Sen. John Cornyn is arguing new evidence that could potentially impact the impeachment case — which begins Tuesday- against Donald Trump is irrelevant. Although he admits that there is a “a series of grifters” (referring to multiple Trump associates who have been indicted or convicted) associated with the Trump campaign, Cornyn argued that it’s “not the issue that the Senate is going to be deciding.”
Cornyn’s comments come after new revelations from Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas who admitted last week the president knew everything about the Ukrainian-led effort to investigate an American citizen – and potential 2020 election opponent, Joe Biden. His claims are backed up by numerous documents and text messages that were turned over to House investigators.
In spite of these revelations, Cornyn does not seem to be open to the idea of letting new witnesses testify in the Senate trial. Instead, Cornyn said on Face the Nation that Democrats are “getting cold feet or have a lack of confidence in what they’ve done so far.”
Cornyn has been a staunch defender of the president ever since the beginning of the impeachment process — and well before. Having claimed that Trump “has been impeached for a non-crime, for events that never occurred,” he has foregone any semblance of “impartial justice.”
Meanwhile, a report by the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released last week found that Trump did indeed violate the law. “Faithful execution of the law does not permit the president to substitute his own policy priorities for those that Congress has enacted into law,” the report said.
The key issue of whether to allow new witnesses and documents remains unresolved. Senate Majority Leader Mitch Mcconnell does not want a vote to resolve it until after opening arguments.
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