Why there are so many pens at the signing ceremony
From CNN's Lauren Fox
There's a lot pens set up for this evening's engrossment ceremony. This is the formal signing and delivery of the documents.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s staff said these multitudes of pens will be used by the Speaker as she signs the resolution.
Expect her to pick many of them up as she signs the resolution, which appoints House managers and officially transmitting the articles of impeachment.
Why so many? Aides say they will be given to others to signify today’s historic events. House managers may get some of them, but there are a few dozens.
5:05 p.m. ET, January 15, 2020
Senate Republicans say House managers will have to come back to formally present impeachment articles
From CNN's Ted Barrett
Julio Cortez/AP
Sen. Mitch McConnell's office said that after the House formally notifies the Senate it has named impeachment managers, the Senate has to set up a time for those managers to formally present them.
This is how Senate Republicans have expected tonight's handoff to go. While the impeachment mangers are expected to soon walk the articles to the Senate, Senate Republicans said they will not officially accept the articles.
Instead, they said they will inform the House managers they should return tomorrow to formally present the articles and read them aloud on the floor.
House Democrats have insisted that they expect the Senate Republicans to accept the articles of impeachment and still plan to attempt to deliver them.
Here's how David Popp, a spokesperson for McConnell, put it:
“Under Impeachment rules, once the House formally notifies the Senate it has appointed managers, the Senate is required to set a time for the House managers to exhibit the articles. This two-step process is specified in the rules of impeachment. When the Senate receives the initial message tonight, the body will formally invite the managers to exhibit the articles during tomorrow’s session of the Senate. Only at that time, when the House managers return at the invitation of the Senate, is it possible for the Senate to formally receive the exhibition of the Articles of Impeachment.”
4:26 p.m. ET, January 15, 2020
GOP senators won't commit to considering new evidence that may emerge during the trial
From CNN's Manu Raju
Sen. Lamar Alexander is seen in September 2019 in Washington. Astrid Riecken/Getty Images
Several Senate Republicans are non-committal on whether they will allow new evidence to be presented in the Senate trial.
"The question is would be why then did they bring the articles of impeachment if they didn't hear from the witnesses they wanted to hear and hadn't considered the evidence they want to consider," said Sen. Lamar Alexander, a Republican from Tennessee.
Asked if that meant he's opposed to hearing new evidence, Alexander said: "I didn't say that."
Sen. Roy Blunt, a member of Senate Republican leadership, said: "That sounds like a decision the chief justice and the Senate may have to make... I guess i would just deal with that as it comes up."
This comes amid talk by both House Intelligence Chair Adam Schiff and House Judiciary Chair Jerry Nader that Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas' reams of material could present even more evidence pertinent to the trial.
It is expected that Parnas' records released yesterday will be admissible at the trial. But if more evidence emerges during the trial, it's an open open question about whether that would be allowed to be presented.
How this could play out: If there's an objection by a senator or President Trump's defense team to new evidence, Chief Justice John Roberts could rule on it or punt on the issue and let the senators decide. Senators could also overrule the chief justice. Fifty-one senators would be needed to approve allowing new evidence to be presented.
4:23 p.m. ET, January 15, 2020
House Democrats and Senate Republicans have different ideas of what happens next
From CNN's Ted Barrett, Manu Raju and Phil Mattingly
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
There remains some disconnect and confusion between House Democrats and Senate Republicans about what exactly will happen during the 5 p.m. hour when House managers march to the Senate with the intent of delivering the articles of impeachment to the Senate.
What we know:
Senate Republicans say they will not officially accept the articles tonight and will instead inform the House managers they should return tomorrow to formally present the articles and read them aloud on the floor.
But House Democrats insist that they expect the Senate Republicans to accept the articles of impeachment and still plan to attempt to deliver them.
Here's the bottom line: Right now, we don’t know exactly what will happen but we should be able to see the managers march across the Capitol to the main entrance of the Senate chamber.
The House clerk could go on the floor and read aloud a message to the Senate that the House has articles of impeachment to present to the Senate.
