Whatever the trial’s outcome, however, protesters made it clear that they had already come to their own conclusion about the question of the president’s innocence, with demonstrators marching behind a banner emblazoned with the words: “Trump is guilty.”
The demonstration was organized as part of the “March for Truth,” a movement demanding transparency in the ongoing impeachment trial, as well as for the president’s removal from office.
“Tonight New Yorkers marched from Times Square to demand witnesses in the impeachment trial of Donald John Trump,” March for Truth tweeted on Wednesday, sharing video of the demonstration.
“It’s time for [Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell] to recognize an acquittal without a real trial is not exoneration—it’s a sham. We won’t stand for it!” the organization said.
The rally comes as McConnell and other Republican senators face intense pressure from Democrats and the public for a more thorough process in the impeachment trial.
Democrats have been pushing for the opportunity to question a number of key figures as witnesses, including former National Security Advisor John Bolton, who reportedly claims in an upcoming book that Trump told him he wanted to withhold aid to Ukraine unless the country agreed to investigate political rival Joe Biden. Bolton was fired by Trump back in September.
Bolton’s account, Democrats have said, is critical to the trial, with Trump’s pressuring Ukraine to investigate Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, being at the center of the impeachment scandal.
The president was impeached in December and charged with abuse of power and obstructing Congress in a bid to pressure Ukraine to investigate the two Bidens.
On Wednesday, Trump attacked Bolton, lashing out at his former adviser on Twitter, saying: “If I listened to him, we would be in World War Six by now.” The president then accused Bolton of having gone and immediately written “a nasty & untrue book. All Classified National Security. Who would do this?”
At this point, the president is not expected to appear at his own trial. He has been pushing Republicans to wrap it up before his quickly approaching State of the Union address next week.
Newsweek has contacted the White House, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and March for Truth organizers for comment.
