Tag: Senate impeachment trial

Trump’s trial a major test for McConnell, Schumer

The Hill logoThe stakes for McConnell and Schumer, who have been longtime political adversaries, are high.

In 1999, Democrats scored a big victory in President Clinton’s impeachment trial by convincing a handful of Republicans to cross the aisle and vote against the two articles of impeachment passed by the House. Ten Republicans voted against Article I charging Clinton with perjury and five Republicans voted against Article II charging the president with obstruction of justice.
Clinton and his allies hailed it as an acquittal and saw depriving Republicans — who controlled the chamber with 55 seats — of a majority vote for impeachment as a major victory. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) was spotted exchanging high fives on media row in the Russell Rotunda immediately after the vote.

If Schumer can convince four Senate Republicans to vote to subpoena additional witnesses and documents, as he has demanded for weeks, it would be a big win. And if he can convince any Republicans to vote for articles of impeachment — something that Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) failed to do in the House — it will be a bigger victory. Continue reading.

Presidential historian explains why Lev Parnas’ Ukraine allegations will be ‘the real test’ for Senate Republicans

AlterNet logoThis week, Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas gave two bombshell cable news interviews — one with Rachel Maddow for MSNBC, one with Anderson Cooper for CNN. And in both interviews, Parnas laid out a compelling case for removing President Donald Trump from office via his impeachment trial. Presidential historian Jon Meacham, appearing on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Thursday morning, agreed that Maddow’s interview with Parnas  was quite damning of Trump — and he stressed that how Senate Republicans respond to Parnas’ assertions will speak volumes about their integrity, or lack thereof.

Parnas, speaking to Maddow, made it clear that Trump and his supporters demanded an investigation of former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky — and in return for that investigation, Ukraine would get military aid.

Making a Watergate/Ukraine scandal comparison, Meacham told hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski that during the Summer of 1974, more and more Republicans in Congress were turning against President Richard Nixon. That summer, Meacham recalled, many “Republican partisans” — including Arizona Sen. Barry Goldwater — were willing to act “in the national interest” rather than sticking by Nixon simply because he was a Republican. But Meacham is extremely skeptical that Parnas’ assertions will sway the Senate Republicans of 2020. Continue reading.

Seven things to know about the Trump trial

The Hill logoThe impeachment battle is shifting to the Senate ahead of a weeks-long trial expected to get underway next week.

With the House voting Wednesday to transmit the articles, Chief Justice John Roberts and senators are expected to be sworn in on Thursday. A fierce rules fight and opening arguments will get started on Tuesday.

Though the outcome of the trial is pre-baked, the high-profile proceeding, the third in the chamber’s history, will put a spotlight on a handful of key potential swing votes, as well as the 2020 contenders. Continue reading.

How a Senate impeachment trial works

Washington Post logoA Senate impeachment trial is a rare thing — it has happened only two other times in American history and once in the modern era. Here’s the nitty-gritty of how we believe each day will work, based on a reading of the Senate rules about how to hold trials, how President Bill Clinton’s impeachment trial was run, and our current understanding of the expected schedule.

The ceremonial beginning: Wednesday and Thursday

After the House voted on sending the articles of impeachment to the Senate, the team of House prosecutors known as impeachment managers walked the charges across the Capitol to the Senate.

The managers will present articles of impeachment — literally by reading them — to a full Senate on Thursday at 12. Continue reading.

Impeachment Trial Witnesses: Who the Senate Should Call and What They Know

Center for American Progress logoPresident Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) are engaged in a cover-up by trying to prevent the Senate from holding a fair impeachment trial. They are attempting to block witnesses from testifying because it is clear that these witnesses will provide damning evidence against the president.

Most of what we know about these potential witnesses’ roles has come from testimony or press reports. In some cases, such as those of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, it also comes from public statements they themselves have made.

