In God We Trust

Schiff Wants His Own Witnesses at Senate Trial After Denying GOP Witnesses in House Impeachment Inquiry

 

By Matt Margolis
PJMedia.com


(Jim Lo Scalzo/Pool Photo via AP)

Democrats have a long history of playing by their own rules when it suits them politically, only to be shocked and outraged when Republicans turn the tables on them. Remember how they ended up not being able to filibuster judicial nominees anymore? Great job, guys. We really appreciated that one.

Once again, their blatant politicization of rules and processes is coming back to bite them, as impeachment appears to be headed for the Senate soon, where Republicans get to run the show. After denying House Republicans the opportunity to call their own witnesses and present exculpatory evidence, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff isn't so happy about the rules being used against him and wants some witnesses and documents of his choosing to be introduced during the Senate impeachment trial.

"I think there are any number of witnesses that should be called in the Senate trial, and many witnesses the American people would like to hear from that the administration has refused to make available," Schiff said on ABC's "This Week" on Sunday. "And perhaps of equal and if not greater importance are the thousands and thousands of documents that the administration refuses to turn over. I would hope that every senator of both parties would like to see the documentary evidence."

But, when Schiff had the Republicans list of witnesses for the House Intelligence Committee's impeachment hearings, Schiff did not oblige, and proceeded with a blatantly partisan impeachment inquiry.

There's been a lot of talk about how Senate Republicans might proceed with the Senate trial. Rumors are swirling about Adam Schiff and his staff — and even Joe and Hunter Biden — being called as witnesses. There's also been talk of a short impeachment trial in order to get it over with and move on, particularly from Lindsey Graham, who said, "This thing will come to the Senate, and it will die quickly, and I will do everything I can to make it die quickly,."

Schiff isn't happy about that either.

"I think we see clearly what's going on here with the comments of Lindsey Graham and others and that is they don't want the American people to see the facts," said Schiff—yes, the same guy who denied Republicans the opportunity to call their own witnesses. "They realize what's been presented in the House is already overwhelming but that there's more damning evidence to be had and they don't want the American people to see that," he added.

Isn't that rich?

There's a lot of dysfunction in Washington, D.C., and the responsibility for that belongs to the Democrats who see themselves as being above the rules.

Matt Margolis is the author of Trumping Obama: How President Trump Saved Us From Barack Obama's Legacy and the bestselling book The Worst President in History: The Legacy of Barack Obama. You can follow Matt on Twitter @MattMargolis