But Trump’s lawyers appeared to clearly aim their remarks at those few undecided Republican senators. They suggested that Ukraine never learned about the hold on military aid before an Aug. 28 POLITICO article revealed it publicly. That’s at odds with some witness testimony and public comments from a former Ukrainian official who said the hold was known within Ukraine but that officials were motivated to keep it hidden until the POLITICO story ran.
Trump’s lawyers also noted that Ukrainian officials never expressed concerns about pressure from Trump. Schiff and Democrats suggested during their opening argument that it would have been unthinkable for Zelensky to call out Trump when Ukraine is dependent on the United States to fend off Russian aggression amid an active war.
Trump’s attorneys intend to argue extensively — despite voluminous testimony to the contrary — that repeated calls for Ukraine to investigate Biden reflect a genuine concern about corruption rather than a politically motivated attempt to damage a rival.
They also contend that Biden sought the removal of a Ukrainian prosecutor who was investigating Burisma, an energy company where Biden’s son, Hunter, was serving on the board of directors.
Democrats presented extensive evidence during the Senate trial that the Ukrainian prosecutor Biden and the Obama administration helped remove was an impediment to anti-corruption investigations — and in fact wasn’t actively investigating Burisma.
Rather, witness testimony collected by the House suggested that Trump seemed fixated on pushing a sham investigation into Biden in order to damage the former vice president’s political prospects headed into the 2020 Democratic nomination fight. Democrats also gathered extensive evidence to show that Trump privately professed no interest in anti-corruption efforts in Ukraine and other countries.
The high-profile effort by Trump’s attorneys to delve into the Bidens is in many ways akin to the outcome Democrats sought to head off when they first began their impeachment investigation.
“What they hope to achieve in the Senate trial is what they couldn’t achieve through their scheme,” Schiff said Friday night. “It’s about completing the object of the scheme through other means – through the means of this trial.”
On Friday, Sekulow said that House prosecutors “opened up the door” for the president’s lawyers to go on offense on Biden since they brought the topic up first — comments that mirror those of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).
Source: politico.com
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