Pompeo, Mulvaney, former national security adviser John Bolton, and Vice President Mike Pence can testify to the president’s direct involvement in the plot to extort Ukraine. The other witnesses, who played roles in implementing the White House’s scheme, can shed light on what they did and on whose orders they did it. Furthermore, the documents they possess could corroborate the allegations against Trump. It is vital that Congress and the American public learn the truth—which means it is vital that the Senate hold a full trial and demand that the administration produce the witnesses and documents it is trying desperately to hide. Continue reading.

House delivers impeachment articles to Senate

The Hill logoHouse Democrats on Wednesday formally shifted the impeachment of President Trump to the Senate, delivering a pair of impeachment articles to the upper chamber and effectively launching the trial to determine whether the president will remain in office.

In a ceremonial procession, seven designated Democrats, known as impeachment managers, silently marched the two articles across the Capitol — a short promenade through the old House chamber, beneath the soaring Rotunda, past the legendary Ohio Clock and on to the Senate.

Accompanying the lawmakers were Paul Irving, the House sergeant at arms, and Cheryl Johnson, the House clerk. Lining the way were an army of reporters and photographers grappling for a glimpse of history behind red velvet-covered stanchions. Continue reading.

Impeachment trial security crackdown will limit Capitol press access

Press pens and ‘no walking and talking’ draw criticism from press corps advocates

The Senate sergeant-at-arms and Capitol Police are launching an unprecedented crackdown on the Capitol press corps for the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, following a standoff between the Capitol’s chief security officials, Senate Rules Chairman Roy Blunt and the standing committees of correspondents.

Capitol Police Chief Steven A. Sund and Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Michael C. Stenger will enact a plan that intends to protect senators and the chamber, but it also suggests that credentialed reporters and photographers whom senators interact with on a daily basis are considered a threat.

Additional security screening and limited movement within the Capitol for reporters are two issues that are drawing criticism from Capitol Hill media. Continue reading.

‘Documents don’t lie’ — the other fight over evidence at Trump impeachment trial

With trial to begin next week, it’s unclear Democrats have the votes to issue subpoenas

The high-profile fight over potentially dramatic witness testimony at an impeachment trial of President Donald Trump has overshadowed the Senate’s possible demand for a different type of revealing cache of new evidence — withheld documents.

Senate Democrats have pushed to include in the trial documents that the Trump administration refused to turn over during the House investigation. But they need at least four Republicans to vote with all Democrats and independents for the Senate to subpoena witnesses or documents, and it’s not clear they have those votes.

The trial is expected to begin next week, after Wednesday’s House vote to transmit the articles of impeachment. Continue reading.

More bad news for McConnell: Two-thirds of voters want to see John Bolton testify

AlterNet logoIn the wake of multiple polls showing strong majorities of Americans believe the Senate impeachment trial should include witnesses and documents, a Quinnipiac survey finds that 66% of voters want to hear from one person in particular: former Trump national security adviser John Bolton. That 66% includes 39% of Republicans, 71% of independents, and 91% of Democrats.

Bolton’s willingness to testify in the Senate if subpoenaed is among the biggest prizes House Speaker Nancy Pelosi acquired while delaying transmission of the articles of impeachment. Along with being quoted by his subordinates as calling Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani a “hand grenade,” Bolton had unique proximity to Trump during some of the most critical episodes in the Ukraine scandal. His testimony could send shockwaves through the GOP, based on his outsized stature within the party and all the information he was privy to. Continue reading.

How impeachment differs from court trials

The Hill logoHouse Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is poised to send the articles of impeachment against President Trump to the Senate, setting in motion his long-awaited trial. 

But don’t expect the Senate proceedings to mirror what happens in a court of law. 

The Constitution gives the Senate “the sole Power to try all Impeachments” but is silent about the trial’s mechanics. In practice, Senate proceedings have come to differ dramatically from court trials on everything from the admissibility of evidence, the form of punishment and the possibility of appeal. Continue reading.