Liberals on and outside Capitol Hill are in arms after Democratic impeachment managers have given up trying to force new testimonies in the trial in which former President Trump
Donald Trump Capital Police Votes Distrust of Leaders Graham’s Post-Election Call with Georgia Secretary of State Will Be Investigated: Trump Report Told McCarthy Rioters Are ‘More Upset About the Elections Than You’: Report MORE from instigating last month’s attack on the Capitol.
The progressive critics argue that by accepting a deal to exclude those witnesses and complete the trial, Democratic prosecutors missed a unique opportunity to highlight Trump’s involvement in the attack, particularly his refusal to defuse the violence. after it started.
They are not contemptuous words.
“This is a retreat. White flag. Malpractice. Completely non-strategic. They just closed the door on others who may have stepped out, as @HerreraBeutler pointed out last night,” Adam Green, who heads the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, said on Twitter. to Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler
Jaime Lynn Herrera Beutler Trump told McCarthy rioters are ‘more upset about election than you’: report Here are the GOP lawmakers censored by Republicans for impeaching Trump Upton becomes first congressman to vote to unseat two presidents MORE to put (R-Wash.), Who called Republicans on Friday to provide information about Trump’s actions on Jan. 6.
Just when we thought Dems was brave and strategic. This is grabbing lameness from the jaws of boldness, ”he added.
Markos Moulitsas, the liberal activist founder of Daily Kos, was more blunt. “It really all comes down to this: Hey Democrats, you’re done,” he said.
The criticism came after a chaotic day of debate and partisan bickering in the Senate process, which ultimately resulted in Trump’s acquittal.
Democratic prosecutors had baffled Washington on Saturday morning when they dropped an initial plan to put their case to rest and instead forced the Senate to pass a measure that would allow for new witnesses – a strategy that even the Democrats in the Senate said they were not. warned.
“We have social conversations, but we don’t talk about strategy. So we didn’t know whether they were going to ask witnesses or not. We just didn’t,” Sen said. Ben Cardin
Benjamin (Ben) Louis Cardin The Hill’s Morning Report – Presented by TikTok – Dems Rest Their Case; verdict on Trump this weekend No signs of demand for witnesses in Trump trial Biden to reroute .4M for aid to Myanmar, sanction key military figures MORE (D-Md.), Adding that he supported additional testimony.
“If the managers think it will help their presentation to have witnesses, we should let them have witnesses,” he added.
The additional testimony was needed, executives argued, following the emergence of new details about Trump’s refusal to intervene when the violent mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol on Jan.6, even despite House Minority Leader’s pleas. Kevin McCarthy
Kevin McCarthy Trump told McCarthy rioters are “ more upset about the election than you ”: report Even with acquittal, GOP sees trial ending Trump’s shot at future Conservative House Republican office welcomes Clark as US chamber chief MORE (R-Calif.) And other GOP allies to do this.
McCarthy’s urgent request for help from Trump was reported last month, but Herrera Beutler provided new details this week, saying Trump had sided with the rioters over those attacked in the Capitol.
“Well Kevin, I think these people are more upset about the election than you,” Trump said midway through the attack against McCarthy, according to Herrera Beutler’s report. That led the impeachment managers, led by Rep. Jamie Raskin
Jamin (Jamie) Ben Raskin Trump Attorneys Defend Defense Around Attacks on Democrats Democrats Reject Allegations They Misrepresented Evidence During Impeachment Trial Warn Democrats of ‘whataboutism’ ahead of Trump defense (D-Md.), Asking her to testify as part of the trial.
“Needless to say, this is an additional, critical piece of supporting evidence that further corroborates the allegations before you, as well as the president’s willful omission,” Raskin said.
House speaker Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Pelosi Capitol Police Pass No Confidence Motion In Leaders Senate Pass Bill To Award Capitol Police Officer Congressional Gold Medal We Know How Republicans Will Vote – But What Do They Believe? LAKE (D-Calif.) Had signed the decision, according to a senior Democratic assistant.
But after a few hours of behind-the-scenes negotiation, the parties struck a deal: they would allow Herrera Beutler’s statement to be part of the official trial record, but no witnesses would be asked for new testimony in the matter.
The impeachment managers quickly claimed victory, saying it was a concession that Trump’s defense team would never have made without the threat of bringing new witnesses.
“ Now that Trump’s team has admitted to including this non-contradictory statement in the trial report, it may be considered by senators, along with the already overwhelming evidence about President Trump’s behavior on January 6, without a Summons, impeachment and other testimonials are needed, ” said a senior assistant on the impeachment team.
The quick end of the process means Democrats can shift their energies to the task of adopting the ambitious legislative agenda of President Biden
Joe BidenGraham’s Post-Election Call With Georgia Secretary of State Will Be Investigated: Overnight Defense Report: Pentagon, Congress Appoints Panelists to Rename Confederate Bases | Military Approves 20 More Coronavirus Vaccination Teams Lawmakers Give Standing Ovation for Officer Eugene Goodman MORE, starting with a massive COVID-19 incentive bill.
But the decision to expel new witnesses sparked a firestorm of attacks from the left, as liberals expressed sour comments of disappointment that Democrats had not fought harder to win Trump’s conviction.
“The fact that Mark Meadows
Mark Meadows Trump mom as Senate debates his role in inciting Capitol mob. Sunday Show Preview: Budget Resolution Paves Way for 0.9 Trillion Stimulus; Senate Gets Up For Impeachment Trial In Marjorie Taylor Greene, Glimpses Into The Future MOREDonald Trump, Tommy Tuberville and Kevin McCarthy will probably * never * have to testify under oath that the uprising is an affront to justice and to history, ” tweeted David Atkins, a liberal activist in California.
Republicans allegedly waged a month-long impeachment process, calling dozens of witnesses, “he added.
Some of the Democrats on Capitol Hill were just as angry. A Democrat familiar with the witness negotiations, Senate Democrats said, led by the majority leader Charles Schumer
Chuck SchumerSenate Approves Bill to Award Capitol Police Officer Congressional Gold Medal Trump Lawyers Defend Against Attacks on Democrats Democratic Standards Are Not Safe Just Because Biden Won MORE (NY), were ready to accept whatever decision the reluctant impeachment executives made on the issue of calling for new testimony – a message the senators conveyed to the House prosecutors.
But after the Senate voted to admit those new witnesses, the source said, managers messed up next steps.
“After the vote, it was clear that the managers had no plan,” said the Democratic source. “Senate Democrats gave them the votes, but the managers didn’t know what to do next.”
The tensions may not matter in the long run. The final vote on Trump’s fate featured seven Republican senators crossing the aisle to convict the former president, marking the most bipartisan condemnation vote in the country’s history.
That has given Democrats a powerful talking point on the way to the 2022 cycle, when both chambers are up for grabs. And many Senate Democrats noted that the GOP’s opposition to Trump’s conviction was so entrenched that new witnesses would never have changed the verdict.
“I don’t think anything would have made a difference to the people on the other side,” Sen. Raphael Warnock
Raphael Warnock Ossoff Presses Biden’s Budget Nominee on HBCU Funding Georgia GOP Tries to Tighten Voting Rules After Spur of Loss Centrist Democrats Are a Big Problem for Progressive MORE (D-Ga.) Said after Trump’s acquittal.
In the immediate aftermath of the vote, the Democrats’ liberal base is causing party leaders to send an unmistakable message that they expect more strife in the upcoming debates.
“Only Democrats can indisputably win a vote and then give in,” Green said.
Jordain Carney contributed.