As expected, day one of the impeachment trial of Donald Trump was a presentation of evidence by the House Managers supporting the two impeachment articles against Trump. The managers presented the evidence in narrative form. Nothing earth-shattering came of the day. The evidence is already out in the public.
Unlike the traditional court setting where the evidence is presented by witnesses, the impeachment trial was a long narrative by several managers narrating the case against Trump.
The managers presented their case by inserting witness videotapes from the House impeachment hearings and other evidence they collected. They also effectively used videotaped comments made by Donald Trump to showcase the steps Donald Trump took towards illegally withholding the Ukrainian money and his attempts to impede the investigation by the House into his activities.
Both are elements of the impeachment articles.
It is clear that the managers are working towards convincing the senators to open up the proceedings to witnesses and new evidence. They continually reinforce the need to bring witnesses such as John Bolton to provide a clear view of the activities central to the case. They also add regularly that new evidence just became available.
The managers also kept arguing that the evidence they are presenting is indisputable and if the lawyers argue that the evidence is in dispute then it is important to bring in witnesses to clarify the disagreement for the senators.
However, they are also laying out a case in a manner to allow them to build a record for the upcoming elections. They are playing to the audience.
The monotonous narrative was briefly interrupted at about 6:21 p.m., eastern time when an unknown individual began shouting. Order was quickly restored within less than a minute. At the time I am writing this, it is unclear who the individual was and how they gained access to the chambers.
However, it is important to point out that most voters will not sit hours trying to understand the process. As usual, it will be the sound bites that inform the voters.
What the Republican senators are gleaning from the presentations, if anything, remains unclear. The case will resume tomorrow.
