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A moving second day of the trial ended in procedural chaos as a Republican senator objected to testimony that cited him as the source of a conversation former President Donald J. Trump had during the attack on the Capitol which is at the heart of the matter.
In the final hour of debate on Wednesday, Representative David Cicilline, Democrat of Rhode Island and one of the impeachment officials, spoke of Mr. Trump mistakenly calling Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah in the goal of reaching Senator Tommy Tuberville, Republican of Alabama. Describing the call, which was detailed in news reports, Mr Cicillin claimed Mr Lee had stepped aside as Mr Trump asked Mr Tuberville to make further objections to the certification of President Biden’s electoral votes.
As Mr. Cicillin spoke, Mr. Lee could be seen writing furiously on a notepad in large letters: “This is not what happened.” When Democrats concluded their arguments for the day, Mr. Lee invoked an impeachment rule that allows senators to raise issues during trial, including the admissibility of evidence, and called for statements to be made. its subject to be canceled as false.
Senator Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, chairman of the impeachment trial, ruled the request inadmissible. Leahy, who consulted with the Senate parliamentarian, pointed to a rule specific to this impeachment trial that allows House administrators to include in their pleadings that were not in their initial opening presentations.
A visibly indignant Mr. Lee requested an appeal.
“My goal was to hit them because they were fake,” he said.
While some lawmakers, including West Virginia Democrat Senator Joe Manchin III, have asked Lee to explain why the description was wrong, the murmurs and confusion among Senators and staff temporarily derailed last moments of the debates of the day.
After a series of intense squeezing on the floor, where Mr Lee could be heard insisting that he had not made the statements, Representative Jamie Raskin, Democrat of Maryland and the main impeachment official , agreed to speak again. But he reserved the option of raising the issue again and arguing it later in the trial.
“We will withdraw it tonight and without prejudice to the possibility of resubmitting it, if possible,” Mr. Raskin said. “We can debate it if we need to. But it’s not – it’s a lot of ado about nothing, as it’s by no means critical to our case.
As Mr. Raskin spoke, Mr. Lee could be heard across the Senate chamber making a sarcastic retort, “You are not the one called as a witness, sir.
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