Senate Republicans are planning to turn the tables on House Democrats presenting the impeachment case against President Trump.
Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said Friday he and his GOP colleagues plan next week to ask Democratic House impeachment managers about the Ukraine whistleblower and coordination with the staff of House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, a California Democrat who has led arguments on the Senate floor this week advocating Trump’s removal from office by two-thirds of the Senate.
“I think they’ve brought up a lot of a lot of issues [during the House impeachment investigation]. They put people forward to testify in their case. Did any of these witnesses that were presented to us, did they have any contact with the whistleblower? I don’t know? I’d like to ask,” Graham told the Washington Examiner. “I think some people may ask about is there a connection between the whistleblower and anybody on the manager’s staff? Yeah, that would be a good question to ask. I also think it’s very relevant who this person is.”
House Republicans on the Intelligence Committee attempted to ask witnesses and Schiff during the House impeachment proceedings about the alleged Ukraine whistleblower and his motivations for filing his whistleblower complaint, but they were repeatedly blocked by the chairman.
The House Democratic impeachment managers will wrap up their opening arguments Friday as the White House’s legal counsel prepare its opening arguments in defense of the president this weekend, starting on Saturday. The president’s legal team has 24 hours to over a three-day period to give its case.
Following their arguments, the Q&A phase of the impeachment trial proceeds, and senators will submit their questions of both the impeachment managers and Trump’s legal counsel to Chief Justice John Roberts, who is presiding over the trial. Over a 16-hour period, Roberts will read senators’ submitted questions.
