Senate impeachment trial kicks off with revised rules giving three days to each side for opening arguments
The Senate early Wednesday morning approved rules for the Senate impeachment trial of President Donald Trump on a party-line vote that delays the question of whether the Senate should subpoena witnesses and documents until later in the trial.
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(CNN)Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell changed the resolution laying out the rules of President Donald Trump's impeachment trial shortly before it began on Tuesday amid concerns from some key Senate Republicans and an uproar from Democrats.
The new resolution will give the House impeachment managers and the President's team three days each to make their 24 hours of trial arguments, instead of two as McConnell had initially proposed. There were also changes to the section of the resolution that would not have admitted the House's evidence without a vote — now, evidence will be admitted automatically unless there is a motion from the President's team to throw out evidence.
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Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts read aloud the new version of the resolution to start the impeachment trial in earnest on Tuesday, and a heated debate over the rules — and more importantly, seeking witnesses and documents during the trial — is expected despite the concessions from McConnell.
Two GOP aides said the changes McConnell made were the result of concerns from moderate Republicans. The alterations were hand-written into the resolution — a sign they were hastily put together before the trial began early afternoon Tuesday.
Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and other colleagues "raised concerns about the 24 hours of opening statements in two days and the admission of the House transcript is the record," Annie Clark, a Collins spokeswoman, told CNN. "Her position has been that the trial should follow the Clinton model as much as possible. She thinks these changes are a significant improvement."
The move is a sign of how closely McConnell, who cannot afford to lose more than four GOP senators to keep control of the trial, is keeping the pulse of the moderates in his conference.
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