As we have all feared, Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) now seems ready to stand with Democrats during the Senate impeachment trial.
With the majority of Republicans wanting a quick vote to dismiss the charges, Romney now wants to give Schumer his request for witnesses, starting with John Bolton, Trump’s former National Security Adviser.
Breaking with the Party
What Bolton has to say, nobody knows, but Romney wants to hear it.
He stated, “I would like to be able to hear from John Bolton.
“What the process is to make that happen, I don’t have the answer for you.”
This is in stark contrast to most Republican Senators that have sided with Majority Leader McConnell (R-KY), who wants to take a vote after opening arguments.
Bolton Prepared to Testify
Several days ago, John Bolton put everyone on notice that if he is called, he will testify before the Senate.
He stated, “The House has concluded its constitutional responsibility by adopting articles of impeachment related to the Ukraine matter.
“It now falls to the Senate to fulfill its constitutional obligation to try impeachments, and it does not appear possible that a final judicial resolution of the still-unanswered constitutional questions can be obtained before the Senate acts.
“Accordingly, since my testimony is once again at issue, I have had to resolve the serious competing issues as best I could, based on careful consideration and study.
“I have concluded that, if the Senate issues a subpoena for my testimony, I am prepared to testify.”
Just what Bolton will say remains to be seen, though, as he and Trump have been at odds at times since Bolton left his post.
However, Bolton clearly supported the strike carried out against Soleimani.
None of this may matter, though, as McConnell appears ready to stick by his guns.
He recently stated, “Let me clarify Senate rules and Senate history for those who may be confused.
“First, about this fantasy that the Speaker of the House will get to hand-design the trial proceedings in the Senate, that’s obviously a non-starter.”
He further stated, “The House went ahead without witnesses, and they didn’t pursue the witnesses in court.
“They just blew right through that and accused the president of doing something improper by simply invoking executive privilege, which every president has done.”
The question now is if the Senate would have enough votes to outright dismiss the charges.
Republicans currently hold an edge with 53 Republican Senators, only needing 51 to win the vote.
Clearly, though, Romney would now NOT be one of those 51, so whether McConnell wants to or not, some witnesses may need to be called to pacify Republican members not yet sold on Trump’s innocence.
Source: Breitbart
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