Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) demanded at a press conference on Monday that Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) allow witnesses at the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump.
While speaking to reporters, Schumer said that McConnell had indicated he was ready to negotiate on rules for a Senate trial.
“Senate Democrats believe strongly that the trial must be fair and it’s very important that the American people judge it to be fair,” Schumer said. “A fair trial is one where senators get all the facts and one that allows them to adjudicate the case impartially.”
“Trials have witnesses!” he exclaimed at one point.
In a letter to McConnell, Schumer called for four witnesses to be heard, including acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney and former National Security Adviser John Bolton.
The minority leader said that a trial without witnesses would suggest that both Trump and McConnell have something to hide.
“To engage a trial without the facts coming out is to engage in a cover-up,” Schumer charged. “If Leader McConnell doesn’t hold the full and fair trial the American people will rightly ask, what are you, Leader McConnell, and what is the president hiding?”
Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer: "Senate Democrats believe strongly that the trial must be fair & it's very important that the American people judge it to be fair. A fair trial is one where Senators get all the facts & one that allows them to adjudicate the case impartially." pic.twitter.com/Abdl1WvLTG
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) December 16, 2019
