During remarks on the Senate floor, Sen. McConnell criticized the House Democratic impeachment case and refused to allow witnesses to be called at Trump’s trial.
McConnell said:
The fact that my colleague is already desperate to sign up the senate for new fact-finding which House Democrats themselves were too impatient to see through, well, that suggests something to me. It suggests that even Democrats who do not like this president are beginning to realize how dramatically insufficient the House’s rushed process has been.
Well, look, I hope the house of representatives sees that, too. If House Democrats’ case is this deficient, this thin, the answer is not for the judge and jury to cure it over here in the Senate. The answer is the House should not impeach on this basis in the first place. But if the House plows ahead, if this ends up here in the Senate, we certainly do not need jurors to start brainstorming witness lists for the prosecution and demanding to lock them in before we’ve even heard opening arguments.
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
Video:
Mitch McConnell makes it clear that Trump's impeachment trial will be a sham with no witnesses. pic.twitter.com/eSQ5qKLVKP
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) December 17, 2019
The Trump impeachment trial is going to be a sham. The Senate Majority Leader likes to hide behind the claim that Senators are jurors, but in this case, the majority of the jury has already made up its mind without hearing any evidence, and the jury foreman is coordinating with the defendant to rig the trial.
Democrats are going to have to use process to force endangered Republican Senators to go on the record as supporting McConnell’s sham. Majority Leader McConnell doesn’t have the votes that he needs to put his show trial plan into action, but it is clear that he is trying to rig the trial so that no evidence is presented, and Republicans sweep Trump’s crimes under the rug.
For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.
Follow Jason Easley on Facebook
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
