“So far,” Vance writes, “Senate Majority Leader McConnell hasn’t agreed to let House Democrats put on any witnesses, and there’s no word on what, if any, other evidence will be permitted. Yes, the chief justice of the Supreme Court oversees the proceedings, but precedent in this area — most recently from the (Bill) Clinton impeachment — suggests he’ll play a very limited role, more of a custodian than a judge of the law. In any event, his decisions can be overruled by a vote of 51 Senators. The Republicans hold 53 seats in the Senate.”
McConnell has asserted that he will be coordinating with Trump during a Senate trial and that he doesn’t consider himself an “impartial juror” by any means. And Vance, who was a U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Alabama and is now a law professor at the University of Alabama as well as a legal analyst for MSNBC and NBC News, likens this to a defendant coordinating with the foreman of a jury. Continue reading