It’s also possible the House managers would attempt to enter the Senate chamber (they have floor privileges) and deliver the articles to the Secretary of the Senate or whatever official is there. We just don’t know yet.
4:22 p.m. ET, January 15, 2020
What to expect when the House managers walk the articles of impeachment to the Senate
From CNN's Manu Raju and Haley Byrd
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is expected to hold an engrossment ceremony at 5 p.m. ET. This is the formal signing and delivery of the documents.
After that, the impeachment managers — seven Democrats who are serving as the prosecutors in the Senate trial — will walk across the Capitol with the articles in a blue folder. The House Clerk and House Sergeant at Arms will be with them as they walk to the Senate.
Here's what we're expecting when they get to the Senate:
Senate leadership aides say the Senate will not accept the articles tonight.
Instead, the House Clerk will read a message to the Senate, saying the articles are ready to be delivered.
The Senate will then send a message back to the House saying it is ready to exhibit the articles and receive the managers — and specify a time, which is expected to be tomorrow.
This will set up the managers to return as soon as tomorrow morning, when they will formally deliver the articles and read the articles aloud on the floor.
3:19 p.m. ET, January 15, 2020
Senate trial rules: No phones or talking to your neighbor
The Senate has drafted a document on decorum guidelines for the impeachment trial, including rules senators — who will be serving as jurors — must follow.
John Roberts, the chief justice of the Supreme Court, will preside over the trial, and senators have been told hey must be in attendance for all proceedings.
Here are a few of the rules mentioned in the guidelines:
They must be quiet: "Members should refrain from speaking to neighboring senators while the case is being presented."
They can't have their phones: "No use of phones or electronic devices will be allowed in the Chamber."
They have to call Roberts by this title: During the course of the proceedings the Chief Justice should be referred to as "Mr. Chief Justice."
When they vote, they must stand: "Should votes be required during the proceedings, Senators will stand and vote from their seats."
3:03 p.m. ET, January 15, 2020
Nadler: "There may very well be" more evidence from Giuliani associate that should be admissible
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler said “there may very well be” more evidence from Lev Parnas that could be used in Senate trial.
Asked today if that would be admissible in the Senate trial, Nadler told CNN's Manu Raju: “Of course it would be if the Senate is a real trial.”
Nadler added: “We will work that out” when asked how the impeachment managers would divide up their work.
Joseph A. Bondy, Parnas' New York attorney, traveled to Washington, DC, last weekend to hand-deliver the contents of an iPhone 11 to Democratic staff on the House Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, according to a series of Bondy's tweets.
Parnas has also provided investigators with documents, recordings, photos, text messages on WhatsApp, an encrypted messaging platform, and materials from a Samsung phone, according to Bondy. Material from two other devices, an iPad and another iPhone, are also expected to be shared with them.
Parnas, his business partner Igor Fruman, and two others were charged with funneling foreign money into US elections and using a straw donor to obscure the true source of political donations. They have all pleaded not guilty to the charges.
2:57 p.m. ET, January 15, 2020
Trump still comfortable going to Switzerland during the impeachment trial, spokesperson says
From CNN's Maegan Vazquez
White House deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley said the President is still comfortable with going to Davos, Switzerland next week for the World Economic Forum, even under the cloud of impeachment,
But pressed on whether Trump would actually go, Gidley said: “He is scheduled to go and we are prepared to go but we’ll see what happens.”
On other scheduling matters, Gidley said there was no announcement or change to State of the Union plans, which could potentially be delivered during the trial.
2:50 p.m. ET, January 15, 2020
House managers are meeting now to discuss strategy
From CNN's Manu Raju and Laurie Ure
The seven House impeachment managers are having a strategy meeting right now in the House Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility.
CNN spotted Reps. Zoe Lofgren and Hakeem Jeffries, who both told CNN that they learned of their appointments yesterday. Lofgren said it was a “serious group.”
CNN also spotted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi walking into the House SCIF earlier.
