Stephen Colbert and Seth Meyers seem pretty sure Senate Republicans will break their impeachment oaths

Seth Meyers and Stephen Colbert on the Senate trial
(Image credit: Screenshots/YouTube/The Late Show, Late Night)

"On Friday, the House Judiciary Committee approved two articles of impeachment against our president," Stephen Colbert said on Monday's Late Show. "The vote was 23-17, along strictly partisan lines. That's right — not one Republican evidently has a problem with the president blackmailing a foreign government to get dirt on a political opponent. In a related story, the GOP has changed its mascot from an elephant to an ostrich."

"The full House is expected to vote on impeachment on Wednesday," then senators will act as the jury in President Trump's impeachment trial, Colbert said. "It is their constitutional duty to be impartial," but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell "sees that just slightly differently," telling Fox News he is letting Trump's lawyers dictate how the trial will go and confidently predicting there's "no chance" Trump will be removed from office. "How is that okay?" Colbert asked. "Uh, spoiler alert! Don't tell me how democracy ends!"

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"Republicans are doing everything they can to rig the Senate trial" in Trump's favor, "trying to cheat in the trial about the cheating," Seth Meyers said at Late Night. Graham and McConnell "have said explicitly their only goal is to end the trial as quickly as possible, call zero witnesses, and take their marching orders directly from the president himself," and Graham is so open in his bragging about not being a fair juror, he "sounds like a dude who's just making stuff up to get out of jury duty," Meyers said. "This is the Republican Party of Trump: A party that sees any challenge to its power as illegitimate, that's fine with cheating to win elections, and that rigs trials to avoid consequences for that cheating." Watch below. Peter Weber

Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.