Category: John Bolton

Toomey Proposes One Witness Deal in Senate Trial

Posted on by LifeZette

By David Kamioner | January 28, 2020

Pennsylvania GOP Senator Pat Toomey, a Trump supporter but not particularly close to the White House, is reportedly floating a plan that would permit the Democrats and the Trump defense team one witness each during the impeachment trial of President Trump in the Senate.

He bills it as a compromise that would limit the time spent on witnesses and would avoid a potential Trump loss on the question when it comes up soon to a Senate vote.

The vote could be won with a simple majority of 51 and several Senators out of the 53 member GOP caucus, to include Alexander, Collins, Romney, Murkowski, McSally, and Gardner, are said to be thinking about supporting the current Democrat proposal for unlimited witnesses.

RELATED: GOP Brings Out Three Big Guns in Senate Trial of Trump

The Democrats would need four GOP turncoats to win that vote.

Collins, McSally, and Gardner are up for reelection this year in light red to purple states and they may be thinking they need to vote for the Democrat measure to keep swing and moderate support. Toomey believes this gambit will keep them and the other possible rebels on board.

LifeZette has learned that Toomey has spoken directly with Romney and Collins on the issue and they have not shot it down out of hand.

Who would those witnesses be?

According to Capitol Hill staffers on both sides of the aisle the Democrats would go with John Bolton and the GOP defense team is leaning towards informer Eric Ciaramella or Adam Schiff.

If Bolton testified against Trump and said the president directly linked Ukrainian military aid to a political hit on Biden it would mark the greatest case of political betrayal DC has seen in a while. It would also be the Fort Sumter in outright political warfare between the Warhawk and America First wings of the GOP.

RELATED: Bolton Manuscript Leaked, Romney and Collins May Vote Against the President

Putting Ciaramella on the stand could expose his partisan nature and his lack of direct knowledge of everything he alleges, thus undercutting the entire Democrat case.

Watching Schiff squirm under cross examination from Jay Sekulow, Eric Herschmann, or, please God, Alan Dershowitz, would not only be spiritually satisfying on the order of a Bach High Mass but would set forth the firm case that the entire House process was a sham from the beginning.

Witnesses would also add to the drama of the proceeding and the media feeding would only get more frenzied.

The vote on the issue could happen this week.

This piece originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.

Read more at LifeZette:
Rocket Strikes U.S. Embassy in Baghdad
More GOP Senators Could Defect in Impeachment Trial
Bolton Manuscript Leaked, Romney and Collins May Vote Against the President

The post Toomey Proposes One Witness Deal in Senate Trial appeared first on The Political Insider.

Top Republican Leader Sends Stern Message to GOP Senators Thinking About Caving To Democrats On Impeachment

Posted on by Guest Author

During a Monday night interview by CBS News, Congressman Mark Meadows warned Republican Senators that if they side with Democrats and break with President Donald Trump during the impeachment trial, they could face “political repercussions.”

Meadows Says John Bolton Shouldn’t Testify

“Congressman Meadows, would you support a White House effort to block a Bolton testimony if he were called as a witness?” CBS News host Norah O’Donnell asked Meadows.

“You know, I’ve been one of the few that believe that Secretary Pompeo and Secretary Perry could have testified when it was over here in the House,” Meadows replied. “I’m also one that believes that when you get close to the president, whether it be his chief of staff or his national security advisor, you have to allow for that free flow of conversation back and forth, where ideas can be shared. And so I do believe that executive privilege should be invoked on that and that we shouldn’t hear from Ambassador Bolton.”

RELATED: Dem Impeachment Manager Echoes Adam Schiff – This is About the Election

Believes Republicans Who Sided with Democrats Would Face ‘Political Repercussions’

“Do you think Republican senators face political repercussions if they break with the president?” O’Donnell asked.

“Yeah, I do,” Meadows said. “I mean, listen, I don’t wanna speak for my Senate colleagues. But there are always political repercussions for every vote you take. There is no vote that is higher-profile than this.”

