UPDATED RELEASE: Senate Must Require Witnesses and Evidence To Be Presented at Impeachment Trial

Washington, D.C. — With the U.S. Senate preparing to begin the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, the Center for American Progress is out with a new analysis calling on senators to invite key witnesses and require the introduction of relevant evidence that have so far been withheld by the Trump administration.

This includes the testimony of former National Security Adviser John Bolton, who has offered to testify. Other presidents have provided evidence in previous impeachment proceedings and congressional oversight investigations—sometimes including their own testimony—and Trump’s obstruction of Congress breaks with this precedent.

“Donald Trump has engaged in an unprecedented cover-up of his abuse of power and obstructed Congress’ investigation into his impeachable offenses,” said Sam Berger, CAP’s vice president of Democracy and Government Reform. “Now Trump wants Senators to join him as co-conspirators. The American people are rightfully demanding that evidence be part of the proceeding, just as it has been in prior impeachment proceedings and congressional investigations. If Trump and Senate Republicans block witnesses or documents, Americans will consider this impeachment trial to be a rigged game designed to hold Trump above the law.”

Read the column: “Senate Impeachment Trial Must Include All Important Evidence” by Michael Sozan.

Related resources:

• “Senators Must Be Briefed on Russian Disinformation Before the Impeachment Trial“ by Sam Berger and Max Bergmann
• “Worse Than Watergate” by Sam Berger
• “Trump’s Impeachable Conduct Strikes at the Heart of the Rule of Law: Part 2” by Maggie Jo Buchanan, William Roberts, and Michael Sozan
• “The Founders Would Have Impeached Trump for His Ukraine-Related Misconduct” by Michael Sozan

For more information or to talk to an expert, please contact Sam Hananel at shananel@americanprogress.org or 202-478-6327.