Trump brags about withholding evidence from impeachment trial

Speaking with reporters about the Senate impeachment trial in Davos, Switzerland, Donald Trump bragged that the White House has withheld all relevant documents, leaving Congress without any of them.

“We’re doing very well,” Trump said of his legal team. “I thought our team did a very good job. Honestly, we have all the material. They [Congress] don’t have the material,” Trump told reporters.

In December, the House of Representatives approved two articles of impeachment against Trump: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

In the obstruction of Congress article of impeachment, Congress specifically mentioned that Trump “Direct[ed] the White House to defy a lawful subpoena by withholding the production of documents sought therein by the Committees.” Further, the House impeachment article noted that “no President has ever ordered the complete defiance of an impeachment inquiry or sought to obstruct and impede so comprehensively the ability of the House of Representatives to investigate ‘high Crimes and Misdemeanors.'”

As the House began its impeachment investigation, the Trump White House began a consistent campaign of defiance, refusing to cooperate with the investigation, hand over subpoenaed documents, or allow administration officials to testify before Congress. Some members of the administration defied the White House directive and testified before Congress, but many obeyed the order.

On Tuesday, the Senate spent hours debating the rules of Trump’s impeachment trial, with much of the discussion focused on obtaining withheld documents and witness testimony.

Senate Democrats offered amendments demanding a wide range of withheld documents as well as witness testimony from key Trump administration officials, including acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and former national security adviser John Bolton. Republican senators, who hold a 53-47 majority, voted against allowing the evidence.

Republicans “don’t want the American people to see what’s going on here,” Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), one of the seven House impeachment managers, said Tuesday as arguments about the amendments continued deep into the night. “They’re hoping people are asleep, and you know a lot of people are asleep right now all over the country, because it’s midnight.”

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.