“Today, the government’s independent watchdog agency, the Government Accountability Office, confirmed that President Trump violated the law when it withheld Congressionally appropriated military aid to Ukraine.  This comes on the heels of an admission last night by Lev Parnas, an indicted associate of the President’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, that President Trump was fully aware of the scheme to solicit a bribe from Ukrainian President Zelensky for his interference in the 2020 election in order to release this promised aid.  The release of shocking new documents allegedly confirming the President’s knowledge and direction of this scheme – and confirming an effort to harass former U.S. Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch – add to the growing body of evidence that, for this president, the law holds no power, the Constitution has no weight.  They attest to President Trump’s impeachable offenses, which the Senate must now consider under the oath of impartiality they will take today.    “The American people look to Congress to represent their hope and faith in the democracy that has protected them from tyranny and abuse of power for generations.  The Senate now faces its greatest test since its creation.  I urge senators to take seriously their Constitutional oaths – both to ‘support and defend the Constitution’ and to act impartially in judging whether this president has abused the power of his office by placing his own personal and political interests ahead of the nation’s and obstructing Congress in order to cover it up.  History will record their conduct in the days and weeks ahead; the American people are watching to see if their democracy still works, to know whether those they have chose to defend our Constitution will uphold that sacred faith.”