Senator Lindsey Graham has been going around the talk shows and places where reporters hang out to dispense his twisted message. He went from being Senator John McCain’s (deceased) patriotic Mini-Me to being Donald Trump’s debased Mini-Me. His message? Fox News quoted him saying: “There is a “massive criminal conspiracy” in the FBI. So what is next?
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has also been decrying that the Republicans have been “totally out of line.” After all, McConnell said he planned to follow along with whatever the White House wanted.
Schumer was incensed. He sent this letter to McConnell about witnesses:
In an interview with CNN’s New Day, Schumer said:
‘For him to talk to the president is one thing, for him to say I’m going to do just what the president wants is totally out of line. Discussion in this kind of situation is not out of the question at all, saying you’re going to do just what the president wants is totally out of line.’
Schumer sent a Senate McConnell. a letter about how he expected the trial to evolve. The Senate Minority leader noted what the Democrats’ requirements were. The trial was expected to start about two weeks after the first of the year.
As far as witnesses went, Schumer intended to ask the president’s Senior Adviser Rober Blair, former National Security Advisor John Bolton, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Staffer Michael Duffey, and White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney to testify.
The president has been calling for former Vice President and presidential candidate Joe Biden, his son Hunter Biden, House Intelligence Committee Leader Adam Schiff (D-CA), and others unrelated to his trial including the House’s witnesses to testify. Trump has said that he wants a big trial.
The Senate Minority Leader said they should resolve the issue of “witnesses and document:”
‘We believe all of this should be considered in one resolution. The issue of witnesses and documents, which are the most important issues facing us, should be decided before we move forward with any part of the trial.’
The House Minority leader sent McConnell a letter late last week. This was after the Senate Majority Leader claimed he would be in “total coordination” with the president on his “impeachment strategy:”
‘I wrote this letter because Mitch McConnell seemed to be going off in his own direction and there was no semblance of even discussing a fair, balanced trial where the facts come out.’
Schumer said he would “prefer” to come to an agreement with McConnell on how to proceed with the Senate resolution. Thus far, these negotiations have not started, but the Senate minority leader said:
‘We would of course be open to hearing the testimony of additional witnesses having direct knowledge of the Administration’s decisions regarding the delay in security assistance funds to the government of Ukraine and the requests for certain investigations to be announced by the government of Ukraine, if the President’s counsel or House Managers identify such witnesses. (Witness time should) be limited to not more than four hours (for House Managers and) not more than four hours for the President’s counsel.’
When President Bill Clinton was impeached, the senators voted 100-0 on their resolution that laid out how the trial would evolve. However, a resolution that followed citing particular witnesses ended up along party lines.
The Mueller Report Adventures: In Bite-Sizes on this Facebook page. These quick, two-minute reads interpret the report in normal English for busy people. Mueller Bite-Sizes uncovers what is essentially a compelling spy mystery. Interestingly enough, Mueller Bite-Sizes can be read in any order.
