US Senate set to return amid stand-off over Donald Trump’s impeachment trial
- Newly uncovered evidence could bolster Democrats’ demands for testimony from key witnesses at the heart of the impeachment scandal
US lawmakers return to Washington Friday with President Donald Trump’s coming impeachment trial looming over the first Senate session of 2020, but congressional leaders are locked in stalemate over how to proceed.
As Congress braces for a frenetic January, newly uncovered evidence could bolster Democrats’ demands for testimony from key witnesses with first-hand knowledge of Trump’s Ukraine pressure scheme at the heart of the impeachment scandal.
A series of emails published on Thursday signal that the order to maintain a freeze on military aid to Ukraine came directly from Trump, and reveal that the Pentagon raised serious concerns about the legality of the directive.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has so far refused to send the two articles of impeachment against Trump – abuse of power and obstruction of Congress – to the Senate until the chamber agrees on trial parameters that she considers fair.
No progress was made over the holiday break as to the rules of the trial, after Trump last month became only the third US president ever impeached by the House of Representatives.