“I’m not an impartial juror. This is a political process. I’m not impartial about this at all.”
— Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), quoted by The Hill, on the impeachment trial for President Trump.
“I’m not an impartial juror. This is a political process. I’m not impartial about this at all.”
— Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), quoted by The Hill, on the impeachment trial for President Trump.
CNN: “Under the plain terms of the U.S. Constitution and Senate rules, Roberts could wield a powerful gavel and rule on evidence and witnesses. Senate impeachment canon, dating to 1986, says the presiding officer ‘may rule on all questions of evidence.’ The chief justice’s decision would stand unless overruled by a formal majority vote of the full Senate.”
“Roberts could, if he were so inclined, assume an outsized role in Trump’s fate.”
“But that would be a break from precedent and contradict Roberts’ own reserved manner. His predecessor in the role, Chief Justice William Rehnquist who oversaw the 1999 Bill Clinton impeachment trial, refused to assert great authority, saying in one episode he would claim authority only when ‘its exercise were clearly warranted.'”
“It’s not that I don’t have any point of view, it’s just that I’m not willing to share that point of view till I’ve had the chance to talk to others and get their perspectives.”
— Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), when asked by CNN if he wants witnesses at a Senate impeachment trial.
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In his fiery speech, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell rejected Sen. Chuck Schumer’s efforts to tie a resolution on impeachment trial procedures to an effort to call several current and former White House officials to testify, ABC News reports.
Said McConnell: “Those who have been eagerly hoping for impeachment are starting to scramble.”
Walter Shapiro: “If there was a moment that defined the decade, it was a Capitol Hill meeting in early September 2016 when top Obama administration officials (including Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and FBI director James Comey) briefed congressional leaders on the Russian hacking of the election.”
“But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, in particular, challenged the intelligence findings and refused to sign a joint letter singling out Vladimir Putin…”
“In many ways, McConnell is the Person of the Decade when it comes to the destruction of democratic norms. From cynically depriving Merrick Garland of a confirmation vote for a seat on the Supreme Court to turning the Senate into a no-dissent rubber stamp for a Republican president, McConnell symbolizes the vicious partisanship of a dismal decade.”
Politico: “If the process plays out as everyone believes it will, impeachment will end with an acquittal in the Senate, and the House’s efforts to protect the integrity of the 2020 election will have proved counterproductive: President Trump, claiming a ‘full exoneration,’ could be emboldened to engage in misconduct similar to or even worse than his interactions with Ukraine.”
“But there is a way out of this mess that would let the House impeach him—while allowing the Senate to only censure Trump, rather than having to vote to convict or acquit him. The House could express its disapproval of Trump through an impeachment vote, and the Senate, through censure rather than a trial, could embrace, even enhance, the House’s message. Yes, Trump would stay in office. But because both chambers of Congress would be on the record in officially condemning his conduct, there is a decent chance this approach might deter Trump from similar elections abuse.”
“Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer proposed calling former national security adviser John Bolton and acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney as witnesses at an impeachment trial for President Trump in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Sunday,” NBC News reports.
“The offer is intended as a signal that Democrats are seeking an evidentiary trial, not intending to simply rely on the House investigation.”
Axios: “The Senate Democratic leader’s request — particularly his call for additional impeachment witnesses — may appeal to some moderate Republicans but is sure to meet forceful resistance from President Trump and McConnell.”
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler accused Senate Republicans of violating their oath to be impartial jurors in an impeachment trial, as GOP senators defended their right to work for President Trump’s acquittal, the Washington Post reports.
Said Nadler: “That’s in violation of the oath that they’re about to take, and it’s a complete subversion of the constitutional scheme.”
“House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said he would like for some witnesses to be called during the expected Senate impeachment trial against President Trump and for withheld administration documents to be introduced as evidence,” CNN reports.
Said Schiff: “I think there are any number of witnesses that should be called in the Senate trial, and many witnesses the American people would like to hear from that the administration has refused to make available. And perhaps of equal and if not greater importance are the thousands and thousands of documents that the administration refuses to turn over. I would hope that every senator of both parties would like to see the documentary evidence.”
“Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is inviting Rudy Giuliani, President Trump’s personal lawyer, to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee about his recent trip to Ukraine,” The Hill reports.
“I am trying to give a pretty clear signal I have made up my mind. I’m not trying to pretend to be a fair juror here.”
— Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), in an interview with CNN, on the Senate impeachment trial.
Sen. Lindsey Graham said he will do everything in his power to quickly end an expected impeachment trial in the Republican-led Senate, CNN reports.
Said Graham: “This thing will come to the Senate, and it will die quickly, and I will do everything I can to make it die quickly.”
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) told Fox News that Republicans would be in sync with the White House counsel when impeachment proceedings against President Trump advance to the Senate.
Said McConnell: “I’m coordinating with the White House counsel. There will be no difference between the president’s position and our position as to how to handle this, to the extent that we can.”
Politico: “The GOP is uniting around a strategy that could quickly acquit President Donald Trump of articles of impeachment while giving them the opportunity to call witnesses later in the trial if Republicans and the president are not satisfied with how things are going, according to interviews with nearly a dozen Republican senators on Thursday.
“Heading into the trial, Republicans’ plan would be to call no witnesses and simply allow House Democrats and then the president’s attorneys to make their case before the public. After that, the Senate would consider calling people either for live testimony or closed-door depositions. It’s a plan they believe will insulate the Senate GOP from pressure to call a host of controversial witnesses — which the caucus would struggle to do for political and procedural reasons alike — while putting Trump on track to be cleared before the end of January.”
“Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and President Trump’s top lawyer sketched out a plan Thursday to coordinate closely for an impeachment trial but haven’t reached agreement on a final strategy to defend Trump against charges of high crimes and misdemeanors,” CNN reports.
“I’m not in the camp of calling a bunch of witnesses… I think as an American, the best thing we do is deep-six this thing.”
— Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), quoted by Axios, arguing for a short impeachment trial in the Senate.
“Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and President Donald Trump clinched their 50th circuit court judge in just three years on Wednesday, only five short of President Barack Obama’s record over an eight-year period. And McConnell isn’t done yet,” Politico reports.
“Now that he’s filled virtually every vacancy in the powerful appellate court system, the Senate majority leader will try and cram through 18 lower-level lifetime judges next week, some of them supported by Democrats.”
“Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is expected to hold a final vote to acquit President Trump should he be impeached, when a majority of senators believe his trial has run its course instead of holding a vote on dismissing the articles of impeachment,” CNN reports.
“That’s significant, because Republicans want to have a vote on acquittal — to clear the President of the charges against him — not simply rely on a 51-vote threshold procedural motion to dismiss the hotly disputed case.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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