Mitch McConnell plans to vote to acquit
House managers requested Saturday for witnesses within the Senate impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, a shock transfer that probably lengthens the trial by weeks or months.
The lead supervisor, Rep. Jamie Raskin, R-Md., stated managers felt they made their case in the course of the week-long trial to convict Trump. But he stated revelations Friday about House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s dialog with Trump in the course of the riot Jan. 6 pressured managers to request testimony from Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Washington.
Beutler issued an announcement saying McCarthy, R-Calif., had spoken with Trump, urging him to name off the riot, however that Trump replied indifferently.
“Needless to say, this is an additional critical piece of evidence,” Raskin stated.
The Senate will vote on whether or not to name witnesses after two hours of debate between House managers and Trump’s protection group.
Calling witnesses would have required holding depositions and conducting different analysis, below Senate guidelines for the trial. But Raskin stated an hourlong deposition could possibly be held briskly. He stated different depositions is likely to be wanted if extra witnesses step ahead.
One of Trump’s attorneys, Michael van der Veen, stated testimony about McCarthy isn’t obligatory as a result of the dialog would have occurred after the riot was incited.
But van der Veen stated if witnesses are sought, he would subpoena House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Kamala Harris for depositions at his workplace in Philadelphia moderately than on-line, as Raskin prompt. Senators laughed at van der Veen.
“That is the way lawyers do it,” van der Veen stated. “There’s nothing laughable here.”
“I’m gonna slap subpoenas on a good number of people,” van der Veen stated.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., warned that calling witnesses would dramatically lengthen the trial. Trump’s protection group stated they’d additionally name witnesses resembling House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser, to ask about safety.
But Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, had stated he would assist the calling of witnesses, if both aspect wished them.
“I will support additional witnesses if the counsel on either side wishes to call witnesses,” Romney stated.
Several Democratic senators had voiced an curiosity in witnesses. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, stated he would really like to hear from McCarthy.
But others stated they weren’t obligatory. “I think we’ve got enough” with out witnesses, stated Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md.
– Bart Jansen
McConnell tells GOP senators he’ll vote to acquit Trump
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell will vote to acquit former President Donald Trump after weeks of leaving the door open to probably convicting him, in accordance to an electronic mail he despatched Republican senators Saturday.
The Kentucky Republican had stated for weeks, each publicly and in personal, that he was open to convicting Trump – a stark change from his position within the former president’s first impeachment trial the place he labored in live performance with the White House to make sure the president was acquitted.
But after initially saying he’d hold an open thoughts, McConnell indicated he’d doubtless stick along with his Republicans convention after voting twice that the trial ought to be halted on Constitutional grounds.
His vote announcement, which got here earlier than most of his convention, may ship a sign to different Republicans who’ve stayed mum about how they may vote.
Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., confirmed the contents of McConnell’s electronic mail to USA TODAY.
McConnell had remained silent all through the proceedings and, in contrast to his colleagues, didn’t take any notes or make any reactions to the times of displays. He additionally ignored questions from reporters all through the trial.
After the Jan. 6 assault, McConnell issued a putting condemnation of Trump, saying “the mob was fed lies” and “had been provoked by the president.”
– Christal Hayes and Nicholas Wu
GOP Rep. Herrera Beutler: Trump rebuffed plea from top Republican to call off rioters
Republican Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler backed stories late Friday that stated House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy spoke with then-President Donald Trump as a mob was attacking the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 and that the president appeared unconcerned concerning the riot.
Herrera Beutler, one of 10 House Republicans to vote for Trump’s impeachment on a charge of inciting the attack, said in a statement that McCarthy had told her when he reached Trump by phone as the Capitol was breached McCarthy “requested him to publicly and forcefully name off the riot.”
According to Herrera Beutler, Trump initially tried to blame the attack on leftist members of “antifa” but when McCarthy insisted the mob was comprised of the president supporters, Trump told the top House Republican, “Well, Kevin, I assume these persons are extra upset concerning the election than you might be.”
Herrera Beutler’s allegation supports the House impeachment managers’ claim that Trump was aware of the danger to lawmakers during the breach and did nothing to stop the riot as the Capitol was being stormed by the deadly mob.
– William Cummings
Trump’s legal team, House prosecutors eye closing arguments with witness question unanswered
WASHINGTON – A final verdict in former President Donald Trump’s second Senate impeachment trial may be near as both sides ready for closing arguments when the trial resumes Saturday.
But first, it must be decided whether witnesses will be called. If the Senate voted to call witnesses, the decision could lengthen the proceedings by weeks or months because the witnesses would have to be deposed and more research conducted.
No formal announcements on witnesses have been made, but both sides have indicated they don’t need them.
When one of the House impeachment managers prosecuting the case, Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa., was asked Thursday if they needed witnesses, she replied, “I feel we’ve made our case.” Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., who called for a thorough trial for the historical record, said Friday he doesn’t need to hear from witnesses. “I feel enough proof has been offered,” he said.
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One of Trump’s staunchest defenders, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., also said witnesses aren’t necessary, but that Trump’s team should call witnesses if the managers do. One of Trump’s lawyers, David Schoen, told reporters Thursday “that hasn’t been determined but.”
House managers asked Trump himself to testify under oath in hopes to question him, but the president has refused.
If both sides decide not to hear from witnesses, it would move the trial to four hours of closing arguments, after which the Senate will deliberate and make their final vote on whether to convict or acquit Trump. Several senators said a vote could come Saturday afternoon.
The House impeached Trump Jan.13 by charging him with inciting the insurrection at the Capitol Jan. 6, which interrupted Congress counting Electoral College votes. Five people died, including a police officer and a woman shot by police, as rioters rampaged through the building searching for Vice President Mike Pence and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
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Conviction would require a two-thirds majority of the Senate, a high bar in a chamber evenly divided between 50 Republicans and 50 lawmakers who caucus with Democrats. In preliminary votes upholding the constitutionality of the trial, only six Republicans joined Democrats, rather than the 17 needed for conviction, signaling Trump may be acquitted.
Over the course of the trial, which began Tuesday, the managers argued Trump fueled unrest with months of complaints about the legitimacy of the election. Trump then urged his supporters the day of the riot to “battle” the election results at the Capitol.
The lead House prosecutor, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., warned that Trump represented a continuing threat to the country if not convicted and disqualified from holding office in the future.
But Trump’s lawyers argued he used standard political language to rally his supporters and can’t be blamed for the mob’s violence. The defense team also argued that Trump’s speech was protected by the First Amendment.
Michael van der Veen, one of Trump’s lawyers, called the impeachment a blatantly political trial that represented partisan vengeance. He called it a “politically motivated witch hunt.”
– Bart Jansen
