Mitch McConnell Is Fully Prepared to Shut Democrats Out of Impeachment

[babylonsister]

Mitch McConnell Is Fully Prepared to Shut Democrats Out of Impeachment
The Senate majority leader told reporters Tuesday that if he can’t strike a compromise with Chuck Schumer on the rules governing Trump’s trial, Republicans will just figure it out themselves.
By Alison Durkee
December 4, 2019


The impeachment process against Donald Trump took a substantial step forward Tuesday, as the House Intelligence Committee voted to send its damning impeachment report to the House Judiciary Committee, which will draft articles of impeachment. But while the process has so far been a Democratic-dominated affair—no Republicans on the Intelligence Committee voted to advance the report—Republicans may soon be the ones calling the shots. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell suggested Tuesday that when impeachment makes its way to the Senate for a trial, he's prepared to let his slim GOP majority take the reins on setting the rules.

McConnell told reporters Tuesday that he’s preparing a “back-up plan” for figuring out the Senate rules, in case he's not able to strike a bipartisan deal with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on how to structure the proceedings. And that plan, apparently, is to try and cut Democrats out entirely. “The first thing Sen. Schumer and I will do is see if there’s a possibility of agreement on a procedure,” McConnell said. “That failing, I would probably come back to my own members and say: ‘OK, can 51 of us agree how we’re going to handle this?’” The Majority Leader added that he wasn’t sure if he’d prefer a bipartisan deal or working solely with Republicans, telling reporters, “it would depend on what we would agree to.” Should both the bipartisan and partisan negotiations fail to figure out the trial procedure, the task would fall to Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, who will be presiding over the trial. Roberts would submit motions to the Senate about the procedure, which could then be passed with 51 votes.

McConnell's potential decision to force the impeachment procedure through with only Republican support would stand in stark contrast to former President Bill Clinton's impeachment trial, in which a bipartisan compromise on the trial rules passed in a vote of 100-0. (The Senate leader is said to be otherwise planning to model the proceedings on Clinton’s five-week-long trial, the Washington Post reported in November.) Schumer, for his part, hopes McConnell’s partisan contingency plan won’t come to pass. “The best way to do something that’s important and almost as hallowed a procedure as this, is in a bipartisan way, so I hope that Leader McConnell will make every effort to come up with a bipartisan solution working with me. I’m certainly willing to work with him,” Schumer told Politico.

more...

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/12/mitch-mcconnell-impeachment-senate-trial-republicans

[Wounded Bear]

1. Anybody who is surprised has not been paying attention...

More partisan bullshit. I hate to depend on CJ Roberts, but maybe he'll be worried about his legacy and will moderate the crap factor.

[getagrip_already]

16. roberts can't help....

The existing rules of the senate are that with 51 votes, they can over rule his decisions.

All he would have in the end would be a threat to not participate. And we all know the chances of that are, since of he refused, moscow would reach out to alito or thomas to fill the seat.

So this is a case of take a really bad deal, or get a really, really, awful deal.

The dems would have to decline to participate. And that would probably be the best outcome. Don't even pretend that it was an actual trial. Just take it to the voters that the gop is so corrupt, they wouldn't agree to a fair process.

[Mike 03]

23. I appreciate the info.

But that is hard medicine to swallow. I didn't know the Chief Justice had so little influence on the proceedings. This is depressing.

[getagrip_already]

25. He has moral authority plus...

A bully pulpit of sorts, so he isnt entirely toothless. The muscovites will need to treat his rulingz carefully.

That will be hard for them though. They are drunk on power.

But it is something.....

[DownriverDem]

42. No surprise

We all know that the Senate is totally comprised.

[lastlib]

56. Could Roberts carry out a threat not to participate?

Constitution says the CJ "shall" preside in presidential impeachment. Doesn't sound like he has any option.

[getagrip_already]

58. The constitution means...

Exactly ehat the scotus says it means....

Sue him.

It would definitely be a showdown, so its all up to public opinion and putin.

Would he push it to that? I guess it depends on how ham fisted the gop gets.

My guess is no. Not in public anyway.

[Ninga]

2. Go ahead Moscow Mitch. The world is watching how cowards and oath breakers operate.

When will we demonstrate in every city across this country?

[CrispyQ]

14. Good question.

The woman's march of 2017 was the largest ever & has been significantly smaller since. And we didn't even have a march for the kids in cages. People are getting used to the outrageous.

Fintan O’Toole: Trial runs for fascism are in full flow
Babies in cages were no ‘mistake’ by Trump but test-marketing for barbarism

Tue, Jun 26, 2018, 05:00
by Fintan O’Toole

https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/fintan-o-toole-trial-runs-for-fascism-are-in-full-flow-1.3543375

Fascism doesn’t arise suddenly in an existing democracy. It is not easy to get people to give up their ideas of freedom and civility. You have to do trial runs that, if they are done well, serve two purposes. They get people used to something they may initially recoil from; and they allow you to refine and calibrate. This is what is happening now and we would be fools not to see it.

