Former Bush WH Lawyer Accuses McConnell of ‘Urinating’ on the Constitution – By Jerry Lambe (Law and Crime) / Feb 1 2020
Despite some Senate Republicans conceding that the president did pressure Ukraine to investigate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son, the chamber on Friday voted to block new documentary evidence and witness testimonies in the impeachment trial, ensuring President Donald Trump’s swift acquittal next week. In a 51-49 vote, only Sens. Mitt Romney of Utah and Susan Collins of Maine bucked the GOP caucus by voting in favor of hearing from witnesses, inciting polemical criticism of both political parties—Republicans for their perceived failure to conduct a fair trial, and Democrats for hurrying through a sloppy investigation of the president’s alleged misdeeds.
In the wake of bombshell revelations from former National Security Advisor John Bolton – whose forthcoming book reportedly provided a firsthand account confirming that Trump made military aid to Ukraine contingent upon Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky publicly announcing the investigations, Republican Sens. Marco Rubio (FL), Rob Portman (OH), Patrick J. Toomey (PA), and Lamar Alexander (TN) all condemned the president’s conduct as being inappropriate, but ultimately concluded that it did not rise to the level of an impeachable offense.
“If you are persuaded that he did it, why do you need more witnesses?” Sen. Alexander said in a statement confirming his opposition to hearing new evidence. “The country is not going to accept being told that they can’t elect the president they want to elect in the week the election starts by a majority for a merely inappropriate telephone call or action.”
“You don’t apply capital punishment for every offense,” he added.
Richard Painter, the former chief White House ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush, was particularly incensed by the Senate’s decision to block witness testimony, accusing Republicans and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of covering up the president’s crimes.
Continue to article: https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/former-bush-wh-lawyer-accuses-mcconnell-of-urinating-on-the-constitution/
