Schumer and McConnelll quarrel over rejected request for White House witnesses
Schumer responds in rebuttal to MConnell blocking witnesses from appearing before the Senate in impeachment trial
(The Slice): Democrats are looking ahead to a senate trial in anticipation of a partisan vote on the impeachment of Pres. Donald J. Trump.
According to a New York Times article released Tuesday morning, 64% of Republicans want to hear from 4 White House witnesses who have direct knowledge of the Ukraine phone call. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer specified in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell over the weekend that White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, former national security adviser John Bolton, senior adviser to the acting White House chief of staff Robert Blair and Office of Management and Budget official Michael Duffey should appear in the presidential impeachment trial should it occur.
McConnell had rejected the request for the Democrat’s most-wanted witnesses on the Senate floor and argued that House Democrats rushed to judgement in a deficient process. The Kentucky Republican spoke at length condemning the House for impeachment in the first place, declaring it is not too late to stop it. McConnell agitated Democrats by agreeing to work hand-in-hand with the White House in preparation for the inevitable trial. Democrats view His approach as fully partisan and unfair. Schumer had issued the letter to set stage for how he wanted to move forward, but Republicans would not cooperate without Democrats producing Hunter Biden as a witness.
In his response Schumer fired back insisting Americans want to hear from witnesses the Senate has sole authority over the courts. Schumer explained rebutting zmcConneell’s assertion the he misquoted the Constitution in his letter. the 4 witnesses we propose have direct knowledge of the Ukraine situation.
The White House has claimed the president and his staffers have immunity from appearing in court under the a Department of Justice. Continuing the minority leader McConnell does not want to respond because he knows the Democrats are right and Republicans are blocking officials from telling the truth about what they know. “A trial without witnesses is not a trial. It is a sham trial. Pres. Trump are you worried?,” he directly inquired, saying witnesses should not be blocked if he is not hiding facts.
