PBS News Hour - Politics

Senators have now begun asking questions in President Trump's impeachment trial. Georgetown Law School's Victoria Nourse, who previously served as special counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Jamil Jaffer, former chief counsel to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and associate White House counsel, join Judy Woodruff to discuss questions of calling witnesses and Trump's motives.

President Trump's legal team wrapped up its case for his acquittal Tuesday, arguing that convicting Trump would set a dangerous precedent for future impeachments driven by policy disagreement. But some senators from each party have signaled interest in hearing from potential witnesses, such as John Bolton. Amna Nawaz reports and Yamiche Alcindor and Lisa Desjardins join Judy Woodruff to discuss.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., has been present for the Senate impeachment trial of President Trump and heard Trump's legal team offer its defense of the charges against him. She is also a 2020 Democratic candidate for president. Warren joins Judy Woodruff to discuss why she views Trump's actions as akin to bribery and what it means to miss the last few campaign days before the Iowa caucuses.

President Trump's legal team has begun its defense in his Senate impeachment trial. The central argument: Trump did nothing wrong, and the summary of his call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shows no evidence of conditioning military aid on investigations. But John Bolton reportedly says that did occur. Amna Nawaz reports and Lisa Desjardins and Yamiche Alcindor join Judy Woodruff.

As Iowa's Democratic caucuses approach, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders' message seems to be resonating with voters, though he still faces concerns he is too liberal to defeat President Trump. Along with Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar, he dashed to Iowa to campaign during a break from Trump's impeachment trial. Also there was Pete Buttigieg, who touted his electability. John Yang reports.

NPR's Tamara Keith and Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report join Judy Woodruff to discuss the latest political news, including whether enough Senate Republicans will vote to hear witnesses in the impeachment trial of President Trump and how 2020 presidential candidates are polling and campaigning in Iowa as its Democratic caucuses approach.

As the Senate impeachment trial continued on Saturday, President Trump's legal team laid out their case against removing him from office, contending the Democratic House managers left out crucial facts during this week's arguments. Jami Floyd, host and legal editor at WNYC New York Public Radio, and Ryan Goodman, co-editor-in-chief of Just Security, joins Hari Sreenivasan to discuss.

The House impeachment managers tasked with prosecuting the case for removal of President Trump are completing their opening arguments Friday. Meanwhile, an audio recording was released in which Trump allegedly urges the removal of former Amb. Marie Yovanovitch. Nick Schifrin reports and Lisa Desjardins and Yamiche Alcindor join Judy Woodruff to discuss the latest news and the Friday session.

New York Times columnist David Brooks and The Washington Post's Karen Tumulty join Judy Woodruff to discuss the week's political news, including how effective House impeachment managers are at making the case for President Trump's removal, the latest 2020 campaign dynamics in Iowa and the loss and legacy of NewsHour co-founder Jim Lehrer.