What to expect on day 3 of opening arguments in Trump's impeachment trial

AP Photo/Steve Helber

Rep. Adam Schiff

• House impeachment managers will make their final opening arguments for President Donald Trump's removal from office on Friday.
• Trump was impeached last month for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
• On Wednesday, the impeachment managers, who act as prosecutors in Trump's Senate trials, gave a broad overview of the charges against him and the timeline of his alleged misconduct.
• On Thursday, they turned their focus to his alleged abuse of power.
• On Friday, they will likely target his alleged obstruction of Congress.
• Insider will embed a livestream of the day's proceedings and cover them live when they begin.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

This week, the Senate's impeachment trial against President Donald Trump began in earnest with opening arguments from House impeachment managers - who essentially act as prosecutors in the case - as to why the president should be removed from office.

Trump was impeached last month for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Both charges relate to his efforts to pressure Ukraine to launch politically motivated investigations against his rivals ahead of the 2020 election while withholding vital military aid and a White House meeting that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky desperately sought.

Trump is the third US president to be impeached. His trial officially began last week, and opening arguments started on Wednesday, with House impeachment managers presenting their case first.

On Wednesday, House Democrats laid out a broad yet detailed overview of the president's scheme to pressure Ukraine into acceding to his personal demands while freezing security assistance and dangling a White House meeting for Zelensky.

Impeachment managers gave the Senate, and the public, an intricate timeline of how Trump's efforts played out, and the lengths he went to conceal them until they were publicly revealed.

On Thursday - day two of opening arguments - House prosecutors began by discussing the constitutional grounds for impeaching Trump, and why his actions rise to the level of impeachable conduct. During the second half of the day, they turned their focus to Trump's alleged abuse of power and all the ways his conduct went astray of official US policy.

They drew on testimony from Trump's own officials who said his actions were "wrong," "inappropriate," and "improper."

Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the lead House impeachment manager, ended the second day of opening arguments by skewering Trump for putting his own desires above those of the country: "The American people deserve a president they can count on to put their interest first."

Friday's proceedings will begin at 1 p.m. ET.

Schiff didn't elaborate on what House prosecutors would discuss on the last day of their opening arguments but they will likely focus on obstruction of Congress.

C-SPAN and TV networks are relying on the Senate's live feed of the trial.

C-SPAN is airing the trial at cspan.org.

Insider will embed a livestream of the trial below when it's available.