Trump lays his hopes on McConnell
Lawmakers dispute impeach procedures
WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA: President Donald Trump spent Christmas Eve morning complaining that Democrats had treated him unfairly during the impeachment inquiry and insisted that Republican leaders in the Senate should run a trial however they see fit.
“It’s up to Mitch McConnell, and we have the majority and now they want McConnell to do wonderful things for them,” Mr Trump said of Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Senate majority leader, during remarks to reporters at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
“I mean he’s going to do what he wants to do.”
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are locked in a dispute over the procedures that will govern a Senate impeachment trial, with Democrats insisting it must include testimony from witnesses, a decision that Mr McConnell and other Republicans say is premature.
Mr Trump has said in the past that he is eager for Republicans to mount a robust defence of his actions during a trial that would include witnesses. But his Republican allies in the Senate have expressed misgivings about creating a circus-like trial.
In his remarks on Tuesday, Mr Trump appeared willing to accept whatever Sen McConnell decided.
“He’s very smart guy, a very good guy, a very fair guy,” Mr Trump said.
He criticised Democrats for trying to influence the Senate process, saying “they treated us very unfairly. And now they want fairness in the Senate”.
Mr Trump lashed out at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, saying she “hates all of the people who voted for me and the Republican Party”. And he attacked Rep Adam Schiff, D-Calif, who chairs the House Intelligence Committee and ran the impeachment investigation, as “a sick, corrupt politician”.
A spokesman for Ms Pelosi called the president’s comments “projection”. The speaker said on Monday on Twitter that the House could not take the final steps to send the articles of impeachment to the Senate until senators decided how the trial would be conducted, including a decision about whether witnesses would be called.
“President Trump blocked his own witnesses and documents from the House, and from the American people, on phoney complaints about the House process,” Ms Pelosi tweeted. “What is his excuse now?”
In a letter sent to the Democratic caucus she reiterated that the House would not appoint managers until the Senate presented the rules for an impeachment trial. She also referred to Mr McConnell as “the Grim Reaper” for failing to bring House legislation to a vote.
“The vote on the floor was overwhelming and inspiring,” Ms Pelosi wrote, “and the number of people who want to be mangers is indicative of our strong case”.
Sen Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, said on Monday: “We say to President Trump, if you are so confident that you did nothing wrong, then why won’t you let your men testify? If you did nothing wrong, president, why do you seem so eager to avoid the truth, to hide the truth?”
Sen Schumer also demanded more internal administration documents before an impeachment trial, calling newly released emails showing that military aid to Ukraine was suspended 90 minutes after Mr Trump demanded “a favour” from Ukraine’s president “explosive”.
Mr Trump’s comments to reporters on Tuesday morning came after praising troops during a video call to five military units deployed at bases around the world.
He wished them a merry Christmas and said he hoped that “every member
of our military will feel the overwhelming gratitude of our nation”.
But the president clearly had other things on his mind on the day before Christmas.
He spent the morning retweeting Fox News commentary about the impeachment.
He quoted one as saying that Democrats were “in real doubt about the evidence” for impeachment.
And he quoted another as saying that Ms Pelosi supported the new trade deal with Mexico and Canada only because she needed to do something productive while pursuing impeachment against Mr Trump.