“ Why would anyone want a Republican Senator to call a witness in a matter that hasn’t even been formally adjudicated by the House yet?”
In order to kill the impeachment - keep the House from doing it - by showing it’s a sham
You really want Trump to get impeached by the House? He’ll have that attached to his name throughout history, and it will weaken the rest of his presidency
You act as if the U.S. Senate has any control over what the House does in a situation like this.
No offense, but please get a clue about how Congress works.
I think it’s likely Trump will be impeached no matter what. The evidence doesn’t exist, because if it did they would put it out there for all to see. So they do it in secret to leak just the innuendo they want. And then they draft “rules” that prevent the minority from introducing witnesses or testimony and even hampering their ability to ask questions, nor let the accused have representation.
This is all one big parlour trick which to use a poker analogy tells us that a) they are going to go all in impeach him regardless of due process, fairness or evidence and b) that they are bluffing.
So, nothing really imo the Senate can do but wait for the House to make its move. Then the Senate can acquit, and then the Senate and the POTUS can return fire. Anything they do now will just be perceived and reported on as squabbling. And the import of the information they have will be lost in the mix.
I could be wrong of course, we’ll see how it plays out. Been plenty disappointed by the GOP these last years. But to me it makes more sense for them to let the other side use up all their ammo, miss, and then return fire when they have their undivided attention.