days. McConnell is notorious for his ability to keep his conference in line and Republican sources cautioned that just because the votes are not there yet does not mean they won’t materialize by the end of the week. Nevertheless, the state of play heightens the importance of the questioning period for the managers: It is, more or less, the last chance they have to make their case as they answer lawmakers’ questions. Senate procedure dictates that Senators must submit their questions to the teams in writing to Chief Justice John Roberts, who will read them out loud to the chamber. (Democrats and Republicans will alternate their submissions.) There is, however, no official time limit imposed on either side in responding, according to a Senate leadership aide, and Senators, who are prohibited from speaking on the floor during the trial, must still remain silent during this phase. In theory, that means that House managers, if they so choose, can use their responses to any question as a platform to argue for more evidence. Republican and Democratic Senators alike were mum on Tuesday on the questions they were preparing. “There’s been compelling arguments on both sides and there’s also things that basically are contradicting each other and we’d like to get clarification,” said Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat who has broken with his party on major votes in the past and has not yet said how he will vote on impeachment. “You’ll see when the questions come up.” “My main question was related to, if the Bolton information were true, was it impeachable, and that was answered last night in my mind,” Indiana Sen. Mike Braun said Tuesday, referring to the arguments from Trump’s legal team that it was not. Democratic Senators maintained that the managers should use their time remaining in front of the chamber to continue to push for witness testimony. Explaining why supplemental information is crucial during the Q&A period, said Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey, will be “critically important,” especially given that some Republicans are now wavering. “We don’t have all the facts,” said Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono. “We know there’s a lot more evidence out there.” Even before McConnell’s acknowledgement to colleagues that he didn’t yet have the votes he needed, Democrats had been emphasizing that their response to the written questions would incorporate these points. “You can expect that we will focus like a laser on the importance of additional proof,” a senior democratic official working on impeachment told reporters on a conference call Tuesday. 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