One of the basic tools of fascism is the rigging of elections – we’ve seen that trialled in the election of Trump, in the Brexit referendum and (less successfully) in the French presidential elections. Another is the generation of tribal identities, the division of society into mutually exclusive polarities. Fascism does not need a majority – it typically comes to power with about 40 per cent support and then uses control and intimidation to consolidate that power. So it doesn’t matter if most people hate you, as long as your 40 per cent is fanatically committed. That’s been tested out too. And fascism of course needs a propaganda machine so effective that it creates for its followers a universe of “alternative facts” impervious to unwanted realities. Again, the testing for this is very far advanced.

Other president's approval ratings go up and down, but Trump's approval number holds steady right around 40%. This chart is really interesting.

https://news.gallup.com/interactives/185273/presidential-job-approval-center.aspx

[Doremus]

36. Scary stuff.

The question is what will it take to get people in the streets? We Americans are way too acquiescent.

[DENVERPOPS]

41. You see,

Mitch and the Republican Party don't give a shit what anyone thinks.

Years ago, some Republican told a Democrat: We do, and all you can do is watch......pretty much sums it up

Every day, they take one more step to developing their Tyrant controlled Fascist Government, and us serfs and peasants can just stand by and watch their ascent to a power monopoly.

[CrispyQ]

3. Is anyone surprised by this:

McConnell's potential decision to force the impeachment procedure through with only Republican support would stand in stark contrast to former President Bill Clinton's impeachment trial, in which a bipartisan compromise on the trial rules passed in a vote of 100-0.

What a fucking asshole. So much damage done.

[Hotler]

5. Don't give in to anything Chuck. If they lock us out so be it, it will be on them...

and they will own it. If Mitch locks us out, that is our cue to take to the streets the likes this country hasn't seen in a long, long time.

[BootinUp]

9. +1

[JudyM]

10. +1 standing together, every Dem Senator.

[gratuitous]

13. Agreed

All Schumer has to do is point to the 1998 rules and ask why if those rules of procedure were good enough for the Clinton trial, why aren't they good enough for a trial of Trump. Say it over and over and over. That's all you need to do. Even some of the Wise Old Pundits in the media might be able to follow the logic if it's said enough times.

[lastlib]

57. Schumer had better be sharpening up his game plan.....

We don't want him showing up to a gun-fight with nerf balls.....

Some pressure on Collins, Murkowski, romney, Gardner, might move the needle our way a bit?

[Hermit-The-Prog]

6. Moscow Mitch cares only about power and money

[VOX]

7. That bastard McConnell is worse than his Fuhrer.

Moscow Mitch’s grift is to clear the runway for all the Republican/Trump insanity. Blocking SCOTUS picks, silence in the face of multiple travesties, a hater of government who (along with his wife) has (and will) benefit financially for being one of the worst Americans ever.

[usaf-vet]

47. What I can't understand how could Attorney Jonathan Turley completely ignore the previous behavior..

... of Trump, MoscowMitch, AG Barr, Rudy Guliani, and the entire GOP members of Congress and then suggest that we the people should slow down and trust the courts to level the playing field.

The GOP has spent years stacking the judicial system to ensure court battles will favor the republicans.

If he doesn't see that I would have to assume that he is part of the problem. Let's play nice doesn't work when the opposition has a team of bullies who know only one set of rules. Win no matter what you have to do.

Today we are starting to see what the stacked system MoscowMitch has planned to do to again protect the maniac in the White House.

[N_E_1 for Tennis]

8. Clearing the way for an acquittal...

Not really hard dots to connect.

Their room, their rules
Party before anything else
Constant battering of the fragile coastline of truth by the unrelenting waves of lies.

[Chicago1980]

43. They've never hidden that fact.

The fix has always been in regarding the senate.

[rainin]

11. So we need 2 republicans to do the right thing?

Are there any who will take a stand for the rule of law on a procedural vote? I may be naive, but I still have hope. We only need two, right?

[Proud Liberal Dem]

12. The more the Senate Trial looks like a sham

the worse it will look for Trump/GOP in the end. I mean, it already seems like most Republicans have made up their minds and/or plan to basically ignore any evidence presented of Trump's guilt, but if they're going to try to ram through their rules on a partisan basis and shut out the Democrats, it's going to make things look like even more of a sham than they already are- and make their cries of process unfairness sound even more hollow. Can I just say how much I hate the current timeline? Ousting McConnell next year has to be considered a secondary priority just under getting rid of Trump IMHO.

