A House Democratic aide working on the Senate impeachment trial of President Trump told reporters Monday it’s a “complete miscarriage of justice” that they do not know the rules for the trial yet, even though it begins in less than 24 hours.
The staffer added it would be a shame to obscure Mr. Trump’s trial by holding overnight arguments, responding to early reports that Senate Republicans were pushing to have 12-hour days later this week to get through the trial quickly, with each day starting about 1 p.m. and potentially ending about 1 a.m.
The Democratic staffer said they have not seen Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s proposed rules and procedures for the trial yet, saying that is “a complete miscarriage of justice.”
Senators are expected to vote on the trial rules Tuesday. Mr. McConnell’s office has not made the proposed rules or procedures public as of Monday evening.
The aide also said Senate Republicans are trying to condense arguments to 12-hour days so they can either conceal the president’s conduct “in the dark of night and prevent the American people from actually being able to see and hear all of the evidence” or get the trial wrapped up before the State of the Union address on Feb. 4.
“Both of those reasons are complete shams,” the aide said. “It undermines any sense of what a fair and just trial would be and it is a disservice and discredit not only the Senate but to the American people.”
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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