Speed Read

The senators finally got a chance to be heard in the impeachment trial, posing questions to GOP House managers and the president’s lawyers that were read by Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, the trial’s presiding officer. The session covered familiar territory, with the queries and the responses returning to points that had been raised during opening statements. The questions posed by both Democrats and Republicans tended to be broad and partisan. Some remarks from the proceeding:

House manager Charles T. Canady (R-Fla.), responding to a question about what flaws were in the White House’s case, remarked: “One error is in establishing a standard of conduct for the presidency that is too low. The other error is in attempting to minimize the significance of the offenses [with which] this president has been charged.”

David E. Kendall, responding to a similar question about the managers’ case, attacked the prosecution’s insistence on calling witnesses: “...what would the witnesses add? That hasn’t been described. What you’ve heard are vague expressions of credibility and hope...Second, they haven’t made a representation about what the witnesses would really say that is different...They can’t tell you--they tell you what they hope, but they can’t make a representation or a proffer to you about what any witnesses would say.”

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In response to questions about the legal standards for impeachment:

From House manager Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.): “My belief is that this president did not trust the American legal system to vindicate his interest without cheating...I believe that you should only remove a president who...in a calculated fashion puts the legal and political interest of himself over the good of the nation in a selfish way.”

While the defense Charles F. C. Ruff said. “...it is not enough simply I think to ask, does a particular generic form of misconduct, however serious it may be, lead inexorably to the conclusion that the president of the United States has committed an impeachable offense?...We speak of offenses which this body must ultimately judge as being so violative of his public responsibilities that our system cannot abide his continuing in office.”

TODAY’S PROCEEDINGS

The questioning begins again at 7 a.m. EST and may last until 1 p.m. If there are additional questions, they will be taken up on Monday.

WHAT’S AHEAD ON MONDAY: The senate is expected to vote on a dismissal of the impeachment charges. If the vote passes, the trial is over. If the vote doesn’t pass, the senate will entertain motions to hear from witnesses and motions to allow additional evidence.