By Dayo Benson New York
Democrats’ hopes to subpoena documents and witnesses at the Senate trial of President Donald Trump, suffered setbacks Tuesday night, as Republicans blocked proposed amendments to Senate Resolutions, even as arguments to introduce more amendments dragged into midnight.
The historic Senate trail of President Trump, began at about 1p.m., on a solemn note with opening prayer by the Senate Chaplin, who appealed to the Jurors’ moral conscience and sense of fairness. This momentary sobriety that enveloped the Chamber gave way when Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, took over to enunciate his contentious resolutions that would guide proceedings. Documents containing the resolutions were released. Monday night.
The most controversial is the paragraphs that addressed calling of witnesses and admission of documents. This is an issue McConnell seemed to have foreclosed.
“The Senate, without any intervention action, motion, or amendment, shall then decide by the yeas and nays whether it shall be in order to consider and debate under the impeachment rules any motion to subpoena witnesses or documents. If the Senate agrees to allow either the House of Representatives or the President to subpoena witnesses, the witnesses shall first be deposed and the Senate shall decide after deposition which witnesses shall testify, pursuant to the impeachment rules. No testimony shall be admissible in the Senate unless the parties have had an opportunity to depose such witnesses. At the conclusion of the deliberations by the Senate, the Senate shall vote on each article of impeachment”, said the resolution.
Senator McConnell emphasised that nobody would dictate order of proceedings to the Senate. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, picked holes in the resolutions which he described as an attempt by the Republicans to cover up the truth.
After a brief recess, a counsel in the President’s defence team Pat Cipollone, rose in support of the resolutions and urged the Senate to proceed. He accused the Democrats of delaying the process for 33 days. House Manager Leader Adam Schiff, in his rebuttal described the resolutions as a mockery of fair trial. He reminded the Senate that the trial was not an appellate body, so it was bound to admit documents and call witnesses. He told the Senators that they were bound by the oath to do impartial justice. He disparaged the resolutions as the bidding of the White House to subvert the truth. Schiff explained that he was not asking the Senate to convict the President, rather, the House Managers insisted they should be allowed to present their case so that Americans, and indeed, the whole world would know the truth. He stated that an innocent person would not conceal evidence. The trial, he asserted should be fair to the House, the President, the Senate and American people.
Jay Sekulow, another member of the defence team, responded to Schiff. Cipollone then took over the arguments , accusing Schiff and his Democratic colleagues of denying
Trump and his lawyers access to the House proceedings, which he described as ridiculous and a charade. He accused the impeachment managers of lying to Americans after the
President released the transcript of his telephone conversation with Ukrainian President. Before the session went on 15-minute recess, Minority Leader Schumer’s amendments to the McConnell’s resolutions were read. The amendments sought to allow existing documents on impeachment to be part of Senate’s record, at least, for now, and subpoena documents.
In deference to his colleagues’ complaints about his resolutions, the Majority Leader quickly made handwritten changes to the rules. The two sides would now present their cases within three days, instead of two days earlier proposed. By implication, the session would last eight hours, rather than 12 hours each day as earlier contemplated. McConnell, it was gathered, staved off unforeseen circumstances. He feared some Republican Senators could break ranks and cast their lots with the Democrats. McConnell also made this concession to his Republican cohorts in order to remain in the President’s good book as one capable of holding Republican Senators together.
Schiff responded to Cipollone’s allegations, saying that the President released the transcript of the telephone conversation after he was caught. He described the claim that the President’s legal team was excluded from House Judicial Committee hearings as untrue. Schiff was miffed that the defence team deliberately refused to address the substance of the case. Zoe Lofgren, a member of House Managers, further made a presentation on how proceedings were conducted, including Executive Privileges the White House invoked against its subpoenas.
Predictably, Schumer’s first amendment to subpoena documents relating to the trial from the White House failed by 53-47 votes along partisan line. The second amendment seeking to subpoena documents from the Department of State was also defeated by the same margin of three votes 53-47, along party line. This came despite argument by Val Demings, another member of the House Managers urging Senators to allow it.
There was also a third amendment to subpoena documents from the Office of Management and Budget, OMB. This was equally defeated as well as the amendment to subpoena witnesses like Mick Mulvaney,
John Bolton etc. Like others, the votes were along party lines. The arguments continued back and forth beyond midnight as both sides doubled down on their positions.