From Far & Near   By Shashi Malla Democrats Laid Out the Case; Republicans Closed Ranks On Tuesday, it was not the expected boring Congressional pedantry. On the opening day of the Senate impeachment trial of 45th US President Donald J. Trump, the focus was on the rules. Democrats used the opportunity to revisit the revelations about Trump’s efforts to pressure Ukraine president into weakening his putative political opponent Joe Biden in the 2020 elections (CNN). House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s impeachment managers came prepared with videos and slides. Representative Adam Schiff of California and colleagues wove Democrats’ allegations against Trump into their arguments that the Senate should subpoena documents from the White House, State Department and Office of Management and Budget. This effort lasted hours and got Democrats nowhere in the Senate, as their pleas were rejected one by one on party-line votes [Republicans have a majority of 53 to 47 for Democrats] . However, other requests from Democrats are expected later on. Republicans’ Process Argument The Republican counter argument largely rested on process. This was the bogus idea that the House should have waited to get the required information through the courts rather than impeach Trump and ask the Senate to do the needful. One Republican Senator, Susan Collins of Maine was open to the possibility to subpoena documents and witnesses at a later stage in he trial. There was some acquiescing by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, giving a bit more time for opening statements and guaranteeing that the House evidence would be part of the record. But on the key points, Republicans stuck together on the first day. Bottom Line: The Senators, the informed public and the media pundits know all too well that the real trial is the 2020 elections: “ Vulnerable senatorssit in the dock, the jurors are voters, and the verdict won’t come back until November” (The Atlantic).