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A5 THE ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, JANUARY 23, 2020 Democrats appeal for GOP help to convict Trump THE IMPEACHMENT TRIAL IS SET AGAINST THE BACKDROP OF THE 2020 ELECTION. ALL FOUR SENATORS WHO ARE DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES ARE OFF THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL, SEATED AS JURORS. By LISA MASCARO, ERIC TUCKER and ZEKE MILLER Associated Press WASHINGTON — House Democrats opened marathon arguments in President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial Wednes- day, appealing to skeptical Republican senators to join them in voting to remove Trump from offi ce to “pro- tect our democracy.” Trump’s lawyers sat by, waiting their turn, as the president blasted the pro- ceedings from afar, threaten- ing jokingly to face off with the Democrats by coming to “sit right in the front row and stare at their corrupt faces.” The challenge before the House managers is clear. Democrats have 24 hours over three days to prosecute the charges against Trump, trying to win over not just fi dgety senators sitting silently in the chamber but an American public, deeply divided over the president and his impeachment in an election year. Rep. Adam Schiff, chair- man of the House Intelli- gence Committee, outlined what the Democrats contend was the president’s “cor- rupt scheme” to abuse his presidential power and then obstruct Congress’ investiga- tion. He then called on sena- tors not to be “cynical” about politics, but to draw on the intent of the nation’s Found- ing Fathers who provided the remedy of impeachment. “Over the coming days, we will present to you — and to the American people — the extensive evidence collected during the House’s impeachment inquiry into the president’s abuse of power,” said Schiff stand- ing before the Senate. “You will hear their testimony at the same time as the Amer- ican people. That is, if you Julio Cortez/AP Photo President Donald Trump’s personal attorney Jay Sekulow, left, gestures while standing with White House Counsel Pat Cipollone, right, while arriving at the Capitol on Wednesday. will allow it.” Most senators sat at their desks throughout, as the rules stipulate, though some stretched their legs, standing behind the desks or against the back wall of the chamber. The proceedings are unfolding at the start of an election year and there are few signs that Republican are interested in calling more witnesses or going beyond a fast-track assessment to bring a quick vote on charges related to Trump’s dealings with Ukraine. The trial marks just the third time the Senate has weighed whether an Amer- ican president should be removed from offi ce. Dem- ocrats argue Trump abused his offi ce by asking Ukraine to investigate political rival Joe Biden while withhold- ing crucial military aid, and also obstructed Congress by refusing to turn over docu- ments or allow offi cials to testify in the House probe. Republicans have defended Trump’s actions and cast the process as a politically moti- vated effort to weaken the president in the midst of his reelection campaign. A new poll from t he Asso- ciated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows the public is slightly more likely to say the Senate should convict and remove Trump from offi ce than to say it should not, 45% to 40%. But a sizable percent- age, 14%, say they don’t know enough to have an opinion. One question there’s wide agreement on: Trump should allow top aides to appear as witnesses at the trial. About 7 in 10 said so, including majorities of Republicans and Democrats, according to the poll. The idea of more wit- nesses, though, seems all but settled. Wrangling over rules for the trial stretched past midnight Tuesday night, with Republicans shoot- ing down one-by-one Dem- ocratic efforts to get Trump aides including former national security adviser John Bolton, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and act- ing chief of staff Mick Mul- vaney, to testify. Senators are likely to repeat those rejections next week, shutting out any chance of new testimony. One longshot idea to pair one of Trump’s preferred witnesses — Biden’s son Hunter Biden — with Bolton or another that Democrats want was swiftly rejected. “That’s off the table,” Sen- ate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer told reporters. Chief Justice John Rob- erts gaveled open Wednes- day’s session as senators settled in for the long days ahead. Trump, who was in Davos, Switzerland, attend- ing a global economic forum, praised his legal team, and suggested he would be open to his advisers testifying, though that seems unlikely. He said there were “national security” concerns that would stand in the way. After the House prosecu- tors present their case, the president’s lawyers will fol- low with another 24 hours over three days. They are expected to take only Sun- day off. “There’s a lot of things I’d like to rebut,” said Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow at the Capitol, “and we will rebut.” Then there will be 16 hours for senators, who must sit quietly at their desks, no speeches or cellphones, to ask written question, and another four hours for deliberations. The impeachment trial is set against the backdrop of the 2020 election. All four senators who are Democratic presidential candidates are off the campaign trail, seated as jurors. Campaigning at stops in Iowa, Joe Biden also rejected having his son tes- tify, or even appearing him- self. “I want no part of that,” he said. Ahead of opening argu- ments, senators, particu- larly Republicans, were alternately restless, bored and exhausted by the proceedings. GOP Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa spoke sarcastically about how excited she was to hear the “overwhelming evidence” the House Dem- ocrats have against Trump. “And once we’ve heard