Trump impeachment: senators kill Democratic efforts to subpoena more evidence – as it happened

Live impeachment reporting continues on Wednesday’s blog:

Live coverage of the impeachment trial continues on Wednesday’s blog:

• Over the course of nearly 13 hours, House impeachment managers clashed with White House lawyers as they debated the rules that will govern the impeachment trial.
• Republican senators voted to kill 11 amendments to the trial rules brought forth by the Democrats, thwarting multiple attempts to subpoena documents and witnesses, including former national security adviser John Bolton.
• House Judiciary chair Jerrold Nadler, who is one of the impeachment managers, accused Republicans of “voting for a coverup” by rejecting attempts to acquire more evidence.
• Voting along party lines, Republicans pushed through the rules as proposed by Senate leader Mitch McConnell, unamended.
• McConnell did change the rules a bit since he first revealed them, allowing for each side to take three days, rather than two, to present their cases. He also allowed the House’s impeachment evidence to be admitted into the Senate record.
• Throughout, Chief Justice John Roberts played a procedural role — piping up just once to admonish both sides for a lack of civil discourse. “I do think that those addressing the Senate should remember where they are,” he said.
• As the hours wore on, lawmakers looked visibly worn out — a couple of senators appeared to nod off.
• The trial is adjourned until Wednesday at 1pm ET, when House managers will present their case.

Guardian reporters will be back tomorrow with more live updates from the impeachment trial. In the meantime, catch up on our coverage so far:

• Review the case against Trump.
• Meet the Republican senators who could cross party lines.
• Relive the drama that was, and wasn’t.

After 13 hours of debate, Republican senators pushed through the organizing resolution for the impeachment proposed by Mitch McConnell, without any of the 11 amendments proposed by Democrats.

The trial is now adjourned until 1pm ET on Wednesday.

The final amendment proposed by minority leader Chuck Schumer would allow Chief Justice John Roberts — as a neutral party — to decide whether to allow motions to subpoena witnesses or documents.

Finally, the senators are voting on the organizing resolution for the impeachment trial, as proposed by Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell.

Before the vote, McConnell addressed Chief Justice John Roberts: “We want to thank you for your patience,” he said.

“Comes with the job,” Roberts responded.

The Office of Management and Budget responded to a FOIA request by releasing a trove of documents on military aid to Ukraine.

The watchdog organization made “request for directives and communications that may relate to any effort to pressure the Ukrainian government to investigate one of President Trump’s political opponents as part of an effort to give the president an electoral advantage,” it said.

Senators kill the 10th Democratic amendment to allow for additional time to file responses to motions. The rules provide each side two hours. Schumer’s amendment asked for 24.

The debate on this one was very short — things are speeding up.

As expected, Democrats’ eighth amendment, like all the others, was voted down, along party lines. Republicans blocked the Democratic push to subpoena John Bolton.

The former national security advisor could still testify if a majority of senators vote to subpoena his testimony later.

They also killed a ninth amendment, which would force a Senate vote on any motion to subpoena witnesses and documents. The current rules require a procedural vote that must pass before a vote on subpoenas. In this vote, there was one Republican defector: Senator Susan Collins.

John Roberts took an opportunity to rebuke both House managers and the White House counsel “in equal terms” for their language and personal attacks. He asked everyone to “avoid speaking in a manner and using language that is not conducive to civil discourse”.

Roberts also offered a fun fact. In 1905, a Senator objected to a manager using the word “pettifogging” and the presiding officer found that the world “ought not to be used”, he said. “I don’t think we need to aspire to that high a standard, but I do think those addressing the senate should remember where they are,” Roberts added.

In response, White House lawyer Jay Sekulow raised his voice and banged the podium for emphasis. He accused Nadler of trying to “shred Constitution on the floor of the floor of the Senate” by questioning Donald Trump’s executive privilege claim.

Pat Cipollone called the impeachment a “farce”.

“Mister Nadler, you owe an apology to the President of the United States and his family, you owe an apology to the Senate, but most of all you owe an apology to the American people,” he said.

Nadler: ‘Only guilty people try to hide the evidence’

Arguing for a subpoena of John Bolton, Jerrold Nadler accused senators quashing against Democrats’ attempts to bring forth more witnesses of “voting for a coverup”.

“Voting to deny witnesses and obviously a treacherous vote,” Nadler said. “A vote against an honest consideration of the evidence against the President. A vote against an honest trial. A vote against the United States.”

Nadler also said that Trump’s supporters want to block Bolton’s testimony are doing so because “they know he knows too much”.

“Only guilty people try to hide evidence,” Nadler said.