Democrats push for four key witnesses to be summoned. Pelosi Could “Put Trump In Limbo”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) could leave President Donald Trump in a kind of “political limbo” by delaying the impeachment request to the Senate and causing more pressure on the Republicans during the 2020 elections.
Democratic Senator Charles Schummer (New York) said he is “on the same page” as his fellow House member, arguing that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Kentucky) would not ensure a fair trial.
On Wednesday night, a few minutes after approving the trial against the president, Pelosi was firm, but this Thursday morning her tone was reduced to giving a vote of confidence to reach an agreement with the Republicans to follow a process without favoring President Trump.
“We would like to see a fair process, but we will see what they have, and we will be ready for anything,” Pelosi said Thursday. “The next thing for us will be when we see the process being established in the Senate.
Majority leader McConnel and minority leader Schumer met to begin outlining the route of impeachment that, if successful, could begin the first week of January.
Schumer said, however, that his party’s position is in line with that represented by Pelosi in the House.
“We are on the same page, and what spokeswoman Pelosi said in her press conference characterizes exactly my point of view,” Schumer said in a press conference.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (N.Y.) said that in the event of a delay in the delivery of the petition, it could not be “eternal,” although he acknowledged that it would be presented “in due time”.
Democrats push for four key witnesses to be summoned
The Democrats, speaking on behalf of Schumer, are pressing for four key witnesses to be called in the process: interim Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney; former National Security Advisor John Bolton; senior advisor to the interim Chief of Staff Robert Blair; and Office of Management and Budget officer Michael Duffey.
Pelosi Could “Put Trump In Limbo”
“Their plan to prevent House representatives from calling witnesses to prove their case is an extreme action,” Schumer said of McConnell’s intentions.
“There has never been a presidential impeachment trial in which the majority prevented House representatives from presenting their case fairly… Will Leader McConnell, breaking this precedent, direct his caucus to make this the first impeachment trial of a president in the Senate that the witnesses were not heard?
Some Republicans believe that Pelosi seeks to delay the Senate petition because she has a “weak case.
” You probably do something like that when you feel you have a weak case. For me it’s a tactic,” said Senator Mike Braun (Indiana).
Pelosi must refer H. RES. 755 to the Senate, which integrates the two articles accusing the president of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
Pelosi Could “Put Trump In Limbo”
“Resolution that Donald John Trump, President of the United States, be prosecuted for high crimes and misdemeanors and that the following articles of impeachment be laid before the United States Senate,” the document begins.
It details the reasons: the president’s request to his counterpart in Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter, in exchange for receiving $391 million in military aid. He would also have asked to affirm that it was that country and not Russia that intervened in the 2016 elections.
After a meeting with McConnel, Schummer said he made clear his party’s position on the witnesses and the need for official documents from various agencies, including the State Department.
“Senator Schumer made it clear to Senator McConnell that the witnesses and documents are necessary to ensure a fair trial in the Senate,” said Justin Goodman, the Democrat’s spokesman, who added that after the holiday period McConnell will have to give an answer to continue the process.
The defense attorney
President Trump told reporters at the White House that his lead attorney in the impeachment defense would be Pat Cipollone, who has been in contact with the House about witnesses and warned that he would not defend himself in that proceeding before the Judiciary Committee.
“It looks like he will,” he said of Cipollone. “We have a couple that we’re going to put in, but Pat has been fantastic as a White House lawyer.”
The president considered what the House had done “unconstitutional,” but did not explain why.
“We think what they did is wrong. We think what they did was unconstitutional and the Senate is very, very capable. We have great senators, Republican senators,” he confided.
The president has been very active on Twitter, sharing opinions against his process, as well as a meme stating that the Democrats “are not after him” but “after you”, in reference to the voters. In the Oval Office, he said he does not feel he is in the process of being impeached.
“I don’t feel like I’m being prosecuted, because it’s a scam, it’s a fraud. It’s a horrible thing that they did,” he said.
The steps to follow
The Constitution requires the Senate to function as a “court” for trial: Senators will be sworn in, House legislators will be prosecutors known as “managers” or “representatives,” and Chief Justice John Roberts will preside, not the chief justice of that chamber, Republican McConnell.
Senators must vote publicly and, in order to pass, must add two-thirds to agree on whether to convict the president and thereby remove him from office.
McConnell had already said that, because of the Republican majority, it is impossible for President Trump to be removed from office.
There is not much clarity about the rules, so it is estimated that the experience of the Bill Clinton trial in 1998 should be taken into account to organize it.
