Chuck Schumer Lays Out Plans for Trump Impeachment Trial
December 16, 2019
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14:39Now PlayingChuck Schumer Lays Out Plans for Trump Impeachment Trial
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as posted by the channelSenate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) released a letter on Sunday, laying out for the first time how Democrats would like the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump to proceed.
“The trial must be one that not only hears all of the evidence and adjudicates the case fairly; it must also pass the fairness test with the American people. That is the great challenge for the Senate in the coming weeks,” Schumer wrote in his letter to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
On Friday, the House Judiciary Committee voted to send two articles of impeachment ― abuse of power and obstruction of Congress ― to the full chamber for a vote.
If the Democratic-controlled House votes to approve those articles, it goes to the Senate for a trial in the new year.
Schumer’s letter is the first time he has weighed in on his expectations for how the process will go. Notably, the Democratic leader wants the Senate to hear testimony from members of the Trump administration ― some of whom refused to appear before the House ― and receive documents from the White House.
As of now, everything is up in the air for the Senate trial ― how long it will last, who the House managers will be, and what the White House’s cooperation will look like. And the central question of whether there will be witnesses remains.
In his letter, Schumer cites the precedent of the procedures from President Bill Clinton’s impeachment trial, when the Senate did hear from witnesses.
The White House has not cooperated with the House proceedings at all, believing Trump has a better chance of a defense in the GOP-controlled Senate. White House Counsel Pat Cipollone is expected to represent the president in the Senate trial.
McConnell has tremendous power in shaping what the impeachment trial will look like. If he and Schumer can’t agree on governing rules beforehand, he has indicated that he will go it alone and come up with procedures established by a majority (likely all Republican votes).
If that fails, McConnell could pursue a scenario in which the Senate would vote on motions as they go.
McConnell does indeed have a majority, but it’s a slim one: 53-47. In other words, he can lose only two votes if he wants to push a measure through without any Democratic support.
Whether Trump pressured Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter in connection with the younger Biden’s work with a Ukranian energy company is at the center of the impeachment case.
Some Trump allies have said they want to call Hunter Biden as a witness, although it’s not clear there would be enough GOP votes to do so.
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