CNN host Jake Tapper questioned House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s strategy of withholding the articles of impeachment from the Senate.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that he has the votes needed to pass a set of impeachment trial rules that does not include further testimony from witnesses. Part of Pelosi’s strategy of withholding the articles was to pressure Republicans into allowing witnesses to speak in the Senate.
Tapper noted that McConnell’s announcement derailed any hopes Pelosi could have of changing the trial in the Senate, no matter how long she holds onto the articles. During an interview with Democratic California Rep. Eric Swalwell, Tapper said, “With all due respect, this leverage gambit does not seem to have worked.”
Swalwell replied by claiming that even though he has the votes, McConnell should do what Pelosi wants because the House did not have the chance to interview John Bolton. He explained, “[McConnell] should just do the right thing. Having the votes is one thing, but if you have a key witness that the House was not able to obtain who is now saying that he is willing to come forward, the right thing seems to be, well, let’s hear from this witness.”
Bolton announced that he would speak to the Senate on Monday, but it does not appear that McConnell or Senate Republicans are interested in hearing from further witnesses following the impeachment in the House.
Other commentators have also asked Pelosi to send the articles of impeachment, including Washington Post columnist Karen Tumulty, who argued that Americans have lost interest in impeachment and it could hurt 2020 Democrats on the campaign trail.
