Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) arrives at the U.S. Capitol on January 23, 2020 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
Jan 28, 2020
President Donald Trump fired off a pair of tweets Tuesday night ranting about what he called the "impeachment hoax" and "political con job" shortly after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell reportedly admitted in a closed-door meeting with GOP lawmakers that he doesn't have the votes to stop witnesses from being called to testify in the ongoing trial.
"No matter how many witnesses you give the Democrats, no matter how much information is given, like the quickly produced Transcripts, it will NEVER be enough for them," Trump tweeted. "They will always scream UNFAIR."
In a separate tweet hours later, Trump asked why former national security adviser John Bolton--the most prominent potential witness with first-hand knowledge of the president's actions--didn't "complain about this 'nonsense' a long time ago, when he was very publicly terminated."
Bolton alleges in an unpublished book manuscript that Trump said he wanted to withhold congressionally approved aid to Ukraine until that country agreed to launch investigations into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter.
The president's tweets came after McConnell reportedly told fellow Republican senators that he lacks the votes to continue blocking witnesses for the Senate trial, stonewalling that Democratic lawmakers and other critics have described as a cover-up. Just four Senate Republicans would have to vote with Democrats to approve witnesses.
"He's desperate," Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) wrote in response to Trump's tweets, urging the public to continue calling GOP senators who could vote to call witnesses.
\u201cHe\u2019s desperate. Keep calling:\nSenator Pat Toomey (202) 224-4254\nSenator Rob Portman (202) 224-3353\nSenator Mitt Romney (202) 224-5251\nSenator Susan Collins (202) 224-2523\nSenator Lisa Murkowski (202) 224-6665\nSenator Lamar Alexander (202) 224-4944\u201d— Eric Swalwell (@Eric Swalwell) 1580273666
According to the Wall Street Journal, McConnell told Republicans following the final day of presentations from Trump's defense team that the "vote total wasn't where it needed to be on blocking witnesses or documents."
"He had a card with 'yes,' 'no,' and 'maybes' marked on it, apparently a whip count, but he didn't show it to senators," the Journal reported. A vote to approve witnesses for the Senate trial is expected to take place Friday.
"The pressure is working," declared progressive advocacy group Indivisible, which has been driving calls Republican senators. "This is huge. We need to hear from Bolton and the other witnesses who know exactly how egregious Trump's abuse of power was."
"This is no time to ease up--keep calling every day until the vote," the group added.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Our Summer Campaign is now underway, and there’s never been a more urgent time for Common Dreams to be as vigilant as possible. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
President Donald Trump fired off a pair of tweets Tuesday night ranting about what he called the "impeachment hoax" and "political con job" shortly after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell reportedly admitted in a closed-door meeting with GOP lawmakers that he doesn't have the votes to stop witnesses from being called to testify in the ongoing trial.
"No matter how many witnesses you give the Democrats, no matter how much information is given, like the quickly produced Transcripts, it will NEVER be enough for them," Trump tweeted. "They will always scream UNFAIR."
In a separate tweet hours later, Trump asked why former national security adviser John Bolton--the most prominent potential witness with first-hand knowledge of the president's actions--didn't "complain about this 'nonsense' a long time ago, when he was very publicly terminated."
Bolton alleges in an unpublished book manuscript that Trump said he wanted to withhold congressionally approved aid to Ukraine until that country agreed to launch investigations into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter.
The president's tweets came after McConnell reportedly told fellow Republican senators that he lacks the votes to continue blocking witnesses for the Senate trial, stonewalling that Democratic lawmakers and other critics have described as a cover-up. Just four Senate Republicans would have to vote with Democrats to approve witnesses.
"He's desperate," Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) wrote in response to Trump's tweets, urging the public to continue calling GOP senators who could vote to call witnesses.
\u201cHe\u2019s desperate. Keep calling:\nSenator Pat Toomey (202) 224-4254\nSenator Rob Portman (202) 224-3353\nSenator Mitt Romney (202) 224-5251\nSenator Susan Collins (202) 224-2523\nSenator Lisa Murkowski (202) 224-6665\nSenator Lamar Alexander (202) 224-4944\u201d— Eric Swalwell (@Eric Swalwell) 1580273666
According to the Wall Street Journal, McConnell told Republicans following the final day of presentations from Trump's defense team that the "vote total wasn't where it needed to be on blocking witnesses or documents."
"He had a card with 'yes,' 'no,' and 'maybes' marked on it, apparently a whip count, but he didn't show it to senators," the Journal reported. A vote to approve witnesses for the Senate trial is expected to take place Friday.
"The pressure is working," declared progressive advocacy group Indivisible, which has been driving calls Republican senators. "This is huge. We need to hear from Bolton and the other witnesses who know exactly how egregious Trump's abuse of power was."
"This is no time to ease up--keep calling every day until the vote," the group added.
President Donald Trump fired off a pair of tweets Tuesday night ranting about what he called the "impeachment hoax" and "political con job" shortly after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell reportedly admitted in a closed-door meeting with GOP lawmakers that he doesn't have the votes to stop witnesses from being called to testify in the ongoing trial.
"No matter how many witnesses you give the Democrats, no matter how much information is given, like the quickly produced Transcripts, it will NEVER be enough for them," Trump tweeted. "They will always scream UNFAIR."
In a separate tweet hours later, Trump asked why former national security adviser John Bolton--the most prominent potential witness with first-hand knowledge of the president's actions--didn't "complain about this 'nonsense' a long time ago, when he was very publicly terminated."
Bolton alleges in an unpublished book manuscript that Trump said he wanted to withhold congressionally approved aid to Ukraine until that country agreed to launch investigations into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter.
The president's tweets came after McConnell reportedly told fellow Republican senators that he lacks the votes to continue blocking witnesses for the Senate trial, stonewalling that Democratic lawmakers and other critics have described as a cover-up. Just four Senate Republicans would have to vote with Democrats to approve witnesses.
"He's desperate," Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) wrote in response to Trump's tweets, urging the public to continue calling GOP senators who could vote to call witnesses.
\u201cHe\u2019s desperate. Keep calling:\nSenator Pat Toomey (202) 224-4254\nSenator Rob Portman (202) 224-3353\nSenator Mitt Romney (202) 224-5251\nSenator Susan Collins (202) 224-2523\nSenator Lisa Murkowski (202) 224-6665\nSenator Lamar Alexander (202) 224-4944\u201d— Eric Swalwell (@Eric Swalwell) 1580273666
According to the Wall Street Journal, McConnell told Republicans following the final day of presentations from Trump's defense team that the "vote total wasn't where it needed to be on blocking witnesses or documents."
"He had a card with 'yes,' 'no,' and 'maybes' marked on it, apparently a whip count, but he didn't show it to senators," the Journal reported. A vote to approve witnesses for the Senate trial is expected to take place Friday.
"The pressure is working," declared progressive advocacy group Indivisible, which has been driving calls Republican senators. "This is huge. We need to hear from Bolton and the other witnesses who know exactly how egregious Trump's abuse of power was."
"This is no time to ease up--keep calling every day until the vote," the group added.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.