With one exception, Senate votes in impeachment trial are along party lines.
WASHINGTON — Here’s how area senators voted during the legislative week ending Jan. 25 on issues related to the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump. The House was in recess.
Senate
Setting rules for impeachment trial: On a party-line vote of 53-47, the Senate on Wednesday adopted a resolution (S Res 483) establishing procedures for its impeachment trial:
• A delegation of House Democrats was allowed 24 hours over no more than three days to argue for conviction on two articles of impeachment the House approved in December. Trump’s attorneys were granted an equal period to present a defense.
• The resolution then allocates 16 hours for responses to written questions from senators. Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts Jr., who is presiding over the trial, would read the questions aloud and direct them to the House managers, Trump’s defense team or both.
• At that point, the Senate will hear four hours of arguments from the two sides on whether to allow motions to subpoena witnesses and documents. If the Senate eventually votes to issue subpoenas, witnesses would be deposed before subsequent votes on whether to call them before the Senate.
• Following any witness testimony, the Senate is to deliberate and vote on the impeachment articles. Approval of either article by a two-thirds vote of senators present would remove Trump from office.
The first impeachment article charges Trump with abusing the powers of the presidency by withholding military aid to Ukraine and a promised Oval Office meeting in an effort to pressure Ukrainian officials to announce investigations that would denigrate former Vice President Joe Biden, a political rival of the president. The second article charges Trump with obstructing the House’s investigation of his conduct.
A yes vote was to adopt the resolution. Sen. Bob Casey (D): No. Sen. Pat Toomey (R): Yes.
Rejecting Bolton as trial witness: On another 53-47 party-line vote, the Senate on Wednesday tabled (killed) an amendment to the above resolution that sought to call John Bolton, former national security adviser to President Trump, as a witness in the impeachment trial. Bolton said earlier he would testify if subpoenaed and could, according to his lawyer, provide firsthand accounts of events and conversations, including comments by Trump, on the withholding of security aid to Ukraine. A yes vote was in opposition to calling Bolton as a witness. Casey: No. Toomey: Yes.
Rejecting Mulvaney as trial witness: With another 53-47 vote, the Senate on Tuesday tabled (killed) an amendment to S Res 483 that sought to call Mick Mulvaney, White House chief of staff, as a witness in the impeachment trial. Mulvaney helped Trump use a hold on military aid and denial of an Oval Office visit to solicit political favors from Ukrainian officials. Mulvaney told reporters in October 2019 that it is not unusual for the administration to use foreign aid as a lever to influence the actions of recipients. A yes vote was in opposition to calling Mulvaney as a witness. Casey: No. Toomey: Yes.
Rejecting Blair and Duffey as trial witnesses: Voting 53-47, the Senate on Tuesday tabled (killed) an amendment to S Res 483 that sought to call Robert Blair, an aide to White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, and Michael Duffey, an Office of Management and Budget official, as witnesses in the impeachment trial. Both assisted Trump’s bid to use a freeze on military aid and denial of an Oval Office visit to gain Ukraine’s help in undercutting Biden’s 2020 candidacy. They were subpoenaed by House investigators but refused to comply on due process grounds. A yes vote was in opposition of calling Blair and Duffey as witnesses. Casey: No. Toomey: Yes.
Empowering chief justice to rule on witnesses: Voting 53-47, the Senate on Wednesday tabled (killed) an amendment to S Res 483 that would empower the chief justice to rule on the relevance of witnesses and documents proposed to be subpoenaed in the impeachment trial. This would change a rule requiring disputes over relevance to be resolved by a majority vote of senators. The Senate, which has 53 Republicans and a Democratic caucus of 47 senators, could vote to overrule the chief justice’s opinion. A yes vote was in opposition to the amendment. Casey: No. Toomey: Yes.
Tightening impeachment evidence rules: Voting 53-47, the Senate on Tuesday tabled (killed) an amendment to S Res 483 that would govern subpoenaed but thus far withheld documents the administration might later submit as evidence in President Trump’s impeachment trial. Under the amendment, if the president produced any such material, he would have to also provide Democratic trial managers with all other documents that were demanded by the same subpoena. The requirement was intended to prevent the administration from selectively introducing subpoenaed evidence. A yes vote was in opposition to the amendment. Casey: No. Toomey: Yes.
Streamlining rules for admitting witnesses: Voting 53-47, the Senate on Wednesday tabled (killed) an amendment to streamline how the Senate will determine whether it will hear testimony during the impeachment trial from witnesses including Bolton or Mulvaney. The GOP-written rules adopted on Wednesday (S Res 483) call for four hours of debate and a vote later in the trial on whether any motions to subpoena witnesses or documents will be considered. If any witnesses were eventually subpoenaed, they would be deposed before another vote on whether to call them to testify before the Senate. This amendment would eliminate the first vote on whether to consider calling any witnesses, allowing guaranteed up-or-down votes on whether to hear from specific witnesses. A yes vote was in opposition to the amendment. Casey: No. Toomey: Yes.
Denying subpoenas for White House documents: Voting 53-47, the Senate on Wednesday tabled (killed) an amendment that sought to authorize the impeachment trial to subpoena White House documents that are directly relevant to charges levelled against the president. The amendment to S Res 483 was in response to the White House’s total refusal to comply with subpoenas they received last year from House impeachment investigators for thousands of White House documents, including correspondence, emails and text messages related to the impeachment articles. The administration also disregarded House subpoenas issued to the Department of Defense, Department of State and Office of Management and Budget. Senate Democrats also introduced trial amendments to compel those agencies to respond to a new round of subpoenas, and those measures were also killed by 53-47 votes. A yes vote was in opposition to the amendment. Casey: No. Toomey: Yes.
Extending deadline to file motions: The Senate on Wednesday tabled (killed) an amendment to S Res 483 that sought to increase from two hours to about 24 hours the time allotted both sides for filing responses to initial motions in the impeachment trial. Of the 12 roll calls conducted during the trial’s opening sessions, this was the only one not decided by a 53-47 party-line vote. The tally on this roll call as 52-48, with Susan Collins, R-Maine, voting with the Democratic caucus. A yes vote was in opposition to the amendment. Casey: No. Toomey: Yes.
Key votes ahead
The Senate will continue its impeachment trial of President Trump this week. The House schedule was to be announced.
— Voterama in Congress
