WATCH: Sen. Schumer asks if a fair trial could have no witnesses

WATCH: Sen. Schumer asks if a fair trial could have no witnesses | Trump impeachment trial

Besdisha February 04, 2020

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer asked House managers whether it was possible to have a fair impeachment trial without calling any witnesses. In response, Rep. Adam Schiff, the lead House impeachment manager, said it was not possible. He further answered a previous question about whether Trump could have had multiple motives. “If you have any questions at all, you need to hear from his former national security adviser,” Schiff said referring to John Bolton. Trump’s lawyers countered that calling witnesses threatened to “derail” the impeachment process because of the House’s failure to subpoena all important witnesses.

Senators had their first chance to ask questions of the House managers and President Donald Trump’s legal team on Wednesday, Jan. 29. That came after both sides were given three days, respectively, to present their case. The House of Representatives impeached Trump in December on two articles--abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The questions come ahead of a vote on whether to bring forward witnesses and documents as part of the Senate trial. The Senate must now decide whether to acquit the president or convict him of the charges and remove him from office.

For more on who’s who in the Trump impeachment inquiry, read:

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