周三，全国各地将举行集会，抗议参议院预计对唐纳德·特朗普总统的弹劾无罪释放。
从迈阿密和纽约到洛杉矶和西雅图，“拒绝掩盖”的抗议将延伸到美国大陆的四个角落。他们定于当地时间下午5:30举行，随后将在下午4:00由共和党控制的众议院投票，宣布总统因滥用权力和阻挠国会而被弹劾的条款无罪。
“我们现在计划了160多项活动，预计全国将有数万人参加集会，”美国站起来新闻秘书瑞安·托马斯说新闻周刊。
“我们正在动员全国成千上万的抗议者，以表明选民正在关注，我们会记住是谁选择了懦弱而不是爱国主义，”自由激进组织“美国站起来”的创始人和主席肖恩·埃尔德里奇说，该组织是领导抗议的几个组织之一。
民主党人周五没有召集足够的票数传唤文件和证人例如前国家安全顾问约翰·博尔顿，尽管得到了犹他州共和党人米特·罗姆尼和缅因州苏珊·科林斯的支持。民主党指责他们的共和党同事进行“掩盖”和“虚假”审判，因为他们不想要证人，尤其是在最近几周特朗普与乌克兰的交易出现更多指控的情况下。
民主党人认为，不试图从第一手证人那里获得更多证据的审判将宣告无罪“毫无意义”
埃尔德里奇补充道:“参议院共和党人阻止证人在参议院作证，从而抛弃了所有民主规范和几十年的先例。”。"在封锁关键证据后做出的任何‘无罪’都不是免责，而是掩盖事实."
1月29日，抗议者聚集在美国国会大厦附近，在华盛顿特区集会反对美国总统唐纳德·特朗普
周一上午11点开始，双方将平均分配四个小时给众议院弹劾管理人员和总统辩护律师进行结案陈词。参议员们将有机会在周三下午之前发表演讲，直到最后投票。
特朗普将于周二晚上在众议院发表国情咨文。白宫立法事务主任埃里克·尤兰德周五告诉记者，特朗普在向国会发表年度演讲前未能无罪释放，这不会影响“他传递强大而自信的国情咨文的能力”
这100多次抗议在全国范围内，进步的基层组织“站起来，美国，共同事业和公众公民”正在组织起来，并得到了类似团体联盟的支持，包括“人民，不可分割，绿色和平”，真相游行，弹劾需要，塞拉俱乐部和妇女游行。保守的反特朗普团体“站出来共和”也将参与其中。
许多抗议将发生在共和党参议员办公室附近或外面，他们投票反对证人，因为他们认为不需要更多证据来得出特朗普无罪的结论。他们认为弹劾程序是民主党人的政治和非法努力。
尽管越来越多的人承认特朗普迫使乌克兰调查包括前副总统乔·拜登在内的民主党人，同时拒绝军事援助，但他们认为特朗普的行为是不可弹劾的。
参议员拉马尔·亚历山大(共和党人)今年没有寻求连任，他说:“那时的问题不在于总统是否这样做，而在于美国参议院或美国人民是否应该决定对他的所作所为做些什么。”证人的两个共和党通配符之一，在一份声明中说。“我认为宪法规定人民应该在周一爱荷华州开始的总统选举中做出决定。”
参议员莉萨·穆尔科斯基(阿拉斯加州共和党人)是另一个共和党通配符。
她在一份声明中解释道:“考虑到弹劾案从一开始就具有党派性质，我得出的结论是参议院不会有公平审判。”。“我不相信这个过程的继续会改变任何事情。我很难过地承认，作为一个机构，国会已经失败了。”
'REJECT THE COVER-UP' PROTESTS ACROSS U.S. TO FOLLOW TRUMP'S IMPEACHMENT ACQUITTAL
Rallies are set to take place across the country on Wednesday to protest the expected impeachment acquittal of President Donald Trump by the Senate.
From Miami and New York to Los Angeles and Seattle, 'Reject the Cover-Up' protests will stretch to all four corners of the continental United States. Scheduled to take place at 5:30 p.m. local time, they will follow a 4 p.m. vote by the GOP-controlled chamber to acquit the president of articles of impeachment for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
"We're now at over 160 events planned and expect tens of thousands of rally-goers across the country," Press Secretary for Stand Up America Ryan Thomas told Newsweek.
"We're mobilizing thousands of protesters across the country to make it clear that voters are watching, and we'll remember who chose cowardice over patriotism," said Sean Eldridge, founder and president of Stand Up America, a liberal activist group that's one of several organizations leading the protests.
Democrats failed to muster enough votes on Friday to subpoena documents and witnesses, such as former national security adviser John Bolton, despite receiving support from Republicans Mitt Romney of Utah and Susan Collins of Maine. Democrats have accused their GOP colleagues of conducting a "cover-up" and a "sham" trial for not wanting witnesses, particularly amid additional claims regarding Trump's Ukraine dealings that have surfaced in recent weeks.
A trial without trying to obtain more evidence from first-hand witnesses, Democrats have argued, would render an acquittal "meaningless."
"Senate Republicans have thrown all democratic norms and decades of precedent out of the window by preventing witnesses from testifying before the Senate," Eldridge added. "Any 'acquittal' made after blocking key evidence is not an exoneration, it's a cover-up."
Protesters gather near the US Capitol on January 29 as they rally against US President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C.
Four hours divided equally between each side will be afforded to the House impeachment managers and the president's defense on Monday, starting at 11 a.m., for closing arguments. Senators will then have the opportunity to make floor speeches until Wednesday afternoon, leading up to the final vote.
Trump will deliver the State of the Union address Tuesday evening in the House. White House Legislative Affairs Director Eric Ueland told reporters Friday that the inability to acquit Trump before his annual speech to Congress will not interfere "with his ability to deliver a strong and confident State of the Union message."
The more than 100 protests across the country are being organized by progressive grassroots organizations Stand Up America, Common Cause and Public Citizen, along with support from a coalition of similar groups, including By the People, Indivisible, Greenpeace, March For Truth, Need to Impeach, Sierra Club and Women's March. Conservative anti-Trump group Stand Up Republic will also be involved.
Many of the protests will occur near or outside the offices of Republican senators, who voted against witnesses because they believed more evidence was not needed to reach a conclusion on Trump's innocence. They deemed the impeachment process as a political and illegitimate endeavor by Democrats.
While an increasing number have conceded that Trump pressured Ukraine into investigating Democrats, including former Vice President Joe Biden, while withholding military assistance, they believe his actions are not impeachable.
"The question then is not whether the president did it, but whether the United States Senate or the American people should decide what to do about what he did," Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), who is not seeking reelection this year and was one of two GOP wildcards on witnesses, said in a statement. "I believe that the constitution provides that the people should make that decision in the presidential election that begins in Iowa on Monday."
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) was the other Republican wildcard.
"Given the partisan nature of this impeachment from the very beginning and throughout, I have come to the conclusion that there will be no fair trial in the Senate," she explained in a statement. "I don't believe the continuation of this process will change anything. It is sad for me to admit that, as an institution, the Congress has failed."
