Democrats fire first salvo in Trump trial

US president blasts proceedings, saying he wants to face off with rivals

House Democrat impeachment managers on Wednesday began their case for removing US President Donald Trump from office on the first day of opening arguments in the impeachment trial.

The managers presented their two articles of impeachment charging Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress as they begin what will be as much as 24 hours of opening arguments over three days.

Adam Schiff, the Democrats' lead impeachment manager, previewed the case that his fellow House managers will make over the next three days.

In a narrative of more than two hours that followed, he told how the president and his associates sought to pressure Ukraine to announce investigations of former US vice-president Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden while withholding $391 million in US aid. Then, he said, the managers will explore the constitutional ramifications of the case.

The Senate has so far refused to allow witnesses, but on Wednesday, Schiff brought a few to the Senate floor by playing video clips from current and former officials who testified last year before the House Intelligence Committee.

Each of the seven House managers, led by Schiff, presented different elements of the case. House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler also showed video from the House impeachment investigation.

The Democrats allege that Trump interfered in the upcoming 2020 presidential election by seeking investigations against a political rival. They argued that senators are responsible for removing him, saying his actions resulted in a threat to national security.

Although Trump was thousands of kilometers away in Davos, Switzerland, attending the World Economic Forum, during a news conference on Tuesday he attacked two of the Democratic House managers. He called Nadler a "sleaze bag" and branded Schiff a "con job" and a "corrupt politician".

Trump said he would love to attend the trial so he could "sit right in the front row and stare into their corrupt faces". But he acknowledged that his lawyers would most likely advise him against doing so.

124 tweets in a single day

Trump, who returned on Wednesday from the Davos forum set a presidential record for activity on his favorite social media platform, sending at least 124 tweets in a single day, according to Factbase, a service that compiles and analyzes data on Trump's presidency.

Senator Rand Paul, a close ally of Trump, said on Wednesday that 45 Republicans are ready to dismiss the charges and he would keep pushing to rally a majority of Republican senators to end the trial.

"There are 45, with about five to eight wanting to hear a little more," Paul said in an interview with The Washington Post. "I still would like to dismiss it, but there aren't the votes to do it just yet."

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer said on Wednesday that any deal with Republicans on a witness swap was not being considered.

"I think that's off the table,"Schumer said when asked whether he would agree to a deal of Hunter Biden appearing in exchange for former national security adviser John Bolton. "First of all, the Republicans have the right to bring in any witness they want. They haven't wanted to. And that trade is not on the table."

Reuters contributed to this story.

aiheping@chinadailyusa.com