Posted on 01/25/2020 12:35:17 PM PST by Kaslin
Whenever an impeachment trial takes place, it's the House's job to gather evidence, obtain documents and hear witnesses before presenting the case to the Senate. The Senate's job is to hear the case and be impartial. They're essentially the jurors and decide whether or not the president is removed from office.
Although the Senate is supposed to be impartial and open, the votes thus far have come down on party lines. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), a Blue Dog Democrat, is actually following the impartiality factor.
Before Saturday's opening statements from the president's defense team, Manchin said he took his "oath to the Constitution to protect and defend and [his] oath of impartiality."
Manchin on President's legal team presenting today at trial vs House managers arguments: "I'm sure there's things that will be said today that will upset Democrats. This is the tough situation that we're in. It's the most serious thing that I've ever done as an elected official." pic.twitter.com/CN2H7bw9gK— Craig Caplan (@CraigCaplan) January 25, 2020
Manchin: "I take my oath extremely seriously, my oath to the Constitution to protect and defend and my oath of impartiality. I want to see and hear from the defense counsel today and we'll see where we go from there."— Craig Caplan (@CraigCaplan) January 25, 2020
After Saturday's hearing, Manchin gave President Trump's team kudos for making him think about the House's case and their lack of witnesses.
Sen. Joe Manchin told me Trump’s team did a “good job” and are “making me think about things.” He added: “One thing that stuck in my mind is they said there isn’t a witness they have had so far that had direct contact with the president. I’d love to hear from Mulvaney and Bolton”— Manu Raju (@mkraju) January 25, 2020
Asked if he’s thinking about acquittal, Manchin said: “I’ll be very impartial til the end.”— Manu Raju (@mkraju) January 25, 2020
Lefties believe Manchin made the point that witnesses should be called.
I think we can all agree with Manchin that Trump’s lawyers are absolutely right to suggest we need direct witnesses. ?? https://t.co/bRzpmwwuLE— Duncan Jones (@ManMadeMoon) January 25, 2020
Some even believe he will side with Republicans.
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Joe Manchin is totally going to fold on Democrats again and side with Trump. His whole act is about as convincing as Susan Collins. https://t.co/N5zD3NxTq6— Adam Best (@adamcbest) January 25, 2020
Watch for Manchin being a yes on witnesses and no on removal. https://t.co/dsRvJ95iOQ— Ross Garber (@rossgarber) January 25, 2020
The sad part is we're so politically divided that being impartial is looked at as a bad thing when it's something every senator should strive for, especially when listening to an impeachment trial.
There is more than him at this point.
Manchin talks big, but never follows through
Ok Manchin is slimey enough not to hang. Let’s see the vote.
“One thing that stuck in my mind is...
I want to win reelection!
Drama queen going for another spell in the spotlight.
If there are witnesses then the Republicans in the Senate are absolute morons.
The Democrats will drag that on for 6 months if they do.
Don’t do the job the House should have done.
Every democrat senator should see this for what it is, and do the right thing and vote against impeachment.
Just because the house went looney tunes doesn’t mean you have to be a lemming and follow them.
I'm disappointed.
Has Doug Jones said anything?
That's not what Trump's lawyers said. They pointed out that the House Democrats FAILED to present a case with any direct witnesses ... but conducted hours of hearings from witnesses who had NO direct contact with President Trump. Importantly, they presented their case as if these "witnesses" were just as credible as witnesses who DID have contact with the President.
That doesn't mean you call new witnesses now. That means you throw the case out on its ass.
Democrats outnumber Republicans among registered West Virginia voters, but WV also voted for Trump over Clinton by the largest margin of any state in 2016.
“Just because the house went looney tunes doesn’t mean you have to be a lemming and follow them.”
SCHUMER!
If the democrats had any REAL witnesses, they would have already called them. All they have is opinion. The opinion witnesses they did have, all admitted they never saw or heard the president do any of the things democrats claim he did. I guess the House managers forgot to explain that yesterday.
Senators like Manchin know that voting against Trump will only hurt, and that there is zero chance of removing him. There will likely be a few defects from the Dem ranks, unless political suicide is the goal.
Latest from Doug Jones on AL.com:
https://www.al.com/news/2020/01/sen-doug-jones-renews-call-for-witnesses-in-impeachment-trial.html
Jones is of course the Dem senator of deep red Alabama who won the special election against Roy Moore. He’s saying the House managers made a strong case and is critical of the defense but concedes the defense made a few troubling points. His basic message is that he wants to hear from witnesses.
So a Democrat is going to vote for impeachment twice? Just like how they win elections?
Everyone sees this conspiracy for exactly what it is. The honest acknowledge it.
Manchin is “dancing”! Trying to figure out how to be simultaneously for & against impeachment!
there isn’t a witness ...so far that had direct contact with the president. I’d love to hear from Mulvaney and Bolton”....
Actually Sondland did, and exonerated Trump.
They want Mulvaney cause he slipped up at a presser and said all foreign aid is based on quid pro quo. But I think the defense preempted the rationale for him as a witness by citing many examples where foreign aid was held.
Bolton is irrelevant because the x-scrtpt was released. I think the defense will continue to emphasize that.
Requests for witnesses are nothing but a tactic to drag out the trial for weeks and months. Vote no to witnesses and acquit at the earliest opportunity.
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