The trial of President Trump

Senators are sworn in for the impeachment trial of President Trump; Europe could reimpose sanctions on Iran. Tonight's Sentences was written by Cameron Peters. TOP NEWS The Senate impeachment trial is starting Matt McClain/The Washington Post/Getty Images - The impeachment trial of President Donald Trump has officially begun. On Thursday, Chief Justice John Roberts was sworn in, and Roberts in turn swore all 100 senators — who will act as jurors in the Senate trial — under an oath of “impartial justice.” [[NYT / Michael D. Shear](] - A flurry of new information surrounding the Ukraine scandal has emerged even as the articles of impeachment go to trial. The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office released a decision Thursday that the Trump White House acted illegally when it placed a hold on security aid for Ukraine. [[Washington Post / Jeff Stein, Ellen Nakashima, and Erica Werner](] - And on Wednesday night, Lev Parnas, an associate of Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow that the president was never concerned about corruption in Ukraine: “It was strictly about Burisma, which included Hunter Biden and Joe Biden,” Parnas said. [[NBC / Phil Helsel](] - New documents, provided by Parnas and released by the House Intelligence Committee, have also sparked an investigation in Ukraine — just not the one the president wanted. Ukrainian police say they are investigating whether former US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch was being surveilled by affiliates of Giuliani, as the documents suggest. [[NPR / Bill Chappell](] - The recent deluge of information has elicited calls from Democrats for the Senate to admit new evidence and witnesses during the trial; some swing-vote Senate Republicans have indicated they would vote to call witnesses in the proceedings. [[WSJ / Natalie Andrews and Lindsay Wise](] - The trial will get started properly on Tuesday, January 21. Eventually, senators will vote whether to convict the president and remove him from office; a two-thirds majority is required for conviction, but the most likely outcome is acquittal following a party-line vote. [[Vox / Andrew Prokop](] - The case for conviction will be presented by seven House impeachment managers — all Democrats — who are tantamount to prosecutors in the Senate trial. [[Politico / Andrew Desiderio](] - The duration of the trial is uncertain, but Republicans — who have favored a quick trial — nonetheless expect it to stretch into next month and past the president’s February 4 State of the Union address to Congress. [[The Hill / Jordain Carney](] What's going on with the Iran deal? - The Iran nuclear deal is increasingly on the ropes after the United Kingdom, France, and Germany on Wednesday triggered a dispute resolution mechanism in the deal that could lead to European sanctions on Iran snapping back into place. [[NPR / Colin Dwyer](] - The three countries accused Iran of violating the terms of the 2015 deal but said in a joint statement that they hoped to find a way to preserve the deal — also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action — “in the sincere hope of finding a way forward through constructive diplomatic dialogue.” [[NYT / Steven Erlanger](] - Following the killing of a top Iranian general by the United States earlier in January, Iran announced that it would abandon many of its commitments under the deal, including on the stockpiling of enriched uranium. [[AP / Nasser Karimi, Jon Gambrell, and Zeina Karam](] - The confrontation may have been at least partially precipitated by pressure from President Donald Trump; the Trump administration threatened to impose a 25 percent tariff on European automobiles if the three European countries didn’t begin the dispute resolution process. [[Washington Post / John Hudson and Souad Mekhennet](] - While the UK, along with its European allies, is currently looking for a resolution that would preserve the deal, Prime Minister Boris Johnson recently alluded to a potential new “Trump deal” in lieu of the current JCPOA. [[BBC](] - For now, Iran appears to have wasted no time in departing from the terms of the deal. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced Thursday that the country is now producing more enriched uranium daily than before the deal was struck. [[CNN / Sara Mazloumsaki, James Frater and Jack Guy](] MISCELLANEOUS After a culinary miscue, the internet comes for New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. Again. [[NYT / Emma G. Fitzsimmons](] - After a devastating fire, France debates how to bring Notre Dame back to life. [[Washington Post / Philip Kennicott](] - Why people overpack. [[Vox / Terry Nguyen](] - For the median American, climate change is an omnipresent and worsening reality. [[The Atlantic / Robinson Meyer](] - With Patrick Stewart back on screen, can Star Trek recapture the Picard magic? [[NYT / Dave Itzkoff](] VERBATIM “I solemnly swear that in all things appertaining to the trial of the impeachment of President Donald John Trump, now pending, I will do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws, so help me God.” [[The juror’s oath, administered by Chief Justice John Roberts, that all 100 senators took on Thursday as the Senate trial begins / Washington Post](] LISTEN TO THIS Matt Yglesias and Ezra Klein unpack the debate that did, and didn't happen. [[Ezra Klein Show](] [Read more from Vox](#) [“Flood the zone with shit”: How misinformation overwhelmed our democracy]( [Australia’s weird weather is getting even weirder]( [Why Netflix’s fantastic new docuseries Cheer is so addictive]( [Google Chrome’s cookie ban is good news for Google — and maybe your privacy]( [The old-school pomp and circumstance of impeachment, briefly explained]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [YouTube]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. 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