They essentially have to agree on the rules/witnesses before they begin the proceeding from what I have heard (I think they did that in 1999).
It’s ironic of course considering how we’re being railroaded in the House.
This would not make any sense, because the defenders could refuse to agree to any witnesses, and then the prosecution would have no evidence.
The threat from the Senate GOP should be we get to call any witness we want or we acquit on the spot. Even Romney might agree to that if he’s being honest about wanting to seek out the truth.
A simple senate majority could change any rules, but you know they won’t in favor of Trump.
Which is why this whole ongoing soft-coup charade is so dangerous.
Fortunately public opinion is tilting away from support, but who knows what real or manufactured news could change that.
Slimy, but perfectly legal.
If there are any rules at all that can hamstring the GOP, the GOP will make sure that they are hamstrung by those rules.
If there are no rules that will hamstring the GOP, then the GOP will insert rules to hamstring itself.
I don’t trust a single one of them at all.
Not really. Rs need 50 votes or Ds can block.
So we can lose Minion, Tom Collins, and one other and still break the tie with Pence.
This whine is going nowhere.
I don’t trust McConnell to have a backbone in sorting out the hearing rules/witnesses....or even initiating a trial.
Don’t stress bc majority committee vote OR agreement...
So if the repubs stay together, they’ll get whatever (whoever) they want
Since I see the entire mess as posturing, and being political to gain FLOOR time and press coverage.... I think that a GREAT PLAY would be to forget it all, show a higher commitment to get laws passed, and show that gov’t was NOT meant to be continually bogged down in impeachment hearings, and opening more investigations. LETS GET SOMETHING DONE, the errs of the people who were in other administrations will come out in articles,books, and interviews, but it tears us all apart to keep bickering.
No. The current senate rules for impeachment trial are different.
https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/3_1986SenatesImpeachmentRules.pdf
When may the investigators be investigated ????
He’s not gonna be impeached. Everyone needs to lighten up. This is nothing more than show.
I think that only applies to conventional hearings, which is much of the reason we don’t hear much out of the Senate.
For impeachment, new ballgame, Trump’s team calls the witnesses and no one can block that.
My sense is that Senate will have to be very flexible in allowing witnesses to testify. The reason is that this is not the 19th century, or even the 20th century, anymore. There is a serious risk that the Senate would hold a “trial” with no witnesses ... while the President and dozens of real witnesses are all over Twitter and cable/internet media presenting a very formidable defense. At some point the Senate trial — and by extension the Senate itself — would become a farce to anyone except the most pathological Trump haters.
The Impeachment of Donald J...thousands of times more interesting than The Trial (Kafka) of Joseph K. Take notes. TAKE NAMES.
It's a losing proposition for dems.
No agreement, no trial, process over.
No damned problem anywhere in the procedure.
Stop with the fear mongering.