Trump's Move

Democrats wrapped their opening arguments in the impeachment trial Friday. The defense starts Saturday [Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-NY, talks to reporters]( Michael Brochstein/Barcroft Media via Getty Images The Big Picture: On Trial President Trump is a danger to the Republic and unless he’s removed from office, that danger only will grow, Democrats argued this week in Trump’s impeachment trial. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and his compatriots employed exhortations, grandiloquence and a great deal of repetition in making that case over the first three days of the trial. They recapitulated the events of the Ukraine affair but also urged senators to try to learn more — to call for witnesses and documents that, Schiff and his colleagues said, would only further develop what the House found in its investigation last year. The result was a congressional marathon at once historic, often stultifying and frequently bizarre, as when Democrats played TV clips of Trump’s own defenders to support their arguments, including tape of one of their own audience-members, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who was an impeachment manager against then-President Bill Clinton in 1999. Also sometimes unreal was the spectacle of a presentation whose parameters are now deeply familiar in Washington and about which there is no real tension: Republicans control the majority in the Senate chamber and are expected to vote to acquit Trump and keep him in office. Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., told reporters he thought the whole exercise was a Democratic scheme not to be rid of Trump but to squeeze a handful of swing-state senators — from Colorado, Maine and a few others — by putting them on the spot over how to vote on the impeachment. And the show wasn’t over. On Saturday, Trump’s lawyers open their response to the Democrats’ arguments, likely with parallel impeachments of Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden. This show is still just getting started. — Philip Ewing, NPR election security editor [Follow Saturday's live coverage]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [NPR's election security series ]( Marcus Marritt for NPR ICYMI: Top Stories “People will hear about this”: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would not say whether he owed an apology to recalled U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch. "I've defended every single person on this team," [he told NPR](. In an exchange after a line of questioning about Ukraine, Pompeo used repeated expletives when speaking with NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly. "Do you think Americans care about Ukraine?" He then said, "People will hear about this." Secure your vote: Americans are concerned about how secure the 2020 presidential election will be and about the perils of disinformation, according to [a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist Poll](. The poll reflects the country’s polarization: two-thirds of Democrats think the country isn’t prepared to keep November’s election safe and secure, while 85% of Republicans said they think it is. The story is part of NPR’s ongoing election security series. More from this week: - Exclusive: Seattle-area voters [to vote by smartphone]( in 1st for U.S. elections - Protector of New Hampshire primary claims "you can't hack this pencil," [but worries persist]( - Election security boss: [Threats to 2020 are now broader and more diverse]( Religious schooling case: The Supreme Court could be headed to a [major unraveling of public school funding]( NPR’s Nina Totenberg reports. The court heard arguments this week in a case about a provision of the Montana state constitution that bars aid to religious schools. If the conservative majority overturns the provision, it would be a break in the high wall of separation between church and state. Impeachment quirks: The impeachment trial of President Trump is serious business, but moments of levity surfaced this week nonetheless. Much of it had to do with how the senators are surviving the marathon days of arguments and the oddities of the Senate – from [what they can drink]( on the floor to the [comeback of fidget spinners](. — Brandon Carter, NPR Politics social media producer --------------------------------------------------------------- [Democratic presidential candidates link arms in an MLK march] Sean Rayford/Getty Images 2020: Get Ready For Political March Madness While impeachment is taking up all of the political oxygen right now, that is about to change. Voting in the Democratic nominating contest kicks off in just nine days with the Iowa caucuses. Iowa, which is followed by New Hampshire shortly afterward, is all about momentum. Those two states can, and do, make or break candidacies. In fact, only one person in the last 40 years has lost both states and won the Democratic nomination. That was Bill Clinton in 1992, and there were some extenuating circumstances with a home-state senator winning in one and a former senator from a neighboring state winning in the other. But, as important as Iowa and New Hampshire are, the race is far from over after them. Just 2% of the delegates will be allocated after them, and just 5% will be allocated after the early four, including Nevada and South Carolina. So get ready for some political March madness. A third of the delegates will be up for grabs on Super Tuesday, March 3, including California and Texas. March will include contests in 35 jurisdictions with eight primary and caucus dates and 62% of all delegates. By the end of April, 90% of all delegates will have been allocated. And that means we will likely have a pretty good idea who the nominee will be by then. — Domenico Montanaro, NPR’s senior political editor/correspondent --------------------------------------------------------------- [Democratic House impeachment managers]( Caroline Amenabar/NPR The Shot: The Prosecution Seven Democrats from the House of Representatives presented the case for removing President Trump from office in the ongoing impeachment trial. The team of "impeachment managers" is led by Rep. Adam Schiff of California, who chairs one of the committees that investigated Trump. [Here is the full list of members](. Find out more about [Trump's defense team here](. [Meet the managers]( What do you think of today's email? 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