You know, Joe Micklewhite (or Junior as we like to call him) is in every movie ever. No wonder he got on the Queen’s List. Regular readers recognize I’m a sucker for scattered smothered, chunked, covered, capped, and Country (please, no peppered- I’m terribly allergic) with an egg over on top.
Moscow Mitch is not in a very good place.
White House wants Senate trial rules to include ability to dismiss Trump charges
By Manu Raju, Phil Mattingly and Ted Barrett, CNN
January 13, 2020
The White House is urging Senate Republicans to preserve the option of moving to swiftly dismiss the charges against President Donald Trump after opening arguments in his impeachment trial, as GOP leaders and Trump’s team look for a quick end to the proceedings, according to sources familiar with the discussions.
Republicans are debating including in the Senate resolution, which would govern the rules of the trial, a provision to dismiss the charges, something that would require 51 votes and would stop the trial in its tracks.
But moving ahead with a dismissal vote could put Republicans up for reelection in a tough spot if they are seen as moving too quickly to dismiss the case. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell could not afford to lose more than two votes — and GOP sources say the Kentucky Republican currently does not have enough votes to simply dismiss the case.
McConnell has made clear to his colleagues that he wants Trump to emerge victorious in the trial and is not willing to hold a vote that could fail, sources said. He’s also keenly aware of what a vote to dismiss would look like politically, according to Republican senators, and has shepherded his conference away from the idea for several weeks.
Once the trial has begun, the Senate can vote on the merits of the articles of impeachment and choose to acquit Trump, something that can be done with only 34 votes because the Constitution requires 67 votes to convict the President and remove him from office. GOP proponents of this move argue Trump would have a stronger argument to say he was exonerated on the merits of the case, rather than simply relying on a procedural vote to dismiss the charges. Trump, though, might have to wait longer for a vote on acquittal to occur.
Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican and member of McConnell’s leadership team, said Monday he would prefer a vote to acquit the President on the merits, rather than seek a quick vote to dismiss the charges. “That would be my advice. Let both sides have their say and have their vote.”
And Cornyn downplayed a weekend tweet from Trump calling for an “outright dismissal.”
“At different times, the President has expressed different views,” Cornyn said. “I wouldn’t get too distracted by an intervening tweet.”
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Over the weekend, Trump argued that having a trial would add credibility to the Democrats’ case, calling for a dismissal of the charges.“Many believe that by the Senate giving credence to a trial based on the no evidence, no crime, read the transcripts, ‘no pressure’ Impeachment Hoax, rather than an outright dismissal, it gives the partisan Democrat Witch Hunt credibility that it otherwise does not have,” Trump tweeted. “I agree!”