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Potential Swing Vote Murkowski Announces She's Voting No on Impeachment Witnesses

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GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska announced on Friday that she will vote against calling additional witnesses in President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, all but assuring the proceedings will end by this weekend.

“The House chose to send articles of impeachment that are rushed and flawed. I carefully considered the need for additional witnesses and documents, to cure the shortcomings of its process, but ultimately decided that I will vote against considering motions to subpoena,” Murkowski said in a statement.

“Given the partisan nature of this impeachment from the very beginning and throughout, I have come to the conclusion that there will be no fair trial in the Senate,” she said. “I don’t believe the continuation of this process will change anything. It is sad for me to admit that, as an institution, the Congress has failed.

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“It has also become clear some of my colleagues intend to further politicize this process, and drag the Supreme Court into the fray, while attacking the Chief Justice. I will not stand for nor support that effort. We have already degraded this institution for partisan political benefit, and I will not enable those who wish to pull down another.”

That was an apparent reference to Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, whose question during the impeachment trial Friday challenged the integrity of Chief Justice John Roberts.

Also Friday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called on Roberts to cast a potential tie-breaking vote on witnesses.

“If it’s a tie, it will be up to the chief justice. The chief justice knows every trial has witnesses and documents,” Schumer told reporters Friday morning, according to The Hill.

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“If my Republican colleagues refuse to even consider witnesses and documents in this trial, this country is heading towards the greatest coverup since Watergate,” the minority leader charged.

In a December letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Schumer called for four additional witnesses, including former National Security Adviser John Bolton and acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney.

McConnell responded at the time that it’s not the Senate’s responsibility to spend its time and resources going on a “fishing expedition” to try to cure a flawed House impeachment inquiry.

Republicans hold a 53-47 lead in the Senate, meaning they can afford to lose only two of their members without necessitating a tie-breaking vote.

With Murkowski’s “no” vote, the tally is shaping up to be 51-49 against calling new witnesses in the impeachment trial.

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The Alaskan’s decision came following Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander’s announcement Thursday night that he too will vote against additional witnesses being introduced.

Alexander said the Constitution “does not give the Senate the power to remove the president from office and ban him from this year’s ballot simply for actions that are inappropriate.”

Murkowski and Alexander, along with Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Mitt Romney of Utah, had been the four Republicans considered the most likely to side with Schumer’s demands.

Collins and Romney have indicated they wanted to hear from Bolton.

Multiple Republican senators had stated if new witnesses were to be introduced at the trial, former Vice President Joe Biden, his son Hunter Biden and the whistleblower who launched the impeachment inquiry would have to be among them.

“If you have a sitting vice president making public policy decisions to benefit his family to the tune of a million bucks a year, that raises a serious question of corruption,” Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said last week.

Assuming the Senate decides against calling additional witness, a vote on the House Democrats’ impeachment case overall could come as early as Friday night.

Two-thirds of the Senate is required to convict, meaning Trump appears to be heading for an acquittal.

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Randy DeSoto has written more than 2,000 articles for The Western Journal since he joined the company in 2015. He is a graduate of West Point and Regent University School of Law. He is the author of the book "We Hold These Truths" and screenwriter of the political documentary "I Want Your Money."
Randy DeSoto is the senior staff writer for The Western Journal. He wrote and was the assistant producer of the documentary film "I Want Your Money" about the perils of Big Government, comparing the presidencies of Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama. Randy is the author of the book "We Hold These Truths," which addresses how leaders have appealed to beliefs found in the Declaration of Independence at defining moments in our nation's history. He has been published in several political sites and newspapers.

Randy graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point with a BS in political science and Regent University School of Law with a juris doctorate.
Birthplace
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Nationality
American
Honors/Awards
Graduated dean's list from West Point
Education
United States Military Academy at West Point, Regent University School of Law
Books Written
We Hold These Truths
Professional Memberships
Virginia and Pennsylvania state bars
Location
Phoenix, Arizona
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
Politics, Entertainment, Faith




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