The Senate impeachment trial goes into Day 3 as the House prosecution team continues to make their case for impeachment.

Opening arguments for the Democrats kicked off yesterday after the Senate officially established rules for the trial on Tuesday. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., the lead prosecutor, spoke for more than two hours, laying out the case House Democrats made in weeks of hearings last year. He appealed to senators not to be “cynical” about the politics of impeachment. Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said Trump had pursued a “corrupt scheme” to abuse his presidential power and then obstruct Congress’ investigation. 

Each side has up to three days to present its case. As the Senate gavels in today, the Democrats are one-third of the way through the 24 hours allotted to make their case. After the House prosecutors finish, likely Friday, the president’s lawyers will launch their 24 hours. It’s unclear how much time they will actually take, but Trump’s team promises not only to defend the president but to take apart the Democrats’ case. The Senate is expected to take only Sunday off and push into next week.

With files from the Associated Press

Guests:

Margaret Russell, Professor of Law at Santa Clara University; her areas of expertise include Constitutional law

David Rivkin, partner at the law firm BakerHostetler; he has previously held positions at the Department of Justice, in the Office of White House Counsel and elsewhere in the federal government; he tweets