Posted on 12/17/2019 11:46:33 AM PST by Oldeconomybuyer
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday ripped House Democrats' impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump as the "most unfair" in U.S. history and rejected Democrats' call for new witnesses as part of the Senate trial.
"It is not the Senate's job to leap into the breach and search desperately for ways to get to guilty," McConnell, R-Ky., 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. 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."
He also shredded the entire impeachment process by House Democrats as a “slapdash work product” that was “dumped on us in the Senate” and that “has failed to come anywhere near the bar for impeaching a duly elected president, let alone removing him for the first time in American history."
McConnell was responding to a proposal from Schumer, D-N.Y., Sunday night that called for Bolton and Mulvaney to be witnesses at an impeachment trial for Trump.
"We certainly do not need jurors to start brain-storming witness lists for the prosecution and demanding to lock them in before we have even heard opening arguments," McConnell said.
Moments later, Schumer responded that he “did not hear a single sentence, a single argument as to why the witnesses I suggested should not give testimony” in a Senate trial.
“Why is the leader, why is the president, so afraid of having these witnesses come testify?” Schumer said. He added that he wanted McConnell to provide “specific” reasons his requested witnesses shoudn’t testify.
“A trial without witnesses is not a trial,” Schumer added. “It’s a rush to judgement, it's a sham trial.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcnews.com ...
The house has no witnesses. LOL
Good. I want to see Mitch do another “Merrick Garland” on them...say it once, stand firm, and never give a millimeter.
Mitch, we would not be here today if you and Ryan had shown any backbone and open support for Trump in the first two years of his first term. You guys had the best opportunity to affect change we’ve had in 100 years, and you sat on your hands.
A parakeet could have done a better job.
Which is worst:
- The Jacobean Reign of Terror with their kangaroo proceedings
- The Spanish Inquisition which had no need for reasonableness in their proceedings
- The Democratic attempted coup d'etat thinly disguised as an impeachment proceeding which proceedings were utterly unconstitutional.
Chuck U. lies.
The president would LOVE a long drawn out trial in the Senate. It would vindicate him 20 different ways.
But... It would allow Chuck U. to call more "witnesses" and so no. The Senate needs to call an immediate vote to acquit. Over and done in one.
Throw Schiff and Schumer in a room with no witnesses? I’m liking the sound of that.
Plus Jeff Sessions.
The house could have gone to court to enforce their subpoenas, but they decided instead to impeach Trump for ignoring them. Now they have no witnesses and if McConnell makes a ruling that no hearsay evidence can be reviewed as part of the Senate Trial, then the only testimony they can review is Ambassador Sonderman. And his testimony can only confirm the President’s position.
I agree with McConnell. No live witnesses. Just go with the transcripts from the house hearing. And disallow all hearsay evidence in those transcripts.
Imagine wanting the people who ignored subpoenae not to ignore the subpoenae anymore. It’s outrageous.
They are uniparty. Not a surprise they didnt support Trump.
Agreed...
It was a jellyfish convention...
I agree that they are.
I still maintain McConnell is slow-walking judicial appointees also.
We still have two hanging from 2017, and there are plenty of 2018 people too.
Ending the trial quickly is the thing to do, but I’m afraid that won’t happen. Need 51 votes for an acquittal which the GOP has but won’t get when needed. Collins and Murkowski will not vote to acquit. Then there is Mitt Romney, that horrible, disgusting slug Senator from UTAH who will do whatever it takes to hurt Trump. No, this going to be a long drawn out trial that will serve no good.
But after the trial portion, remember, Trump can release anything he wants.
Sessions was the worst and it disgusts me that he is running for senate again. He’ll probably win, but I, for one, will never forget his role in allowing the whole attempted coup to get off the ground.
Hasn’t Trump had a very large number of judicial nominees confirmed, relative to past presidents?
Totally aqree.. He also required nomine3es to be somewhat acceptable to Schumer
When I commend McConnell I always feel like the roof will fall in any minute.
But, I do think he’s right here.
However, since the president was allowed no witnesses, I’d give only him the option.
Yes, but that is misleading.
We have two people holding over from 2017 waiting for their vote. We have many from 2018. We have a number of folks from six months are longer this year. All of them are simply waiting for the Senate vote. They’ve all been vetted at this point.
So while numbers are up, they aren’t where they should be.
This all matters because we never know how long we’ll have Trump.
When you have the chance, you act.
McConnell is still slow walking nominees. There’s no other way to address it at this point.
This is the same guy who joined up with Ryan to offer up only one large Legislative win for Trump (and more importantly the nation) during his first two years. That was the tax bill, and even it sunsets in 2024. It isn’t permanent.
Mitch should be ashamed.
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