McConnell position irks Senate Republican
Murkowski ‘disturbed’ by pledge to coordinate with Trump team
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from Alaska, says she was “disturbed” to hear Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell say there would be “total coordination” between the White House and the Senate over the upcoming impeachment trial of President Donald Trump.
“In fairness, when I heard that I was disturbed,” Murkowski told KTUU-TV in Anchorage, adding that there should be distance between the White House and the Senate in how the trial is con- ducted.
“To me, it means that we have to take that step back from being hand in glove with the defense,” Murkowski said. “... What leader McConnell had said, I happened to think that that has further confused the process.”
In a recent interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, McConnell, a Kentucky Republican,
described his planning with the White House.
“We’ll be working through this process, hopefully in a fairly short period
of time in total coordination with the White House counsel’s office and the people who are representing the president as well as the Senate,” McConnell said.
Murkowski also was critical of the impeachment process conducted
in the House of Representatives, describing it as rushed.
She said the Senate now is being asked to cure deficiencies in evidence to be presented at the trial, particularly when it comes to whether key witnesses should be brought forward
to testify, including White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney and former National Security Adviser John Bolton.
“How we will deal with witnesses remains to be seen,” Murkowski said before saying the House should have gone to the
court if witnesses refused to appear before Congress.
Murkowski also spoke of her desire for a “full and fair process,” potentially using the impeachment proceeding against President Bill Clinton as a template.
Murkowski remained
undecided about how she might vote at the conclusion of the Trump trial.
“For me to prejudge and say there’s nothing there, or on the other hand, he should be impeached yesterday, that’s wrong, in my view, that’s wrong,” she said.