Meadows is not wrong. As the impeachment circus becomes more and more absurd, whether or not some moderate Republicans decide to stick with President Trump or side with the Democrats is a decision that will rightly define them.

Trump is a Republican president of particular significance, as Meadows rightly pointed out last week.

RELATED: Video Surfaces of Pelosi Accusing Republicans of Impeaching Clinton Out of Hatred

Desperate Dems

If any Republicans decide to go against Trump, Meadows is right that they will likely pay a political price for it. The Democrats have had it in for Trump since day one, and this Ukraine impeachment angle is only the latest ploy of many. When this doesn’t work, there will be more.

You can expect Democrats to be all in on each of these desperate gambits. Republicans should have sense enough to avoid them.

Or else.

The post Top Republican Leader Sends Stern Message to GOP Senators Thinking About Caving To Democrats On Impeachment appeared first on The Political Insider.

Tamara Keith and Amy Walter on impeachment trial witnesses, Iowa polls

Posted on by PBS NewsHour - Politics
NPR's Tamara Keith and Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report join Judy Woodruff to discuss the latest political news, including whether enough Senate Republicans will vote to hear witnesses in the impeachment trial of President Trump and how 2020 presidential candidates are polling and campaigning in Iowa as its Democratic caucuses approach.

Senator Hawley Preparing Motions to Subpoena Schiff, Bidens, Whistleblower in Impeachment Trial

Posted on by Rusty Weiss

Senator Josh Hawley revealed he plans to draft motions to subpoena House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son Hunter, and the alleged ‘whistleblower.’

The move would be especially urgent due to new revelations that moderate Republican senators are threatening to join Democrats in their call for new witnesses in the impeachment trial.

“If the witness vote succeeds, Hawley aims to force votes on subpoenas for House Intelligence Chairman Schiff (D-Calif.), Vice President Biden, Hunter Biden, Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson, the still-unnamed whistleblower,” Politico reported over the weekend.

“If the Senate calls witnesses, I will ask for votes on all these next week,” Hawley tweeted.

RELATED: Romney Says He’s ‘Very Likely’ to Join Democrats on Call For New Impeachment Witnesses

An Urgent Move

Hawley’s proposal is pivotal considering a New York Times report on suspiciously leaked manuscript details involving a book from former National Security Advisor John Bolton.

The report – from anonymous sources – indicates that Bolton accuses President Trump of withholding military aid to Ukraine until Joe Biden and his son Hunter were properly investigated.

While the media hit job smacks of a replay of that carried out against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, it is enough to cause weak-kneed senators to crumble and attempt to completely re-litigate the impeachment articles in the Senate.

Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) has admitted, “I think it’s very likely I’ll be in favor of witnesses.”

Susan Collins, Senator from Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, Senator from Alaska, are also reportedly flaking. Meaning Democrats would need just one other Republican colleague to tuck their tail between their legs and join them in the impeachment hit job.

Should they succeed, Hawley’s measure would present the impeachment managers with a difficult double-edged sword, raising the specter that Schiff, Biden and the whistleblower could all be called to testify.

RELATED: Report: GOP Adding a ‘Kill Switch’ Option to Prevent Democrats From Turning Impeachment Into Circus

Activate the Kill Switch

Last week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell finalized rules for the impeachment trial, adding what some defined as a ‘kill switch’ in which the President’s legal team could either move to judgment or move to dismiss at a meaningful time.

The House failed to do their homework and call Bolton to testify in the first place. Bolton’s claims in a book he is setting up for online pre-order contradict the reality behind the transcripts of the telephone call. So, they’re not a game-changer by any stretch. That said, perhaps it’s time to implement the ‘kill switch.’

Seeing Schiff, the Biden’s, and the whistleblower dragged in to testify would be an interesting prospect sure, but the longer this gets dragged out, the longer Democrats and the media will have to continually manufacture new evidence – just as they did with Kavanaugh.

It’s time to stop the madness.

The post Senator Hawley Preparing Motions to Subpoena Schiff, Bidens, Whistleblower in Impeachment Trial appeared first on The Political Insider.