that overwhelming evidence,” she added, raising her voice mockingly, “I don’t know that we’ll need to see addi- tional witnesses, but let’s hear about that overwhelm- ing evidence.” The trial began with a set- back on Tuesday for Repub- lican Senate leader Mitch McConnell, who backed off his plans to limit each side’s arguments to two days, as the White House had preferred. But the GOP leader has been skilled at keeping even the most wayward Republi- cans, those with some con- cerns about Trump, united in batting back Democratic requests for witnesses and testimony. They ultimately approved a rules package that pushes off a fi nal deci- sion on whether or not to seek additional testimony until late in the trial. Schumer bemoaned the remaining limitations, say- ing Wednesday the impeach- ment trial “begins with a cloud hanging over it, a cloud of unfairness.” Republicans are eager for a swift trial. Yet Trump’s legal team passed on an opportunity to fi le a motion to dismiss the case on Wednesday, an acknowl- edgement that there were not enough Republican votes to support it. The White House legal team, in its court fi lings and presentations, has not dis- puted Trump’s actions. But the lawyers insist the presi- dent did nothing wrong. Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick, Alan Fram, Andrew Taylor, Lau- rie Kellman, Matthew Daly, Padmananda Rama and Bill Barrow contributed to this report. Trump announces expanded travel ban Consult a Seven nations proposed PROFESSIONAL By COLLEEN LONG, MATTHEW LEE and JONATHAN LEMIRE Associated Press WASHINGTON — Pres- ident Donald Trump said Wednesday the U.S. would soon be imposing visa restric- tions on more countries — though it’s not clear yet how many nations will be affected by his expansion of the travel ban. Seven additional nations were listed in a draft of the proposed restrictions — but the countries were notifi ed by Homeland Security offi - cials that they could avoid being included if they make changes before the announce- ment is made, according to two administration offi cials who spoke to he Associated Press on condition of ano- nymity to discuss ongoing negotiations. The tentative list fea- tured Belarus, Eritrea, Kyr- gyzstan, Myanmar, Nigeria, Sudan and Tanzania, accord- ing to the offi cials and a per- son familiar with the draft proposal. But several coun- tries are believed to have taken action or demonstrated good faith efforts to comply in order to avoid inclusion, the offi cials said. The steps include better border secu- rity, better sharing of identi- fi cation information among nations and better travel doc- ument security, one offi cial said. It’s not clear how many nations will wind up on the fi nal list. Trump told reporters at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that he’s doing it to protect the United States. “We’re adding a couple of Q: How can I “clean up” my computer safely? LEO FINZI CCleaner and Glary Utilities A: Run monthly to “tune up and clean” your PC (available at CCleaner.com and GlarySoft.com.) Both have free and pay versions. We recommend trying Fast, Friendly & the free versions, as most people find Affordable! those very satisfactory. As time goes Windows 7 support by, “cookies” broken registry entries, has ended. Windows temporary files, etc. accumulate 10 upgrade $199 and impair computer performance. Mon-Fri 10-6, Sat 11-4 CCleaner and Glary Utilities are safe 77 11th Street, Suite H Astoria, OR • 503-325-2300 ways to restore computer performance. Markus Schreiber/AP Photo Astoria’s Best.com President Donald Trump leaves the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Wednesday. countries to it,” he said. “We have to be safe. Our country has to be safe. You see what’s going on in the world. Our country has to be safe. So we have a very strong travel ban and we’ll be adding a few countries to it.” The Trump administration also announced it will roll out new visa restrictions Thurs- day aimed at restricting “birth tourism,” in which women travel to the U.S. to give birth so their children can have a coveted U.S. passport. Visa applicants deemed by consular offi cers to be coming to the U.S. primar- ily to give birth will now be treated like other foreigners coming to the U.S. for med- ical treatment, according to State Department guidance sent Wednesday and viewed by the Associated Press. The applicants will have to prove they are coming for medical treatment and they have the money to pay for it. Five of the countries on the draft list have either Mus- WANTED Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber Northwest Hardwoods • Longview, WA Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500 lim majorities or substantial Muslim minorities. The current ban suspends immigrant and non-immi- grant visas to applicants from fi ve majority-Muslim nations: Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen, as well as Venezuela and North Korea. But it allows excep- tions, including for students and those who have estab- lished “signifi cant contacts” in the U.S. And it represents a signifi cant softening from Trump’s initial order, which had suspended travel from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Soma- lia, Sudan and Yemen for 90 days, blocked refugee admis- sions for 120 days and sus- pended travel from Syria. That order was immedi- ately blocked by the courts, prompting a months-long effort by the administration to develop clear standards and federal review processes to try to pass legal mus- ter. Under the current sys- tem, restrictions are targeted at countries that Homeland Security says fail to share suffi cient information with the U.S. or haven’t taken necessary security precau- tions, such as issuing elec- tronic passports with biomet- ric information and sharing information about travelers’ terror-related and criminal histories. 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