Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) is prepared to file a motion to dismiss the two articles of impeachment passed in the lower chamber last month. The House Democrats voted on a party line basis to impeach President Trump on abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. But, almost immediately after that partisan win, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi threatened to withhold the articles from the Senate, where they would next head for a trial.
Two can play at this political game.
Dems said impeachment was URGENT. Now they don’t want to have a trial, because they have no evidence. In real world, if prosecution doesn’t proceed with case, it gets dismissed. So on Monday, I will introduce measure to dismiss this bogus impeachment for lack of prosecution
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) January 2, 2020
"This will expose Dems’ circus for what it is: a fake impeachment, abuse of the Constitution, based on no evidence. If Dems won’t proceed with trial, bogus articles should be dismissed and @realDonaldTrump fully cleared," he goes on.
Hawley is on to something by noting the sudden lack of urgency on the Democrats' part. Does Pelosi just want to make sure these articles are still hanging over the president's head come election time? Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer seems just as prepared to drag this process out a bit longer after sending a few last minute requests to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Schumer's letter indicated that before they schedule an impeachment trial, he wants to hear from a few more witnesses, and he wants to read several more documents. Something about wanting to ensure this is a "fair" process.
But to Republicans, it just sounded like Pelosi and her colleagues failed to make the case for impeachment in the House.
"My proposal will take form of motion to update Senate impeachment rules to account for this unprecedented attempt to obstruct Senate trial," Hawley informed us on Thursday. "Stay tuned."