Impeachment witnesses
A handful of Senate Republicans will decide whether to subpoena or not.
WASHINGTON – A handful of Senate Republicans will determine whether to subpoena witnesses at President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, as Democrats have sought, or simply hear arguments from House prosecutors and White House attorneys, as GOP leaders have suggested.
Republican Sens. Mitt Romney of Utah, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Lamar Alexander of Tennessee have each said they are open to witnesses.
The question became more significant Jan. 6, when former national security adviser John Bolton announced he would testify under subpoena, after refusing an invitation to testify during the House inquiry. But Trump has said he might block Bolton’s testimony under executive privilege to protect the confidential advice presidents receive from top aides.
The trial rules will be set by a majority of senators. In a chamber with 53 Republicans and 47 Democrats, negotiations over the rules focused the spotlight on whether at least four Republican senators would join Democrats in demanding more testimony from witnesses such as Bolton and acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney.
“I expect to have support from Democrats and Republicans because the argument is so strong,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
But Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., slammed Schumer’s proposal, saying the minority leader wanted “a fishing expedition” to fill holes in the House’s flawed investigation. McConnell said he has the votes to begin the trial with opening statements from House managers prosecuting the case and White House attorneys defending the president, followed by senators submitting written questions to both sides.
Votes on possible witnesses could come after the opening statements and questions, as happened in the trial of President Bill Clinton in 1999.
“What’s good for President Clinton is good for President Trump,” McConnell said.
If the door is open to witnesses, Republicans have suggested calling the anonymous whistleblower, who complained about Trump’s dealings with Ukraine, and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who led the Ukraine investigation. Trump suggested calling former Vice President Joe Biden to testify.
Romney, who has criticized Trump for urging Ukraine to investigate Biden as “wrong and appalling” and suffered the president’s wrath for it, said he was open to hearing from Bolton.
“I’d like to hear what he has to say,” Romney said.
Collins and Murkowski left the door open to calling witnesses even before Bolton’s announcement.
Neither Collins nor Murkowski would say definitively how they would vote on specific witnesses. But they have worked to add language to the Senate resolution about how the trial will operate. Their goal is to add wording that explicitly allows for votes to subpoena witnesses and documents after opening statements.
“I have not made a decision on any particular witnesses,” Collins said. “When we reach the appropriate point in the trial, I would like to hear from both sides about which witnesses, if any, they would like to call.”
Another potential witness is Ukraine-born Lev Parnas, an associate of Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani. The White House said Parnas isn’t credible because he is under indictment for campaign finance charges unrelated to Ukraine. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said that Parnas could be a credible witness but that his information must be scrutinized.
The committees subpoenaed Parnas after his arrest in October. Parnas provided the documents, texts and other information from his phones to the committees this week after getting permission from U.S. District Court.