NOW
Closing arguments will begin Feb. 3 after the Senate rejected a measure to call witnesses in President Trump’s impeachment trial on Jan. 31. The trial will be the first in U.S. history without witnesses. Senators plan to vote two days later on the impeachment charges against Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Democrats had been pushing to call former national security adviser John Bolton and other officials who declined to participate in the House proceedings that led to Trump’s impeachment. But most GOP senators, led by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), rallied to the president’s defense and said he should not be removed from office. Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives in December. The crux of the case for his impeachment is the allegation that he withheld military aid and a White House meeting to pressure Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden and his son. Hunter Biden served on the board of Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company, while his father was vice president.