[MFGsunny]

15. Moscow Mitch better believe he +50 repukes will NOT rule the day in the end.

That end is at the close of election day 2020 (plus whatever days may be needed to audit votes).

In the meantime ::

We shall RESIST.

We shall PERSIST.

We shall VOTE in staggering numbers.

We shall OVERCOME. I do believe.

"The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice."

[getagrip_already]

17. The house dems need to put their foot down...

And refuse to participate unless the rules are fair.

They don't have to deliver anything to the senate. They can just leave it hanging.

There are I believe two steps that have to be taken to start a trial in the senate. The house needs to formally vote to impeach, and the house needs to deliver that bill to the senate. The senate can't act until they have the bill in hand. (correct me if I'm wrong here).

So the house does have some leverage. This wasn't done with clinton since both houses were gop, and they made a show of driving up to the capital with boxes and boxes of evidence along with the bill itself. It didn't happen nixon because the gop was sane back then.

It can and should happen now.

[duforsure]

18. Moscow Mitch will be going to prison

When he and a lot of other republicans are exposed, and they will be.

[DENVERPOPS]

44. I truthfully expect

that IF and when Mitch is ever forced to bug out it will be to China with his pseudo wife to lead a continued life of luxury having left the U.S. and Democracy in shambles.......

His wife, and her parents are Chinese Oligarchs if you didn't know........

[Grasswire2]

19. So the House doesn't send it now.

Wait, wait, wait.

Take your time, Pelosi.

It can be sent over any time in the next year.

Make them sweat while more evidence is gathered.

[sdfernando]

20. In other words moscow mitch is saying the rethugs will make the rules

and the Democrats can compromise by accepting his rules. That is the only acceptable 'compromise" to moscow mitch.

[CincyDem]

21. Does anyone doubt that Putin has as much (or more) Kompromat on Mitch as Trump ???

Let's just admit it - Putin is a very skilled, intelligent covert operator. Damn his ideology and loyalties but don't let that cloud your judgement about his abilities.

Do you think for a moment that he put all his eggs in one basket ?

He's got mitch stretched out over a kentucky bourbon barrel like a 32" elastic belt on my 38" waist.

Mitch will do whatever he has to deliver for the boss lest some very ugly things about him and his family business come to light.

IMHO, of course.

[dalton99a]

22. Moscow Mitch will do everything to protect Putin's puppet.

[MoonRiver]

24. We all know it will just be a kangaroo court.

I’ll be doing other things than watching that farce.

[DinahMoeHum]

26. Fine. He can then oversee the utter destruction of the GOP in 2020. . .

. . .hopefully he'll also get the chop.

[TheBlackAdder]

27. Conservatives are a funny crowd: There's both OAF-Keepers and OAF-Breakers

[Baked Potato]

28. The House shouldn't send it over

Until the Senate rules are set. I think there is some leverage there.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

29. Public support is crucial here, IMO.

Republicans will execute a massive media campaign demonstrating their invented reality for this case.

Therefore, it's crucial for those of us who believe in truth and justice to present the key facts of Trump's impeachable missteps with a countering media blitz, using brief in-your-face TV and social media spots. In this day and age, that's the only way to get most American citizen's attention and they must be repeated over and over.

With enough public pressure, even McConnell will eventually yield to reason......

[democratisphere]

30. All the more reason to drastically slow down the impeachment process

and subpoena everyone necessary, then have the subpoenas enforced by the courts to further prove drumpf and all of his cronies are criminals. Democrats can not get this wrong. Moscow Mitch needs to be put in checkmate regarding impeachment.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

40. It won't matter how many witnesses there are.

Moscow Mitch is going to protect Trump at all cost. Remember the Merrick Garland fiasco, where he refused to hold even one hearing? He'll make up rules that greatly favor the Republicans and make the Democrats virtually powerless, and then he'll have the GOP senators vote for them.

Does the Constitution say the Senate trial has to be held immediately after receiving the articles of impeachment from the House? Does it say how long the trial has to be, or whether each party can bring in a lawyer to represent it? How many other ways can Mitch screw the Dems?

[democratisphere]

46. Countless ways to screw the Dems.

If further testimony under subpoena is achieved, it will make its more and more difficult for rethuglicons to push their russian talking points as having any validity. More is always going to be better than less in this situation.

[Brother Buzz]

31. My Magic 8-Ball says Amy McGrath's war chest is gonna fill up even more

Mitch McConnell's internal polls are in the toilet and they are going to get even worse. Bank on it

https://amymcgrath.com/

Pass the word.

Link to tweet

[2naSalit]

32. All those fucking traitors who signed Lindsey's resolution

should not be allowed to participate as jurors, period. That point needs to become the meme of the month!

