As the Senate trial on the impeachment of President Donald Trump got underway Tuesday, Democrats and Republicans began by facing off first on procedural matters. Democrats angled to admit new witnesses and documents during the Senate trial, while Republicans seem to be largely willing to follow the rules of the Clinton impeachment which allowed Senators to decide that issue later on.
A CNN poll out this weekend noted 69 percent of Americans want Senators to allow new witness testimony.
"I wish the Democrats would have subpoenaed witnesses. They didn't do that," said GOP National Spokesperson Liz Harrington. "They didn't do their job."
Although she said Democrats should have subpoenaed witnesses like the whistleblower and former National Security Adviser John Bolton, the House did notably issue subpoenas to officials like Energy Secretary Rick Perry, acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who all denied them. Bolton's attorney reportedly threatened to fight a subpoena initially, but he recently said he will testify if subpoenaed for the Senate trial.
A CNN poll also found that 51 percent of people say Trump should be convicted and removed from office, although Harrington noted, "We've seen plenty of polling that supports the position that American voters should decide who our president is, not partisans in the House of Representatives."
She also called the impeachment inquiry an attempt by Democrats to get a president they don't like out of office, a common argument from Trump's supporters. The Democratic case, she said, is not "about evidence or facts or witnesses."
After Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell released a four-page set of ground rules for the trial Monday night, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said they seemed "designed by President Trump, for President Trump."
"It appears Leader McConnell decided to go along with the president's desire to cover up," said Schumer.
McConnell has said he is taking cues from the rules set forth in the 1999 Clinton impeachment trial. However, in that case, all witnesses had already been deposed and Clinton had provided the House with relevant documents before the Senate trial had begun in earnest. This time, Trump used executive privilege to block key witnesses from testifying and refused to turn over requested documents to the House.
Some progress was made Tuesday as Democrats and Republicans tried to come to an agreement on rules. McConnell agreed to extend the amount of time both sides have to present their cases from two days to three and agreed to allow evidence from the House hearings to be automatically entered into the record.
However, Senate Republicans struck down Schumer's amendment to subpoena documents the White House refused to turn over during the House investigation.
Trump is accused of withholding $400 million in aid from Ukraine in order to pressure the country's president to publicly announce that the Ukrainian government would launch investigations into political rival former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter and attempting to obstruct the investigation into the matter. He was impeached by the House of Representatives last month.
Michael Avenatti, the attorney representing adult film star Stormy Daniels, says he's fighting to keep the case out in the open and will renew a motion to depose both the president and his lawyer, Michael Cohen.
The governor of Colorado, a state where marijuana is legal, told Cheddar the federal government's negative stance against cannabis has created uncertainty in the space. Gov. Hickenlooper says not only is that "bad for business," but also makes it hard for states to maintain a good relationship with Washington.
Stringer wants Facebook to bring in more independent directors and experts on data protection to provide more oversight at the company. As the comptroller, Stringer manages the city's public pension funds, which have close to $1 billion invested in Facebook.
Jennifer Palmieri, former director of communications for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign, says women have to face the question of female ambition and motivation. "That's different than the questions people have for male candidates," she told Cheddar Monday.
The California billionaire says he isn't thinking that far ahead and is just focused on his "Need to Impeach" campaign going into the midterm elections in November.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/the-man-behind-the-need-to-impeach-campaign).
The California billionaire says Trump "is a lawless president," which is why he's focusing his efforts on a "Need to Impeach" campaign. So far, more than 5 million people signed on, which Steyer says will add pressure on lawmakers to take the drastic step.
President Trump called out Amazon in an early morning tweet Thursday, saying he's concerned the company pays "little or no taxes." This follows reports that the president wants to go after Amazon. Immediately following these reports, Amazon stock tanked, losing billions of dollars in market cap. This is not the first time Trump has attacked Amazon.
Facebook is making changes to its data-sharing practices in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The social media company announced late Wednesday that it would stop sharing user information with third-party data firms. This strategy has been at the core of Facebook's business for the past few years.
Bryan Cranston, star of the hit show "Breaking Bad," joins us to talk about this new project. He's the co-creator of "The Dangerous Book for Boys," a new TV series which will stream on Amazon Prime. Fans won't see him on camera, but they will see actress Erinn Hayes. Cranston and Hayes tell us what to expect from the family-friendly show. It premieres on Amazon this Friday, March 30th.
Facebook is making changes to its data-sharing practices in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The social media company announced late Wednesday that it would stop sharing user information with third-party data firms.
President Trump called out Amazon in an early morning tweet today, saying he's concerned the company pays "little or no taxes." This follows reports that the president wanted to go after Amazon.
Comedian Anthony Atamanuik guesses whether the president has taken to Twitter to discuss sandwiches and nipples. Atamanuik impersonates Trump for Comedy Central's "The President's Show."
The Congressman favors gun control rather than a full-blown repeal of the Constitutional Amendment, including controls on semi-automatic weapons and bump stocks. Early Tuesday, John Paul Stevens, a former Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, published an op-ed calling for a repeal of the Amendment.
