Senate Votes Down Extra Impeachment Witnesses, Paves Way for Trump Acquittal

The Senate on Friday voted down a motion to allow for additional witnesses to testify as part of the upper chamber’s impeachment trial, all but ensuring a quick acquittal of President Donald Trump.

The 51 to 49 vote thwarted Democrats’ ongoing effort to hear from current and former Trump administration officials such as acting White House Chief of State Mick Mulvaney and former National Security Advisor John Bolton.

Bolton shot to the top of the Democrats’ witness wish list after a New York Times report alleged that his forthcoming book — The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir — contains allegations that President Trump sought to make U.S. military aid to Ukraine conditional on investigations into former Vice President Joe Biden, and his son, Hunter Biden. President Trump vehemently denied the report and call the book “nasty & untrue.”

House Democrats’ impeachment managers failed to convince enough moderate Republicans to cross the aisle, falling short of the 51 votes need for more witnesses. Late Thursday evening, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) revealed that he will join the overwhelming majority of his colleagues to vote against hearing from others.

“I worked with other senators to make sure that we have the right to ask for more documents and witnesses, but there is no need for more evidence to prove something that has already been proven and that does not meet the United States Constitution’s high bar for an impeachable offense,” the retiring Tennessee Republican said in a statement.

Despite Alexander’s opposition, Democrats still had a glimmer of hope if Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) voted their way, which would have set up Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to decide on casting the tie-breaking vote. However, Roberts’ aversion to politics had always made the prospect of him voting highly improbable.

David Adams

Article URL : https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/01/31/senate-votes-down-extra-impeachment-witnesses-paves-way-for-trump-acquittal/