Where Are the Witnesses?

Jonathan Bernstein: “I thought the House managers and the Senate Democratic majority were making a big mistake by failing to take the time to gather testimony from witnesses before the trial — either in a special committee, or just by taking videotaped depositions as was done during Bill Clinton’s impeachment trial.”

“As it turned out, for the most part the evidence the managers presented was vivid and persuasive in most places. But there was one big exception: Trump’s actions during the insurrection. For that, the managers had to rely on news sources that were neither convincing nor comprehensive. Did Trump really revel in the riot? To what extent was he involved in efforts to secure the Capitol? Did people have to work around him? I don’t know if definitive answers to those questions would change anything, but in my view we don’t have full answers to any of them. It’s a real failure of what was otherwise a very good job by the House managers.”

“That said: No senator has voted yet. Witnesses could still come forward on their own and provide news interviews, or even just on-the-record statements, of what they know. It sure seems to me that anyone with direct evidence, whether it helps or harms Trump, should spill the beans now.”