As President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial unfolds, Courthouse News will be gathering interviews with senators, members of Congress, attorneys and other newsmakers in the corridors of the Capitol for this regular feature.
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WASHINGTON (CN) — Every previous day of the Senate impeachment trial, the only people asking questions were the reporters peppering elected officials and newsmakers in the halls.
On Wednesday, it was the senators’ turn — at least in the chamber.
Everywhere else in the Capitol, the officials assumed their traditional roles of answering press inquiries. Joining them today were other prominent newsmakers making their debut appearance in Trump’s impeachment trial – Rudy Giuliani’s now-indicted associate Lev Parnas and his attorney Joseph Bondy.
11:32 p.m., Senator Mitt Romney, R-Utah, While Exiting the Capitol
A closely watched vote on whether the Senate will hear from additional witnesses, Romney told reporters he is not satisfied with the White House's answer to a question he posed earlier in the day on when the hold on Ukraine military assistance began.
"I'd like more information than they were apparently able to give, given the fact that that information was not in the record."
11:13 p.m., Senator Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., While Exiting the Capitol
Stabenow took issue with Deputy White House Counsel Patrick Philbin's argument Wednesday night that simply getting information from a foreign source and using it to influence a U.S. election is not a violation of campaign finance laws.
"I know that we hear so much and everything now seems like nothing because the president will say anything and there's such a low bar, but that is illegal. What the White House has now said in the well of the United States Senate is the standard for them, in terms of the president taking information from another country."
11:10 p.m., Senator Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., While Exiting the Capitol
Warren said the White House impeachment arguments boil down to one concept — corruption.
"I think that we're talking about corruption here and everyone on the Republican side is trying to do a shining up —" the Democratic presidential hopeful paused, searching for the end of her thought.
"This is corruption."
7:16 p.m., Senator John Thune, R-S.D., on the Second Floor of the Capitol
Chief Justice John Roberts has reportedly told senators he would not read aloud the name of the person Republicans have said is the whistleblower whose complaint kicked off the impeachment proceedings.
This has prevented Senator Rand Paul from posing one of his questions. The Kentucky Republican told reporters who asked about the question that “it’s still an ongoing process. It may happen tomorrow.”
Thune, the Senate Republican whip, said he did not think a question outing the whistleblower would make it through.
“You know, I mean, we’ve got members who, as you all have already determined, I think, who have interest in questions related to the whistleblower, but I suspect that won’t happen. I don’t think that happens. And I guess I would hope that it doesn’t."
7:12 p.m., Senator Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., on the Second Floor of the Capitol