Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has flatly rejected a call from the minority leader, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to subpoena new witnesses for testimony during the anticipated Trump impeachment trial in January.
Schumer wrote McConnell on Sunday requesting subpoenas for testimony, under oath, from four current or former Trump administration officials — White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, former national security adviser John Bolton and two others — before any vote on ousting Trump from office.
But McConnell, speaking on the Senate floor on Tuesday, said Schumer “would apparently like our chamber to do House Democrats’ homework for them. He wants to volunteer the Senate’s time and energy on a fishing expedition.”
House Democrats subpoenaed three of the four witnesses sought by Schumer, but they followed White House orders to refuse to testify. Bolton, who was not subpoenaed, says he would do the same, and take it to court if necessary.
Schumer, also speaking on the Senate floor Tuesday, asked: “What is Leader McConnell afraid of? What is President Trump afraid of? The truth?”
“The House chose this road. It is their duty to investigate,” McConnell said. “It’s their duty to meet the very high bar for undoing a national election. As Speaker Pelosi herself once said, it is the House’s obligation to, quote, ‘build an ironclad case to act.’”
That represents a significant change of heart by McConnell, as Senate Democrats pointed out in a tweet, noting that in 1999, as impeached President Bill Clinton faced trial, McConnell told interviewer Larry King that: “It’s not unusual to have a witness in a trial. It’s certainly not unusual to have witnesses in an impeachment trial.”
In his Tuesday remarks, Schumer “pointed to a Washington Post-ABC News poll released Tuesday that found that 64 percent of Republicans and 72 percent of independents believe Trump should let his advisers appear before the Senate,” reports the Post.
“McConnell has faced intense backlash from Democrats for stating on Fox News that he will closely coordinate with the White House on the Senate trial and that there is ‘zero chance’ Trump will be removed from office,” says Axios.
“Each witness we named was directly involved in the events that led to the charges made by the House,” Schumer said. “Senators who oppose this plan will have to explain why less evidence is better than more evidence.”
McConnell has indicated that he plans “to hold a short, possibly two-week trial with no new witnesses,” says Axios, adding that Trump “has largely come around on the plan” although he previously opposed it.
Axios also notes that: “Before beginning an impeachment trial, Senate rules dictate that senators must swear an oath to do ‘impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws.’”