Senate Rejects Calling Witnesses In Trump Impeachment Trial

The Senate voted Friday afternoon to reject calling additional witnesses to testify in the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, the Washington Post reports, ensuring the trial will be the first without witnesses in American history. The decision all but ensures Trump's eventual acquittal.

Early Friday, Senate Republicans appeared to have enough votes to block witnesses and additional documentation for a quick acquittal. It is also likely the Senate will delay a final vote to acquit Trump of all charges until next week under a proposal being negotiated Friday afternoon by party leaders, AP reports.

Prior to the vote, Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska issued a statement, saying she would vote against calling witnesses, essentially ensuring the vote would fail.

“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 in her statement.

Following Murkowski's statement, another Republican senator, Rob Portman of Ohio, confirmed through his own statement he will vote against admitting additional evidence.

Heading into the day, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said he would vote to allow additional witnesses and documents in Trump's trial, according to reports. Romney was joined by GOP Sen. Collins of Maine, who also said she plans to vote for witnesses.

However, GOP Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee said there's "no need for more evidence" in Trump's trial, and without his vote to allow witnesses, the outcome of the trial was all but assured.

Alexander said in a statement that while it was “inappropriate” for the president to ask Ukraine to investigate a political rival, he said the House charges, even if true, “do not meet the Constitution’s treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors standard for an impeachable offense.”

Trump was impeached by the House last month on charges that he abused his power like no other president, jeopardizing Ukraine and U.S.-Ukraine relations. Democrats said Trump asked the vulnerable ally to investigate Joe Biden and debunked theories of 2016 election interference, withholding American security aid to the country as it battled Russia at its border.

The second article of impeachment says Trump then obstructed the House probe in a way that threatened the nation's three-branch system of checks and balances.

The trial kicked off last Tuesday as House impeachment managers delivered 24 hours of opening arguments across three days. Closing out their case, House Democrats warned that the president will persist in abusing his power and endangering American democracy unless Congress intervenes to remove him before the 2020 election.

They then implored Republican senators to allow new testimony before rendering a final verdict.
“Give America a fair trial,” Rep. Adam Schiff, the lead Democratic impeachment manager, said Friday. “She’s worth it.”

Trump’s legal team on Tuesday concluded its three-day presentation as they started it — arguing that the Democrats’ case amounted to partisan politics that would undo the results of the 2016 presidential election and drive Trump from office.

Trump's lawyers argued forcefully against calling former national security adviser John Bolton as a witness, saying his yet-to-be-published manuscript contains unproven allegations that would be “inadmissible” during a typical trial.

As the defense used less than half its allotted 24 hours of argument, White House counsel Pat Cipollone said the impeachment trial "should end now, as quickly as possible.”

On Thursday, Senators had an opportunity to ask questions. Lawmakers inquired about foreign election interference, the scope of presidential power and other areas that cut to the heart of the case now nearing its conclusion.

Several sought clarity on answers delivered a day earlier, including arguments from White House lawyers that foreign involvement in an election isn't automatically inappropriate and that presidents acting in what they think is the national interest enjoy broad latitude in what they do.

Despite GOP leaders appearing to have the votes they need to bypass witnesses, the trial could drag into next week, Politico reports. Both the House managers and Trump's defense team want more time for arguments, and the Iowa caucuses on Monday and Trump's State of the Union address Tuesday are expected to create scheduling concerns.

The Senate is expected to convene at 1 p.m. EST Friday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.