WATCH: Senators question claim that Ukraine didn’t know about aid pause | Trump impeachment trial

Trump's first impeachment - 2020

President Donald Trump’s lawyers were questioned about their assertion that Ukraine did not know there was a pause on U.S. military aid until POLITICO published an article on the topic in August. Deputy White House counsel Mike Purpura said a Defense Department official’s testimony that Ukrainians were asking about the aid earlier via email in the summer was too vague and did not specify that they asked about a pause on the aid. House Democrats then countered that the Senate should subpoena those emails, and presented other instances of Ukrainian officials asking about the aid prior to the POLITICO article. Senators had their first chance to ask questions of the House managers and Trump’s legal team on Wednesday, Jan. 29. That came after both sides were given three days, respectively, to present their case. The House of Representatives impeached Trump in December on two articles -- abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The questions come ahead of a vote on whether to bring forward witnesses and documents as part of the Senate trial. The senate must now decide whether to acquit the president or convict him of the charges and remove him from office.

For more on who’s who in the Trump impeachment inquiry, read

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