Democrats seek high-profile Senate trial for Trump

Published Dec 20, 2019

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Washington - US Democrats on Thursday

pressed the Republican-controlled Senate to call Donald Trump's

top lieutenants to testify in its trial of the impeached

president, as they sought to focus attention on the trial ahead

of the 2020 presidential election.

A day after the Democratic-led U.S. House of Representatives

impeached Trump, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she would not

formally hand off impeachment to the Senate until she got a

sense of how Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell would

manage the trial.

"We're ready when we see what they have," she told a news

conference.

Pelosi was not expected to move until lawmakers return from

their year-end recess in early January, according to aides.

That did not seem to bother McConnell, who said the two

sides were at an impasse.

"I'm not sure what leverage there is in refraining from

sending us something we do not want," he said on the Senate

floor.

The impeachment effort has deepened the partisan divide in

Washington, and polls show that public opinion has hardened

along ideological lines as well.

One surprise came when Christianity Today, a prominent

evangelical publication, called Trump's conduct "profoundly

immoral" and said he should be removed from office.

Polls have found that white evangelical Christians are among

Trump's most loyal supporters.

Trump has denied wrongdoing and called the impeachment

inquiry launched by Pelosi in September a "witch hunt."

His political future now rests with 77-year-old McConnell, a

self-proclaimed "Grim Reaper" who is widely known as a shrewd

negotiator who plays hardball politics at a level unusual even

by Washington standards.

Democrats want McConnell to allow top Trump aides like Mick

Mulvaney, the White House acting chief of staff, and John

Bolton, Trump's former national security adviser, to testify,

according to a senior Democratic aide.

"Is the president's case so weak that none of the

president's men can defend him under oath?" asked Senate

Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, who later urged McConnell in a

meeting to use the two-week recess to consider allowing

witnesses.

In an interview on MSNBC, Schumer said he doubted McConnell

would agree to allow witness testimony. But Schumer said he

believed enough Republican senators would join all the Democrats

in forcing the adoption of rules for the trial that would

include having witnesses testify.

In a historic vote on Wednesday evening, House Democrats

impeached Trump for alleged abuse of power and obstruction of

Congress related to his attempts to pressure Ukraine to

investigate Democratic political foe Joe Biden. He is only the

third U.S. president to be impeached.

The Senate trial is expected in early January. Trump himself

has expressed an interest in a long trial with witnesses, but

senior Republican senators want to put the affair behind them.

They point out that there were no live witnesses at the 1999

impeachment trial of Democratic then-President Bill Clinton.

McConnell and Schumer met on Thursday afternoon. Asked how

he felt about Pelosi potentially withholding the articles of

impeachment, the Republican said: "If the speaker wants to hold

on to them, it’s fine with us."

Earlier, McConnell accused Democrats of succumbing to

"transient passions and factionalism" and made it clear that he

did not think the Senate should find Trump guilty.

"The vote did not reflect what had been proven. It only

reflects how they feel about the president. The Senate must put

this right," McConnell said on the Senate floor.

WORKING WITH THE WHITE HOUSE

Trump, 73, is accused of abusing his power by pressuring

Ukraine to investigate Biden, a former U.S. vice president, as

well as a discredited theory that Democrats conspired with

Ukraine to meddle in the 2016 election.

Democrats say that as part of his pressure campaign, Trump

held back $391 million in security aid for Ukraine and a coveted

White House meeting for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy

as leverage to coerce Kiev into interfering in the 2020 election

by smearing Biden.

Trump is also accused of obstruction of Congress for

directing administration officials and agencies not to cooperate

with the impeachment inquiry.

A Senate trial would kick off a politically charged year

heading into the presidential election, which will pit Trump

against one of a field of Democratic contenders, including

Biden, who have repeatedly criticized the president's conduct in

office.

Fewer than half of Americans want Trump removed from office,

according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-impeachment-poll-exclusive/less-than-half-of-all-americans-want-trump-ousted-post-impeachment-reuters-ipsos-poll-idUSKBN1YN2LH

released on Thursday.

The Senate is highly unlikely to find Trump guilty and

remove him from office. At least 20 Republican senators would

have to vote to convict Trump and none has indicated a

willingness to do so.

McConnell has said he is working in tandem with the White

House on trial preparations, drawing accusations from Democrats

that he is ignoring his duty to consider the evidence in an

impartial manner.

Asked about his strategy, Trump told reporters at the White

House: "We have great senators - Republican senators. ... I'm

going to let them decide what to do. That's going to be up to

them."

Pelosi she would wait to name the Democratic House

"managers," who will prosecute the case, until she knew more

about the Senate trial procedures. The chamber's No. 3 Democrat,

James Clyburn, told CNN the House could wait indefinitely.

Pelosi's tactic gives Democrats time to convince some Senate

Republicans that they should hear from witnesses, said

Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen.

"When you have a trial you get to call witnesses," he told

Reuters.

Reuters

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