The House of Representatives was forced to impeach Donald Trump for committing the high crime of withholding military aid in order to pressure Ukraine to interfere in the 2020 election.
Now it’s the Senate’s responsibility to weigh the overwhelming evidence of this abuse of power in a fair trial.
But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is refusing to release the rules for that impeachment trial. He expects us to just trust that he’ll run a fair process.
But McConnell hasn’t earned that trust. He has repeatedly and publicly promised to run a sham trial rigged to acquit Donald Trump regardless of the evidence.
- He’s said that he’s taking his “cues” from and “coordinating” with the White House.
- He’s said that he’s not trying to be “impartial.”
- He’s even refusing to commit to calling firsthand witnesses like former National Security Advisor John Bolton who had direct conversations with Donald Trump.
That’s why Speaker Pelosi is 100% correct to wait before appointing House managers and transmitting the articles of impeachment over to the Senate.
Without knowing the rules, how can we be sure that McConnell won’t dismiss the articles outright?
The truth is that Pelosi’s actions have weakened McConnell’s ability to cover up for the White House. By withholding the articles, she prevented McConnell from sweeping them under the rug before Christmas and allowed time for new pieces of important evidence to emerge.
The White House and its Senate Republican lapdogs cannot be allowed to run a rigged impeachment trial tilted in Donald Trump’s favor.
It’s Congress’ responsibility to make it clear that nobody is above the law — not even the President of the United States.
Frequently Asked Questions
QUESTION: Some House and Senate Democrats are calling for Pelosi to transfer over the articles of impeachment now.
ANSWER: Mitch McConnell has not earned that level of trust. He’s said outright that he plans to rig the trial. He can show us this is not true by revealing the rules he intends to use to govern the trial.
QUESTION: She should just let the Senate Democrats negotiate with McConnell.
ANSWER: Senator Schumer made multiple good faith efforts to negotiate with McConnell. He was rebuffed — and now McConnell is keeping the rules of the trial secret, saying: trust us. But he hasn’t earned that trust.
QUESTION: Don’t we know the rules? McConnell says he’ll use the same ones as Clinton.
ANSWER: If that’s the case, why doesn’t he release the rules and make them public? The only thing we do know for sure is that he said he’s not impartial and that he’s taking his cues from the White House. He has not earned our trust.
