A constitutional law attorney argued the outrage over Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell taking “cues” from the White House on a Senate impeachment trial is overblown.
Jenna Ellis, who is a senior legal adviser for the Trump 2020 campaign, said, “Not at all,” when asked if the critics, some of whom are calling on McConnell to recuse himself from the process, have a point.
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“The trial, in terms of the process constitutionally, is up to the Senate, and this is different than a traditional judicial forum. This is what we would call a quasi-judicial forum,” Ellis said Friday on Fox News. “So, for Mitch McConnell, that doesn’t mean that he’s somehow jury-rigging this whole thing. It just simply means: What is the process going to be, how does this look for these types of articles of impeachment?”
McConnell said he would follow direction from Trump’s lawyers during an impeachment trial.
“Everything I do during this, I’m coordinating with White House counsel,” the Kentucky Republican told Fox News host Sean Hannity on Thursday. “We’ll be working through this process, hopefully in a short period of time, in total coordination with the White House counsel’s office.”
McConnell also said there is “zero chance” Trump will be removed from office.
Democrats were incensed by the remarks.
“If articles of impeachment are sent to the Senate, every single senator will take an oath to render ‘impartial justice,’” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Friday in a statement. “Making sure the Senate conducts a fair and honest trial that allows all the facts to come out is paramount.”
The House Judiciary Committee voted on Friday to advance two articles to impeach Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The House will vote on the articles next week, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said.
A two-thirds supermajority of senators is required to remove the president, should the House approve articles of impeachment by a majority vote.
Ellis argued there is “no legal or constitutional basis” for either article of impeachment Trump faces.
“All that the Democrats are doing is putting this forth against President Trump because they are ignoring the separation of powers. They’re ignoring the legitimate vested powers in the executive branch that President Trump has for foreign policy to set that. He’s not abusing the power, they’re simply disagreeing with the policy,” Ellis said. “And for obstruction of justice, he’s allowed to go to the judicial branch and say, do I have to comply with these subpoenas or not? Congress, and especially Democrats, are not the tyrants and overlords of Congress who can tell the president what he can and can’t do.”
