Washington - US Democrats on Thursday
pressed the Republican-controlled Senate to call Donald Trump's
top lieutenants to testify in its trial of the impeached
president, as they sought to focus attention on the trial ahead
of the 2020 presidential election.
A day after the Democratic-led U.S. House of Representatives
impeached Trump, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she would not
formally hand off impeachment to the Senate until she got a
sense of how Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell would
manage the trial.
"We're ready when we see what they have," she told a news
conference.
Pelosi was not expected to move until lawmakers return from
their year-end recess in early January, according to aides.
That did not seem to bother McConnell, who said the two
sides were at an impasse.
"I'm not sure what leverage there is in refraining from
sending us something we do not want," he said on the Senate
floor.
The impeachment effort has deepened the partisan divide in
Washington, and polls show that public opinion has hardened
along ideological lines as well.
One surprise came when Christianity Today, a prominent
evangelical publication, called Trump's conduct "profoundly
immoral" and said he should be removed from office.
Polls have found that white evangelical Christians are among
Trump's most loyal supporters.
Trump has denied wrongdoing and called the impeachment
inquiry launched by Pelosi in September a "witch hunt."
His political future now rests with 77-year-old McConnell, a
self-proclaimed "Grim Reaper" who is widely known as a shrewd
negotiator who plays hardball politics at a level unusual even
by Washington standards.
Democrats want McConnell to allow top Trump aides like Mick
Mulvaney, the White House acting chief of staff, and John
Bolton, Trump's former national security adviser, to testify,
according to a senior Democratic aide.
"Is the president's case so weak that none of the
president's men can defend him under oath?" asked Senate
Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, who later urged McConnell in a
meeting to use the two-week recess to consider allowing
witnesses.
In an interview on MSNBC, Schumer said he doubted McConnell
would agree to allow witness testimony. But Schumer said he
believed enough Republican senators would join all the Democrats
in forcing the adoption of rules for the trial that would
include having witnesses testify.
In a historic vote on Wednesday evening, House Democrats
impeached Trump for alleged abuse of power and obstruction of
Congress related to his attempts to pressure Ukraine to
investigate Democratic political foe Joe Biden. He is only the
third U.S. president to be impeached.
The Senate trial is expected in early January. Trump himself
has expressed an interest in a long trial with witnesses, but
senior Republican senators want to put the affair behind them.
They point out that there were no live witnesses at the 1999
impeachment trial of Democratic then-President Bill Clinton.
McConnell and Schumer met on Thursday afternoon. Asked how
he felt about Pelosi potentially withholding the articles of
impeachment, the Republican said: "If the speaker wants to hold
on to them, it’s fine with us."
Earlier, McConnell accused Democrats of succumbing to
"transient passions and factionalism" and made it clear that he
did not think the Senate should find Trump guilty.
"The vote did not reflect what had been proven. It only
reflects how they feel about the president. The Senate must put
this right," McConnell said on the Senate floor.
WORKING WITH THE WHITE HOUSE
Trump, 73, is accused of abusing his power by pressuring
Ukraine to investigate Biden, a former U.S. vice president, as
well as a discredited theory that Democrats conspired with
Ukraine to meddle in the 2016 election.
Democrats say that as part of his pressure campaign, Trump
held back $391 million in security aid for Ukraine and a coveted
White House meeting for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy
as leverage to coerce Kiev into interfering in the 2020 election
by smearing Biden.
Trump is also accused of obstruction of Congress for
directing administration officials and agencies not to cooperate
with the impeachment inquiry.
A Senate trial would kick off a politically charged year
heading into the presidential election, which will pit Trump
against one of a field of Democratic contenders, including
Biden, who have repeatedly criticized the president's conduct in
office.
Fewer than half of Americans want Trump removed from office,
according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-impeachment-poll-exclusive/less-than-half-of-all-americans-want-trump-ousted-post-impeachment-reuters-ipsos-poll-idUSKBN1YN2LH
released on Thursday.
The Senate is highly unlikely to find Trump guilty and
remove him from office. At least 20 Republican senators would
have to vote to convict Trump and none has indicated a
willingness to do so.
McConnell has said he is working in tandem with the White
House on trial preparations, drawing accusations from Democrats
that he is ignoring his duty to consider the evidence in an
impartial manner.
Asked about his strategy, Trump told reporters at the White
House: "We have great senators - Republican senators. ... I'm
going to let them decide what to do. That's going to be up to
them."
Pelosi she would wait to name the Democratic House
"managers," who will prosecute the case, until she knew more
about the Senate trial procedures. The chamber's No. 3 Democrat,
James Clyburn, told CNN the House could wait indefinitely.
Pelosi's tactic gives Democrats time to convince some Senate
Republicans that they should hear from witnesses, said
Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen.
"When you have a trial you get to call witnesses," he told
Reuters.