Last month, 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.
The Senate must now do its constitutional duty by conducting a fair trial that considers all the facts and puts country before party.
That means allowing the new House impeachment managers appointed by Speaker Nancy Pelosi to present all the evidence, including firsthand witnesses and new bombshell documents that directly implicate Donald Trump as the architect of the entire plot.
Specifically, this includes:
- Testimony from firsthand witnesses like former National Security Advisor John Bolton and Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, who each had direct communication with Trump.
- A handwritten note from indicted Giuliani associate Lev Parnas that lays out the plot, saying: “Get Zelensky to announce that the Biden case will be investigated.”
- A letter from May 2019 showing that Giuliani was working to pressure Ukraine at the direction of Donald Trump.
- Text messages that show Giuliani’s associates were stalking Ambassador Yovanovitch, including physical and electronic surveillance. She was someone they considered an obstacle to the plot. Their behavior raises serious questions, especially in light of the fact this came a few months before Trump threatened Yovanovitch on his July 25 call with Zelensky, saying: “She’s going to go through some things.”
- New documents showing that Trump granted legal representation to the indicted Giuliani associate, Lev Parnas, who he previously claimed not to have known.
Unfortunately, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is still refusing to commit to allowing new and direct evidence. This should come as no surprise from someone who has repeatedly bragged that he’s not impartial and said that he’s coordinating with the White House.
But facts are not on his side:
- The Senate has conducted 15 impeachment trials in its history—and it heard witnesses in every one. In fact, the Senate heard from three witnesses in the trial of President Clinton and from 41 witnesses in the trial of President Andrew Johnson.
- Sen. McConnell in 1999 said that “it’s not unusual to have a witness in a trial. It’s certainly not unusual to have witnesses in an impeachment trial.”
The simple truth is that the Senate is required by the Constitution to conduct a fair trial and the American people deserve for senators to take their role as jurors seriously.
Other public officials engaging in similar conduct as Donald Trump have been investigated, prosecuted, and sent to prison. It’s now the Senate’s responsibility to uphold the principle that no one—including the president—is above the rule of law.
If the American people aren’t allowed a fair trial, this should be seen as nothing more than another cover-up by Senate Republicans and the White House.
Originally posted on Impeachment HQ. Re-posted with permission.