In a national poll published Friday, 66% of Americans said the Senate should call witnesses to testify in President Trump’s impeachment trial.
The Washington Post-ABC News poll was conducted between Jan. 20 and 23.
Respondents who identified as Democrats are 87% in favor of calling new witnesses, while fewer than half of Republicans, at 45%, agreed. Nearly as many Republicans opposed calling new witnesses as wanted to. Independents fell between the partisan divide. Sixty-five percent were in favor of new witnesses, while 28% remained opposed.
No witnesses have been called since the House approved articles of impeachment against Trump in mid-December, charging abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The abuse of power charge centers on whether he pressured Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden in return for releasing funding that had been authorized by Congress.
The Trump defense team and Republicans have both pushed for a shorter trial without further testimony. Democrats want four White House officials to testify, witnesses who might speak to Trump’s actions with respect to Ukraine, including former Trump national security adviser John Bolton, 71. Bolton said in a statement that he would testify if subpoenaed.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell obtained commitments from all but one GOP senator to support rules similar to the 1999 impeachment of President Bill Clinton. In that trial, whether to call witnesses in deposition or live on the floor occurred after each side presented their case in 24 hours spread over a few days. The three witnesses called in the Clinton Senate trial had also been called in the House.
In an interview on Friday, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz said he had advised the Trump legal team to press for an exchange of witnesses that would allow Bolton to testify in return for former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden, 49, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, and the Ukraine whistleblower who revealed the phone call in which Democrats say Trump pressured the Ukrainians.
House Democrats’ impeachment managers will rest their case on Friday, telling reporters they believed they could win a court fight if the White House tried to block witness testimony. Next week, Senate Democrats will force votes to summon witnesses.
