Friends -

Every day of the impeachment trial, Senator Murphy is writing a bit about his read of the day’s events. He’ll share his thoughts and insights and try to give some behind-the-scenes vignettes. He wants to make sure the trial is as transparent as possible.

Below are Senator Murphy’s takeaways from Donald Trump’s lawyer’s second day of opening arguments yesterday.

- Team Murphy

Sunday night, I'm doing the grocery shopping and my phone starts lighting up. Brian Schatz is the first to text me about the Bolton story. I read it, mouth agape, in the middle of the cereal aisle.

I've kept in touch with my Republican Senate friends over the weekend, and I know the few wanting witnesses were on the verge of losing the case. I wonder if the Bolton news is too late, with too many GOP Senators resolved to speed the trial to an end.

As the trial begins, I start getting asked by press about a proposal by my friend Senator Toomey to pair Bolton's testimony with testimony from Hunter Biden. I tell reporters it sounds like a bad idea.

As the testimony starts, I lean over and apologize to Elizabeth Warren about the bad cough I picked up (from one of my kids, no doubt) over the weekend. It's going to be pretty annoying to sit next to me today, but she's a good sport.

You could hear a pin drop as Ken Starr has the gall to lecture the Senate on how the "age of impeachment" has been so dangerous for America. Mouths hang open on the Democratic side. A famous Alanis Morissette song rattles around in my head.

Pam Bondi and the other Trump lawyers spend most of the day savaging the Bidens (as expected), and it becomes crystal clear to me: Trump is trying to use the trial to do what Ukraine wouldn't — destroy his political rivals.

At dinner, I do a quick MSNBC appearance, and then I tell a gathering of reporters that Senate Democrats would be "co-conspirators" with Trump if we allowed the Senate floor to become a forum for his Biden-trashing operation. I'm hot about this, and I let it show.

At the end of the day, I have one more goal — find Jayvon Eason. The new class of Senate pages started today, and I nominated Jayvon, an honors student from Waterbury, to the post. I find him and we chat for a few. "Quite the first day of work,'' I tell him.