The Senate’s partisan divide over ground rules for any impeachment trial of President Trump has not narrowed since the chamber last met in 2019.
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer said Friday that the Republican majority’s approach to impeachment involved “Alice in Wonderland logic” that should not be followed.
The New York Democrat said if Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell did not commit to allowing the calling of new witnesses, then a Senate trial “will act as little more than a nationally televised meeting of the mock trial club.”
“The trial must be informed by evidence and not the other way around,” Mr. Schumer said.
Mr. McConnell, however, blamed House Democrats for rushing the impeachment inquiry and advocated using a two-phase approach similar to the impeachment trial of President Clinton.
The Kentucky Republican said Friday that senators should first address logistical questions regarding things such as briefs and opening arguments and later look to resolve lingering questions about the presence of witnesses.
Mr. McConnell also said on the Senate floor that Democrats’ reluctance to deliver articles of impeachment against Mr. Trump to the Senate revealed their own hypocrisy.
He claimed that Senate Democrats were coordinating political strategy for impeachment with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, whom he dubbed “the prosecution,” while crying foul about Mr. McConnell’s discussion of “trial mechanics” with the White House, which he identified as the “defendant.”
“This is nonsense,” Mr. McConnell said. “[A]bout this fantasy that the speaker of the House will get to hand-design the trial proceedings in the Senate, that’s obviously a nonstarter. What I’ve consistently said is pretty simple: The structure for this impeachment trial should track with the structure of the Clinton trial.”
Mr. Schumer said there was “no analogy” between the impeachment trial for Mr. Clinton and “today’s situation.”
“Rather than act as a judge and a juror, [Mr. McConnell] intends to act as an executioner,” Mr. Schumer said on the Senate floor.
The Senate will continue debate over impeachment rules Monday, when Sen. Josh Hawley, Missouri Republican, has said he intends to introduce a measure to dismiss the articles of impeachment.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also slammed the Republican leader on Friday, accusing him of being willing to “feebly comply” with the president’s “unprecedented” cover-up.
“Leader McConnell is doubling down on his violation of his oath, even after the exposure of new, deeply incriminating documents this week which provide further evidence of what we know: President Trump abused the power of his office for personal, political gain,” she said in a statement.
Mrs. Pelosi, California Democrat, was likely referring to newly unredacted emails obtained by Just Security about the Pentagon’s concern regarding the delay on nearly $400 million in military aid to Ukraine.
The speaker has refused to send over the two articles of impeachment to the Senate until they agree to hold a fair trial.
She urged Republican senators, a handful of whom are divided over how the trial should proceed, to side with Democrats.
• Gabriella Muñoz contributed to this story.
• Ryan Lovelace can be reached at rlovelace@washingtontimes.com.
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