The Senate impeachment trial for President Donald Trump is officially underway with the Republican-led rules in place that do not presently provide any opportunity to hear from witnesses or examine documents. This Wednesday morning, as opposing sides geared up for more of their opening arguments, Hillary Clinton herself spoke out against the Republicans who’ve banded together to keep witnesses out of the trial so far. The evidence from House Democrats is publicly available and hardly contestable — but Senate Republicans refuse to budge. Even Trump ally Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) admitted that their Trump allegiance is largely just about securing their political future.
Clinton tweeted:
‘Last week, every senator swore to “do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws” in the president’s impeachment trial. Last night, Republican senators cast vote after vote to block evidence and testimony. The American people deserve a real trial, not a cover-up.’
Last week, every senator swore to "do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws" in the president's impeachment trial.
Last night, Republican senators cast vote after vote to block evidence and testimony.
The American people deserve a real trial, not a cover-up.
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) January 22, 2020
It’s true — last week, Senator after Senator got sworn in as jurors for the trial, and in their oath, they pledged to administer impartial justice. But previously, Republican leaders including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (S.C.) had explicitly insisted that they would not be impartial jurors, and they made good on that via voting against numerous amendments to the trial rules that Democrats proposed during the opening day of the trial on Tuesday.
Democrats want to hear from witnesses like Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton and his current White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, both of whom have firsthand perspectives on the president’s plot to bribe Ukraine.
Republicans have already resorted to desperate lies to try and get around this. During opening arguments on Tuesday, ahead of the approval of rules for the rest of the trial, Trump’s defense team claimed that Republicans had been shut out of the impeachment proceedings in the House — but that’s just not true. Republicans sat in on the hearings, Republicans got to ask questions, and Republicans heard from at least some of the witnesses that they wanted. The president’s defenders are still resorting to arguments about the process in the face of arguments about the facts that are uncontestable.
Check out Twitter’s response to Hillary…
