Trump's lawyers won't name any witnesses they could call to clear Trump of impeachment charges
Republicans have been saying that if former National Security Adviser John Bolton testifies at President Trump's impeachment trial, as Democrats want, they have a list of witnesses they would call in return, including former Vice President Joe Biden, his son Hunter, and the whistleblower whose since-verified complaint about Trump's actions with Ukraine sparked the impeachment investigation. Democrats say none of those witnesses are relevant to the charges against Trump, that he withheld military aid to Ukraine to force corrupt investigations of Biden, a top threat to his re-election.
So in Thursday's question period of Trump's impeachment trial, Sen. Amy Kloubuchar (D-Minn.) and Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) asked both House prosecutors and Trump's defense team if any of the witnesses Trump's lawyers might call "would have first-hand knowledge of the charges against the president and his actions?" Lead prosecutor Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said there are "absolutely" such witness, like acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, noting they have both issued statements that seek to exculpate the president.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow said the people Schiff named are Democratic witnesses. He didn't explain why Trump's team doesn't want them to testify, but he did note that Republicans have the votes to call any witness they want without Schiff's permission. "I just think the irony of this," he said, "that we could call anyone we want, except the witnesses we want, but we can call their witnesses that they want."
It looks like the question might end up being moot, because Republicans appear to have the votes to block all witnesses.
-
Switzerland could vote to cap its populationUnder the Radar Swiss People’s Party proposes referendum on radical anti-immigration measure to limit residents to 10 million
-
Political cartoons for February 15Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include political ventriloquism, Europe in the middle, and more
-
The broken water companies failing England and WalesExplainer With rising bills, deteriorating river health and a lack of investment, regulators face an uphill battle to stabilise the industry
-
Judge blocks Hegseth from punishing Kelly over videoSpeed Read Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed for the senator to be demoted over a video in which he reminds military officials they should refuse illegal orders
-
Trump’s EPA kills legal basis for federal climate policySpeed Read The government’s authority to regulate several planet-warming pollutants has been repealed
-
House votes to end Trump’s Canada tariffsSpeed Read Six Republicans joined with Democrats to repeal the president’s tariffs
-
Bondi, Democrats clash over Epstein in hearingSpeed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi ignored survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and demanded that Democrats apologize to Trump
-
El Paso airspace closure tied to FAA-Pentagon standoffSpeed Read The closure in the Texas border city stemmed from disagreements between the Federal Aviation Administration and Pentagon officials over drone-related tests
-
Judge blocks Trump suit for Michigan voter rollsSpeed Read A Trump-appointed federal judge rejected the administration’s demand for voters’ personal data
-
US to send 200 troops to Nigeria to train armySpeed Read Trump has accused the West African government of failing to protect Christians from terrorist attacks
-
Grand jury rejects charging 6 Democrats for ‘orders’ videoSpeed Read The jury refused to indict Democratic lawmakers for a video in which they urged military members to resist illegal orders
