Here Are the Senate Rules for Trump's Trial and How McConnell Plans to Expedite It

The Senate impeachment trial of President Trump gets underway today, and even before the gavel strike, the two sides have been going head to head, arguing over the rules of the process.

The White House legal team argues the president of the United States did not abuse his power or obstruct Congress, calling the case against him "flawed" and a "dangerous perversion of the Constitution."

As the Senate takes up the articles of impeachment, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell revealed the ground rules for the trial late Monday afternoon.

Those rules call for several grueling 12-hour-long sessions designed to bring the trial to a quicker conclusion.

McConnell wants to give each side 24 hours spread over four days for opening statements with no guarantee that witnesses or new evidence would be allowed during the proceedings.

After that, senators will be given 16 hours to question the prosecution and defense teams, followed by four hours of debate.

Then there will be a vote to decide if the trial should continue.

McConnell's Democratic counterpart, Chuck Schumer, called the rules proposals a "cover-up" and rushed and vowed to press for a vote on the Senate floor on the matter of permitting new witnesses and documents.

"It's clear McConnell is hell bent on making it much more difficult to get witnesses and documents and intent on rushing the trial through," Schumer said.

Republicans pushed back on that argument.