Mitch McConnell wants Trump's impeachment trial to unfold rapidly deep into the night, but has backup plans in case things go awry and the Senate agrees to hear witnesses. ed_kilgore writes
If McConnell has his way, the impeachment trial will be a late, late show. Photo: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images The smartest thing the wily Mitch McConnell did in planning the impeachment trial of Donald Trump was to line up 51 Republican votes for his “organizing resolution” — the detailed trial protocols addressing matters not prescribed by the Constitution or the standing Senate rules — before anyone had a chance to read it.
The provisions on evidence and witnesses reflect the emerging McConnell/White House multilayered strategy for dealing with various contingencies. As the Washington Post’s Amber Phillips explains, the requirement for a Senate vote to admit House-collected evidence is mostly just an annoyance to show how determined Republicans are to restrict the record:
The deposition requirement if witnesses are actually called is one of several elements of a fallback strategy; McConnell and the White House obviously hope that 51 senators agree not to hear any witnesses . If witnesses are allowed, then an opportunity to depose, say, John Bolton, would provide Trump’s lawyers a convenient moment to assert executive privilege to block the testimony .
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