At the end of the night, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., gave an emotional closing saying the president must be removed from office because he could not be trusted to do what is right for the country, only what is right for himself.
Here are five things to know about Day 3 of the impeachment trial.
- Garcia defends Biden
Impeachment manager Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Texas, spent much of her time during her first presentation talking about former Vice President Joe Biden’s actions involving Ukraine.
She produced a chart showing a series of witnesses, all of whom said that Biden’s actions in Ukraine were part of official U.S. policy.
She went on to talk about how U.S. and Ukrainian investigators have cleared both Biden and his son Hunter of any wrongdoing.
- Did the Democrats make a mistake?
Garcia’s defense of Biden has left Republicans wondering why.
Garcia gave a 30-minute presentation pointing out that Trump’s assertions about the Bidens and Ukrainian corruption are not true and that there is no evidence that either did anything wrong.
Trump’s personal attorney, Jay Sekulow, questioned the move Thursday afternoon, saying that the House managers’ decision to include a defense of the Bidens has made them fair game to be summoned to testify should witnesses be called in the trial.
“They have opened the door,” Sekulow said. “It’s now relevant.”
- Giuliani was a topic
Several House managers focused on the president’s attorney and friend Rudy Giuliani.
Rep. Val Demings, D-Fla., spent much of her presentation focusing on Giuliani and his ties to Lev Parnas.
Schiff said he doubted that It was Giuliani who came up with the idea of the Ukrainian scheme. “Rudy Giuliani is not some Svengali here who has the president under his control,” Schiff said. “You can say a lot of things about President Trump, but he is not led by the nose by Rudy Giuliani.”
- Nadler uses clips of Graham, Dershowitz, Barr
Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., played a 1999 Clinton impeachment trial speech by Sen. Lindsey Graham where Graham said that committing a crime isn't needed for a president to be impeached.
Nadler also played video statements about impeachment from Alan Dershowitz, an attorney on the president’s defense legal team, and William Barr, the U.S. attorney general.
- Military aid was withheld
At the end of the evening, the focus moved to the military aid that was marked for Ukraine but was held up by the White House for several months.
House managers say that the fact it was held up is proof that Trump wanted something in exchange for the aid.
The White House has said the aid was held up until charges of corruption could be looked into.
And one more
Adam Schiff offered an emotional end to Thursday’s proceedings. Here’s a look:
Donald Trump must be convicted and removed from office.
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) January 24, 2020
Because he will always choose his own personal interest over our national interest.
Because in America, right matters. Truth matters.
If not, no Constitution can protect us.
If not, we are lost. pic.twitter.com/USfx6v9KsT
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