In an overtly partisan start to the third presidential impeachment trial in American history, Senate Republicans on Tuesday repeatedly brushed aside Democratic proposals to subpoena witnesses and documents, and approved trial rules that will punt those critical questions into next week.
As the long session reached nearly 2 a.m. EST Wednesday, the Republican-led Senate had already rejected — entirely along party lines in all but one case — 11 Democratic amendments, mostly to subpoena the White House, State Department, Office of Management and Budget, acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, former national security advisor John Bolton and two other officials — Robert Blair, senior advisor to Mulvaney, and Michael Duffey from the OMB.
Democrats were seeking documents or testimony related to the Trump administration’s effort to hold and then release military aid for Ukraine. One amendment would have required Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. — not the Senate — to serve as the arbiter of whether potential witnesses could have “probative evidence relevant” to the case. It was also rejected.
