The U.S. Senate voted to not compel witnesses and documents in the impeachment trial. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) and Susan Collins (R-ME) voted with Democrats to hear from additional witnesses and view more documents. This means the likely result of the trial is that President Trump will be acquitted and not removed from office.
Collins released a statement yesterday that she would be voting yes, “I believe hearing from certain witnesses would give each side the opportunity to more fully and fairly make their case, resolve any ambiguities, and provide additional clarity.” View the complete statement here. Collins is facing one of her toughest elections in her career as she will appear on the ballot in 2020. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton won Maine with roughly 48% and 360,000 votes in 2016, while Trump received 45% and 336,000 votes.
Conservative commentator Mark Levin tweeted his support of the Republican majority while dissing Senators Romney and Collins. View it below:
Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) voted to not allow additional witnesses. In her statement, she says that she worked from a fair, honest, and transparent process, modeled after the Clinton trial. “The House chose to send articles of impeachment that are rushed and flawed. I carefully considered the need for additional witnesses and documents, to cure the shortcomings of its process, but ultimately decided that I will vote against considering motions to subpoena,” Murkowski said.
According to an article published by The Hill, “Murkowski sat next to Collins on the Senate floor throughout the trial and the two senators passed notes back and forth during the senators’ question time, providing a hint they might vote the same way on the question of witnesses. Murkowski was also seen chatting regularly with Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), who until late Thursday night was also undecided on the question of witnesses. They met together before a dinner of the entire Senate Republican Conference and were regularly spotted sitting next to each other at GOP meals.”
Also, when Alexander announced Thursday that he would vote against subpoenaing new evidence for the trial, it was a sign that Murkowski would as well, “Senate Republicans thought it was unlikely a vote on subpoenaing additional witnesses and documents would end in a tie, which may have put pressure on Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to cast a tie-breaking vote.”
The United States Senate is expected to vote to acquit President Trump within the week.
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