Mitch McConnell Plans on Rigging the Impeachment Trial

“Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told Fox News Thursday night that while he has ‘no choice’ but to hold a trial if the House votes to impeach President Donald Trump, that does not mean the process will be in any way impartial.

“‘Everything I do during this I'm coordinating with White House counsel,’ said the Kentucky Republican. ‘There will be no difference between the president's position and our position as to how to handle this.’

“McConnell noted that with ‘typical’ legislative issues he has the power to simply block them from coming up for a vote, as he has done with a number of House-passed bills.

“‘We have no choice but to take it up,’ McConnell said of impeachment. ‘But 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.’

“Democratic lawmakers viewed McConnell's comments as unsurprising confirmation that the GOP-controlled Senate has no plans to allow an objective impeachment trial.

“‘The Majority Leader proudly announcing he is planning to rig the impeachment trial for Trump,’ Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) tweeted Thursday night.

“Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, told CNN that, ‘in other words, the jury—Senate Republicans—are going to coordinate with the defendant—Donald Trump—on how exactly the kangaroo court is going to be run.’

“McConnell's comments came after CNN reported Thursday that the Senate Majority Leader met behind closed doors with White House counsel Pat Cipollone ‘to coordinate closely for an impeachment trial.’

“‘While no final decisions have been made, McConnell and Cipollone agreed that when a trial begins, the House Democratic impeachment managers would have an opportunity to present, followed by the Trump's lawyers presenting the President's defense,’ according to CNN. ‘At the conclusion of the presentations, the White House may provide its own briefing to Senate Republicans about the next steps it would want to see in the trial, including possible witnesses it would like to be called.’

“McConnell and other Senate Republicans have reportedly expressed support in private for a rapid impeachment trial that calls no witnesses. ‘If Mitch McConnell goes through with his reported plan to hold a sham impeachment trial that acquits President Trump without calling witnesses, it will provide the perfect coda for the corrupt and farcical way Trump’s defenders have handled this saga all throughout,’ the Washington Post's Greg Sargent wrote Thursday.

“‘In so doing,’ Sargent added, ‘the Senate Majority Leader and other assorted Trump propagandists will be unabashedly enshrining their position as follows: We've already decided in advance that the full facts will not persuade us to turn on Trump, no matter how damning they are, so why should we listen to them at all?’”

For the article and video of McConnell, click here. 

Last night, Mitch McConnell appeared on Fox News to reassure viewers that Trump’s acquittal in the Senate was a lock:

According to McConnell: “Everything I do during this, I’m coordinating with White House Counsel. There will be no difference between the President’s position and our position as to how to handle this…There’s no chance the president will be removed from office.”

Someone should remind McConnell that the Constitution requires that the Senate act as an independent jury on impeachment. Imagine the foreman of a jury announcing before the trial that there will be no difference between the jury’s position and the defendant’s, that the jury will be working in lockstep with the defendant, and that the jury has already decided the defendant’s innocence!

Folks, I cannot understate how unprecedented and dangerous for our democracy this is. Senate Republicans have abdicated their duty to uphold the Constitution. I know I shouldn’t be surprised anymore, but the complete and utter self-destruction of today’s Republican Party never ceases to amaze me -Robert Reich.

Doesn’t McConnell have to state, “I solemnly swear [or affirm, as the case may be] that in all things appertaining to the trial of the impeachment of [the person being impeached], now pending, I will do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws: So help me God” (Procedure and Guidelines for Impeachment Trials in the U.S. Senate)?