Republicans Could End Impeachment by Friday

With only three Republican senators considering the motion to allow witness testimony, the end of this impeachment looks to be closer than we thought.

Now, it appears at least two of the three senators have made up their minds, and it’s a no-go for the left.

Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania said he is “very, very skeptical” that he would be convinced to vote for additional witnesses. And Sen. Cory Gardner flat said he wouldn’t vote to solicit witness testimony. So, that leaves Sen. Lisa Murkowski. The Alaskan Republican was seen meeting with Majority Leader Mitch McConnell today, likely to ascertain where she stands on the issue.

In this extremely partisan divide, every vote counts.

As the Washington Examiner further explains:

The vote margin is believed to be razor thin.

Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Mitt Romney of Utah appear likely to call for additional witnesses, while Murkowski’s vote is still up in the air.

Sen. Lamar Alexander, a Tennessee Republican who is not running for reelection, has not indicated whether he will vote for calling witnesses and said he would decide at the end of the trial.

Republicans control 53 votes.

If Collins, Romney, and Murkowski all vote for additional witnesses, it would result in a 50-50 tie, assuming all Democrats vote for witnesses.

A tie vote would defeat the motion to call additional witnesses.

But Democrats still have one card to play. They could actually ask for Chief Justice John Roberts to step in and break the tie.

Enter Justice Roberts

Impeachment has only occurred three times in the history of our country. As such, the precedent to rely on Justice Roberts dates back to the impeachment of Andrew Johnson in 1868. However, at the start of Trump’s impeachment, the GOP made a strategic move. They blocked a motion to authorize Roberts to subpoena witnesses or further documents simply because the testimony and evidence should already be part of the articles the House sent up.

Nevertheless, it’s hard to say whether Roberts would even cast a tie-breaking vote. But if you ask me, it won’t even come to that. McConnell will successfully close ranks within the Republican party and eliminate the need for intervention.

At that point, it’s check-mate. The Senate defeats the motion to call witnesses. Thus, they fast-forward to the end of the trial and vote on the two poorly supported articles of impeachment.

The Washington Examiner continues:

Republicans met privately for lunch before the impeachment trial on Wednesday.

Lawmakers did not discuss witnesses, they told reporters as they left the lunch and headed into the Senate trial.

“I’m optimistic,” Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican and the former Senate majority whip, said. “People have legitimate questions. Part of the difficulty is that no one has done any of this before.”

There are just 15 sitting senators who served during the Clinton impeachment trial, among them Collins.

Collins reminded reporters on Wednesday that she supported hearing witness testimony during the Clinton trial, although the witnesses had already been grilled during an investigation by independent counsel Ken Starr.

The Bolton Debate

Of course, Democrats are desperate to get John Bolton to testify. His upcoming book claims Trump definitely wanted to block aid to the Ukraine until they investigated Biden, his son, and Burisma.

But honestly, this doesn’t even complicate things for Republicans. Because, as Mike Huckabee pointed out:

“The president’s been very transparent, very clear about what he said, when he said it and to whom he said it. And I don’t think there’s any big revelations coming out,” Huckabee said. “And the fact is the Ukrainians got the money that they wanted, they got a heck of a lot more than they got from the previous administration, who gave them blankets and MRE’s [Meals Ready to Eat]. That was all they ever got.”

Thus, we might as well call a spade a spade. Bolton’s book is a publicity stunt of epic proportions. Just like Comey’s book, Hillary’s book, and every other leftist publication penned after the 2016 election.

Meanwhile, I think it’s safe to say that whether this trial takes one week or six, the outcome will be the same. And Trump’s acquittal will single-handedly get him re-elected. You can bank on that as much as you can bank on the Trump economy.

 

 

 

 

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