White House lawyers Patrick Philbin, Jay Sekulow, and Pat Cipollone wrapped up the president's defense this afternoon on Capitol Hill, arguing that President Donald Trump's actions were not enough to trigger impeachment, even if proven true.
Philbin, who opened up today's session, echoed other defense lawyers who have described the Democrats as trying to read the president's mind to assume malintent. He also accused Democrats of treating a disagreement between the president and officials as an impeachable offense.
The president's legal team has argued that a quid pro quo on foreign aid to investigate a political rival is not impeachable. Philbin and Jay Sekulow, who spoke second, seemed wholly in sync with attorney Alan Dershowitz's argument last night that the articles, as written, are not enough to remove the president.
"To have a removal of a president based on a policy dispute? That's not what the framers intended," Sekulow said. He continued to warn Senators of the "danger, danger, danger" of lowering the bar of impeachment.
He also mentioned Bolton for only the second time, echoing Dershowitz's argument that even if reports that Bolton can link the president to quid pro quo are true, it doesn't prove anything.
Tensions are rising over whether the Senate should hear the testimony of Bolton, who reportedly wrote in a manuscript that Trump directly tied the holdup of nearly $400 million in military assistance to Ukraine to investigations into the Bidens.
GOP Senators are expected to meet after today's conclusion, as reports of more Republican defections in favor of witness testimony circulate.
When Sekulow took a swipe at Democrats, implying some of them would rather be out campaigning just days before the Iowa caucus, Senator and 2020 presidential hopeful Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota merely looked annoyed.
In a moment of levity, Senator Mitt Romney (R-Utah), who says he would like to hear from ex-National Security Advisor John Bolton, brought a bottle of chocolate milk into today's session (as milk and water are the only drinks allowed in Senate during the impeachment trial). Romney appeared to be chided by an aide, left, and then came back in with the chocolate milk poured into a glass.
Republican lawyers wrapped up their final day of defense in the early afternoon, leaving senators with a long afternoon off before the trial resumes Wednesday with 16 hours of contentious questioning expected, including the key debate on witness testimony. Senators Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and Elizbeth Warren of Massachusetts left the building quickly and reportedly plan to campaign this afternoon.
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to block states from regulating artificial intelligence. He argues that heavy regulations could stifle the industry, especially given competition from China. Trump says the U.S. needs a unified approach to AI regulation to avoid complications from state-by-state rules. The order directs the administration to draw up a list of problematic regulations for the Attorney General to challenge. States with laws could lose access to broadband funding, according to the text of the order. Some states have already passed AI laws focusing on transparency and limiting data collection.
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
House Republicans in key battleground districts are working to contain the political fallout expected when thousands of their constituents face higher bills for health insurance coverage obtained through the Affordable Care Act. For a critical sliver of the GOP majority, the impending expiration of the enhanced premium tax credits after Dec. 31 could be a major political liability as they potentially face midterm headwinds in a 2026 election critical to President Donald Trump’s agenda. For Democrats, the party’s strategy for capturing the House majority revolves around pinning higher bills for groceries, health insurance and utilities on Republicans.
President Donald Trump says a deal struck by Netflix last week to buy Warner Bros. Discovery “could be a problem” because of the size of the combined market share. The Republican president says he will be involved in the decision about whether federal regulators should approve the deal. Trump commented Sunday when he was asked about the deal as he walked the red carpet at the Kennedy Center Honors. The $72 billion deal would bring together two of the biggest players in television and film and potentially reshape the entertainment industry.
The two-sentence footnote raised serious concerns about accuracy and credibility.
