Republicans now say Trump did what he was accused of — they just don’t care
After days of arguments and questioning in President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, many Republican senators have come to the same conclusion: The president did it, and they don’t care.
House Democrats voted to impeach Trump on claims he abused his power by withholding military aid to Ukraine in exchange for an announcement the country would investigate political rival, Joe Biden. Democrats also argued the president stonewalled the House’s investigation leading to the second article of impeachment, obstruction of Congress.
Democrats in both the House and Senate now want to subpoena additional witnesses after reports that John Bolton, acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, and White House counsel Pat Cipollone have firsthand knowledge of the request. But Senate Republicans, now in their second week into a trial to convict the president, think Trump should stay put no matter what.
Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee posted a 15-tweet thread Thursday night calling the president’s handling of aid to Ukraine “inappropriate,” acknowledging that Democrats had proven that Trump did exactly what he was accused of — but, he said, it’s not impeachable. [Continue reading…]