[B Stieg]

33. Sure, Mitch.

Like you're not going to set this up like it's a Klan rally.

[yaesu]

34. They are prepared to turn the trial part into a tRump reelection blame Dems for everything circus

and MSM will eat it up. We need to be ready to counter this.

[Perseus]

35. A "bipartisan deal"...sure, sure Mitch, is that "bipartisan deal" republicans set the rules and

Democrats accept them?

He is another con artist.

[OneBro]

37. Same-same.

Take the “100 supported” rules from the Clinton impeachment trial, change the title to “Trump Impeachment” trial rules, and call it good.

[world wide wally]

38. McConnell has no respect for the democratic process what so ever

He's open to anything he can get away with.
Thanks, Kentucky

[pecosbob]

39. Go ahead slick...think your majority will hold? Don't bet on it.

Likely the best thing that can occur politically for Dems at this point is for McConnell to make the entire proceeding into a sham. The Constitution provides a guarantee of the right to call and question witnesses to the opposition party. They can't shut Dems out of the process. All it will take is for a couple of weak links to break and McConnell's front is broken.

[LiberalLovinLug]

45. The GOP are pushing the limits of what a democracy can take and keep intact.

Like little children pushing the limits of what they can get away with with their parents. If they don't get what they want, a process where they get a distinct advantage, they and their big fat baby will cry how unfair it is. Hell, they'll do that even IF they throw out all the rules along with Democrats.

What is infuriating is that the Republican reps, but more importantly the GOP base, DON'T CARE IF THEY CHEAT, OR CREATE AN UNFAIR PROCESS. They are already convinced that their Fuhrer is as innocent as a fresh blanket of snow. And have been convinced, thanks in part to every MSM news network, including MSNBC, that "both sides do it equally". So even IF the GOP will skew the rules in their favour, its only because they HAVE to because they are fighting the evil Democrats that want to negate the last election and the liberal news media that has a mandate against Trump. Poor Donnie.

[droidamus2]

48. Propaganda tricks

This is a typical right wing propaganda trick. Mitch does not intend to let Democrats be part of the process at all. By claiming that he will be the one to reach out to Schumer to try and make a deal he can then go full Republican and claim it was all Schumer's fault.

[Still In Wisconsin]

49. McConnell will do whatever Vlad tells him to do. n/t

[Botany]

50. Fine Mitch you do just that and you and the rest of the traitors can go swimming with the ...

... "Trump Millstone" hanging around your neck.

[UniteFightBack]

51. I would expect no less from him. nt

[moondust]

52. Likely waste of time.

Part circus, part inquisition into the Bidens, part comedy rouitine.

Moscow Mitch and the Riggers gotta keep Dumpy and his connection to the Kremlin in place to complete the establishment of their all new and improved kleptocracy.

[Mike Nelson]

53. MM will shut down the impeachment and...

... begin a massive investigation of the Bidens.

[calimary]

54. Doesn't much matter. The impeachment itself will stand.

Once we get that vote done, he’s impeached. Period. Done. Full stop. And into the history books now and forevermore, amen.

Frankly, I just don’t care, beyond that. The CONS will stick with their CON-lord (King CON). So that can’t be helped. But the impeachment stands. We vote it in the House, he’s IMPEACHED.

And you know what else? THEY will go into the history books too. As the American version of “good Germans,” who stood solidly with a racist, misogynist, lying, cheating, wannabe-mobster CROOK, who gave aid and comfort to our biggest long-avowed enemy, and remained chiefly concerned with loyally serving and working for the benefit of that enemy. THAT’S the label THEY will be forced to wear for the rest of the existence of the republi-CON party. The party of Russia.

And I can live with that. Proudly, too. I’m FINE with that.

After all, red is and has long been their chosen color, don’t forget.

[bluestarone]

55. AGREE!

SO TRUE!

[scarytomcat]

59. I see no reason why we should send anything to senate until 2020

hearings on everything
subpoenas for everyone
there is a lot that is still to be discovered from taxes to Ukraine and republicants' bullshit
there are campaign violations
locking kids up
denying human rights
emoluments
tax fraud
selling out our allies
and on

[budkin]

60. I have a feeling the Senate trial will literally be an open and shut case

Where the GOP simply mocks the Democrats for wasting the country's time and then exonerates Trump.

[ancianita]

61. How McConnell proceeds absolutely cannot cut out Democrats. It has to be at the start of the trial

which must begin by 1pm the day after the Senate receives the Articles from the House.

There is a set of steps the Senate has to take as a body, not as two men deciding.

One way this is figured out appears in Public Citizen's site.

https://www.citizen.org/article/senate-impeachment-trial-procedure/