About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 29, 2020)
TODAYS TOP HEADLINES The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com Wednesday, January 29, 2020 3A Testimonies more likely GOP lacks votes to block trial witnesses, McConnell concedes PATRICK SEMANSKY I Associated Press Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., departs the chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, Jan. 27, after the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress ended for the day. Peace plan exults Israelis, enrages Palestinians BY ERIC TUCKER, ZEKE MILLER AND LISA MASCARO Associated Press WASHINGTON - Repub licans lack the votes to block witnesses at President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell conceded late Tuesday, a potentially major hurdle for Trump’s hopes to end the trial with a quick acquittal. Earlier, Trump’s lawyers concluded his defense with a plea to move on. Even after sitting through days and late nights of argu ment, several Republicans apparently are ready to join Democrats in considering in- person testimony from former National Security Adviser John Bolton and perhaps others. Trump’s lawyers made their closing case for a speedy acquittal Tuesday, but to no avail. McConnell told colleagues in a private meeting that he did not yet have the votes to block Democrats from summon ing witnesses. That outcome would prolong an election- year trial that Trump and his legal team had hoped was on track, as one lawyer said, to “end now, as soon as possible.” McConnnell’s statement, in a closed-door meeting of senators, was an acknowledg ment of the extent to which revelations from Bolton have scrambled the trial’s schedule and the desire for testimony. Bolton writes in a forthcom ing book that Trump told him he wanted to withhold mili tary aid from Ukraine until it helped with investigations into Democratic rival Joe Biden. That assertion, if true, would undercut a key defense argu ment and go to the heart of one major article of impeachment against the president. Trump complained anew at a rally in Wildwood, New Jersey, focusing on Demo crats rather than Republican senators. “While we are creating jobs and killing terrorists, the congressional Democrats are obsessed with demented hoaxes, crazy witch hunts and deranged partisan crusades,” he said. There are still several days before any potential witness vote would be taken. A deci sion to call more witnesses would require 51 votes to pass. With a 53-47 majority, Repub licans can only afford to lose three. If senators agree they want more witnesses they would then have to vote again on who to call. McConnell convened the private meeting shortly after Trump’s legal team concluded their arguments in the trial, arguing forcefully against the relevance of testimony from Bolton and insisting that noth ing Trump had done amounted to an impeachable offense. While scoffing at Bolton’s book manuscript, Trump and the Republicans have strongly resisted summoning him to testify in person about what he saw and heard as Trump’s top national security adviser. A day after the defense team largely brushed past Bolton, attorney Jay Sekulow addressed the controversy head-on by dismissing the book — said to contradict a key defense argument about Trump’s dealings with Ukraine — as “inadmissible.” Senate Republicans spent considerable time in private discussing how to deal with Bolton’s manuscript without extending the proceedings or jeopardizing the president’s expected acquittal. Those lost steam, and Democrats showed no interest. Chuck Schumer, the Sen ate’s top Democrat, called a proposal for senators to be shown the manuscript in pri vate, keeping Bolton out of public testimony, “absurd.” “We’re not bargaining with them. We want four witnesses, and four sets of documents, then the truth will come out,” Schumer said. BY ARON HELLER AND MATTHEW LEE Associated Press WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump unveiled his long-awaited Mideast peace plan Tues day alongside a beaming Benjamin Netanyahu, presenting a vision that matched the Israeli lead er’s hard-line, nationalist views while falling far short of Palestinian ambitions. Trump’s plan envisions a disjointed Palestinian state that turns over key parts of the West Bank to Israel. It sides with Israel on key contentious issues that have bedeviled past peace efforts, including borders and the status of Jerusalem and Jewish settlements, and attaches nearly impos sible conditions for grant ing the Palestinians their hoped-for state. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed the plan as “nonsense” and vowed to resist it. Netan yahu called it a “historic breakthrough” equal in sig nificance to the country’s declaration of indepen dence in 1948. He vowed to immedi ately press forward with his plans to annex the stra tegic Jordan Valley and all the Israeli settlements in occupied lands. Netanyahu said he’d ask his Cabinet to approve the annexation plans in their next meeting on Sunday, an explosive move that could trigger harsh international reac tion and renewed violence with the Palestinians. Given the Palestinian opposition, the plan seems unlikely to lead to any sig nificant breakthrough. But it could give a power ful boost to both Trump and Netanyahu who are both facing legal problems ahead of tough elections. Trump called his plan a “win-win” for both Israel and the Palestinians, and urged the Palestinians not to miss their opportunity for independence. But Abbas, who accuses the U.S. of unfair bias toward Israel, rejected it out of hand. “We say 1,000 no’s to the Deal of the Cen tury,” Abbas said, using a nickname for Trump’s proposal. “We will not kneel and we will not surrender,” he said, adding that the Pal estinians would resist the plan through “peaceful, popular means.” The Palestinians seek all of the West Bank and east Jerusalem — areas captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war — for an independent state and the removal of many of the more than 700,000 Israeli settlers from these areas. Under the terms of the “peace vision,” all settlers would remain in place, and Israel would retain sovereignty over all of its settlements as well as the strategic Jordan Valley. Jet evacuates Americans from China outbreak zone BEIJING — Countries on Wednesday began evacuat ing their citizens from the Chinese city hardest-hit by an outbreak of a new virus that has killed 132 people and infected more than 6,000 on the mainland and abroad. China’s latest figures cover the previous 24 hours and add 26 to the number of deaths, 25 of which were in the central province of Hubei and its capital, Wuhan, the epicenter of the out break. The 5,974 cases on the mainland marked a rise of 1,459 from the previous day, although that rise is a smaller increase than the 1,771 new cases reported on Monday. Early Wednesday morn ing, a plane carrying Ameri cans who had been in Wuhan left for Anchorage, Alaska, where they will be rescreened for the virus. Hospitals are prepared to treat or quarantine people who may be infected. Then the plane is scheduled to fly to Ontario, California. Associated Press HULSEY PLUMBING RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL Call us! We’ll be there! 770-536-1161 PLUMBING SEPTIC WATER HEATERS www.HulseyPlumbing.com Hale Honeybells The once a year citrus sensation! Sweet as honey, incredibly juicy, fiery orange and shaped like a bell. Rare Hale Honeybells are available in limited quantities for one month only. 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