We’re getting closer to the end of this impeachment circus, ladies and gentlemen. The four-year project the Democratic Party has cooked up against President Trump is about to fail. The writing was on the wall last night. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) signaled last night that was a solid “no” vote on new witnesses. He was the key vote. Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and Mitt Romney (R-UT) were also mulling siding with the Democrats on this initiative. With Alexander’s decision, we could have lost Collins, Romney, and Murkowski and still block this motion. Instead, this morning Murkowski said she was voting “no” on new witnesses. We’re primed for acquittal, folks. The final vote on witnesses was 51-49. Sadly, Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), the wild cards for Democrats, did not break ranks on this vote (via WSJ):
Senate Republicans rejected Democrats’ demands to call new witnesses and documents in President Trump’s impeachment trial, clearing the way for a rapid acquittal on abuse of power and obstruction of Congress charges.
The vote Friday represented a major victory for Republican leadership, which has sought to complete the trial as quickly as possible and avoid testimony that could be politically damaging. Democrats had spent weeks calling for the Senate to subpoena former national security adviser John Bolton and other officials, seeking testimony about Mr. Trump’s efforts to press Ukraine to launch investigations that could benefit him politically.
The measure was narrowly defeated, with 51 votes against the motion and 49 in favor. Two Republicans, Sens. Mitt Romney of Utah and Susan Collins of Maine, joined every Democrat to vote for the Senate to call in new witnesses, while every other Republican voted against it.
The next steps remained uncertain, as Senate leaders continued negotiations on a timetable. Lawmakers and aides said that the vote on whether to convict or acquit Mr. Trump may not take place until next week, likely on Wednesday.
Vote to subpoena witnesses & documents in the Senate impeachment trial of Donald Trump fails, 49-51.
— Garrett Haake (@GarrettHaake) January 31, 2020
#BREAKING: Senate rejects impeachment witnesses, setting up Trump acquittal https://t.co/dr8yQhQlG4 pic.twitter.com/gYzpi2LQVy
— The Hill (@thehill) January 31, 2020
BREAKING: Senate Republicans just voted to block all witness testimony and evidence in Trump's impeachment trial.
— CAP Action (@CAPAction) January 31, 2020
They will go down in history as accomplices who covered up Trump's crimes. #ImpeachmentTrialSham pic.twitter.com/9ZIGquob9h
#BREAKING By a vote of 51-49, the Senate has rejected calling witnesses in the Trump impeachment trial.
— WMAL News (@wmalnews) January 31, 2020
BREAKING: The motion to call witnesses in the Senate impeachment trial has failed. @ChadPergram reports that there is not a concrete path to wrap up the trial. Senate stands in recess - negotiations underway?
— Shannon Bream (@ShannonBream) January 31, 2020
Yeah, that tweet from the left-wing Center for America Progress is just great. The Democratic managers made their shoddy case for their soft coup attempt today. No one cares. We all see what this was from the beginning, the Left’s inability to deal with the results of the 2016 election. Democrats hate Trump. It’s blinded them to make a promise of impeachment to their unhinged base. It forced them to hold this joke of an impeachment push on the Hill. They’re responsible for this circus that has degraded the rule of law and our Congress. It’s the Democrats who did this and in the process, they’ve made Trump more popular than ever, the economy is still growing, and swing-state voters are decidedly sour on this clown show. In a twist of irony, the Democrats’ impeachment push might be the biggest in-kind contribution to Trump’s re-election effort.
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