Posted on 01/29/2020 1:36:17 PM PST by SoConPubbie
It was clear to Senate Republicans on Wednesday after a morning meeting between Senate Majority Leader (R-Ky.) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) that the question of having additional witnesses is settled, and the Senate will vote Friday to wrap up the impeachment trial of President Trump.
There was no discussion of witnesses at a Senate GOP lunch meeting Wednesday, which was held a couple hours after McConnell and Murkowski met for about 20 to 30 minutes.
That was seen as a sign by several senators that Democrats will fail to convince four Republicans to join them in calling for witnesses. Without a vote to hear from witnesses, the trial could end as soon as Friday.
“We’re going to get it done by Friday, hopefully,” Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) said following the meeting.
Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.), emerging from the lunch, said, “I think I can say the mood is good.”
Braun expressed confidence that McConnell will be able to keep his conference unified enough to defeat a motion to consider subpoenas for additional witnesses and documents.
“If I had to guess, no witnesses,” he said.
“We’ll be in a place where I think everyone is going to have their mind made up and I believe that we’ll be able to move to a verdict, and the witness question will be clear at that point,” Braun added.
Murkowski did not attend the lunch.
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), who has been the most outspoken advocate for calling additional witnesses, declined to comment as he left the lunch.
Romney and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) are both expected to back witnesses. Murkowski has been seen as a third possible vote, though she had not announced any decision.
Instead of discussing the possibility of having former national security adviser John Bolton appear as a witness in the trial at Wednesday's meeting, lawmakers talked about voting Friday to move quickly to an up-or-down vote on two articles of impeachment.
“There was no discussion about that today,” Rounds said.
Instead, Rounds said the discussion was about how “we’re moving forward.”
A report by The New York Times that said Bolton in his forthcoming book writes that Trump had linked the withholding of aid to Ukraine to that country conducting investigations of former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden had given new energy to the witness debate.
Democrats have been clamoring to hear Bolton as a witness at the trial.
Senators are asking questions to the House impeachment team and Trump's defense lawyers during today's impeachment session.
I hope this means that GOP Senators are less likely to be bribed
Cory Gardner is against witnesses, not sure if he was one of those on the fence but he came out and said he doesnt need to see anymore witnesses
Look here all you GOP goobers.
If the Democrats want more witnesses, let them start a new impeachment and call them.
Can’t get it done before the election?
Tough.
The Democrat Party is on trial.
praying McConnell has reigned in his handful of attention-addicted Prima Donna “Flakes” and “McShames”
at least to END this farce of a fake “impeachment’ NOW!
Its doing tremendous damage to the country.
I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall at that meeting.
One wonders what sort of tactic Mitch used to persuade Murky to do the right thing.
Never compromise with leftists. The old “reach across the aisle is dead. Leftists have zero integrity or morality. They are the new zombies.
Most interesting. This is the opposite of all of the other reporting this week. Waiting 2 days allows for a lot of underhanded stuff to go on.
Could someone explain to an inmate of the senility ward just why it is we care?
Our president is not guilty of any of this nonsense, so anyone who says he is needs to be arrested and charged with perjury.
I knew Lisa McKowshits would be a NO.
She has to run for re-election in 2022... and already has to explain her NO vote for Kavanaugh.
So, the obvious question.
What sleazy, smarmy, fly-by-nite 50-foor Blasey-Ford jump shot at the buzzer are the Dems gonna try NEXT?
Like I stated yesterday, Mitch and Graham KNOW who to wrangle and THREATEN..for crying out loud, you mean those 150 judges that were confirmed were because of Trump???
Cant believe Freepers yesterday were THROWING A HISSY FIT and crying like little girls. Never doubted it.
On his show today Rush claimed that The Turtle deliberately rope-a-doped the press.
see my post 15. I never doubted it. Graham and Mitch know who to threaten. Mitt should learn from the masters..
They had to get Murkowsky to have any hope of finding vote #4 for witnesses.
Without Murky, there was no chance.
She voted present at the Kavaugh confirmation.
You can be sure that the RINO pukes were holding out for some favors. They don’t give a damn about the unconstitutional impeachement fraud, the president, the Republican senate caucus, their constituients, or their own party.
They are only interested in promoting themselves. The people in their states need to wake up.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.