Blumenthal: Some GOP 'have very severe misgivings' about McConnell impeachment strategy

Savannah Behrmann | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption McConnell blasts House over Trump impeachment Senator Mitch McConnell, the top Senate Republican, denounces the "unfair" House impeachment of President Donald Trump and reassured Trump and his supporters that "moments like this are why the United States Senate exists.” (Dec. 19)

Corrections & Clarifications: A prior version of this story misstated the requirements under the Constitution for Senate impeachment trials. The Constitution requires senators to take an oath and Senate rules direct them to swear they will carry out "impartial justice."

WASHINGTON – Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal stated Thursday that he believes some Senate Republicans are concerned with Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's approach to working with the White House on how to handle the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump in the Senate.

"I've talked to anywhere from five to 10 of my colleagues who have very severe misgivings about the direction that Mitch McConnell is going in denying a full, fair proceeding with witnesses and documents. My hope is that they will say publicly what Senator Murkowski did, and really hold Mitch McConnell accountable," the Connecticut senator said during “Capitol News Briefing” on the Connecticut Network.

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Earlier this week, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-AK, stated that she is “disturbed” by McConnell’s remarks that he is going to work “in total coordination” with the White House during the upcoming impeachment trial in the Senate, and that he wouldn't be "impartial about this at all."

Her comments come after an interview the Majority Leader had with Sean Hannity on Fox News where he declared that "everything" he does "during this, I'm coordinating with the White House counsel. There will be no difference between the president's position and our position as to how to handle this, to the extent that we can."

Sen. Richard Blumenthal says he believes some Senate Republicans are privately concerned with how Mitch McConnell and the White House are handling the impeachment trial: "The defendant doesn't get to set the rules for the trial." https://t.co/mLxP27auuB pic.twitter.com/JsQjBb1y64 — CBS News (@CBSNews) December 26, 2019

Blumenthal said hoped that if, in fact, some of his Republican senate colleagues had similar worries, they would step forward like Murkowski.

"I believe Sen. Murkowski is saying what a lot of my Republican colleagues are thinking, in fact, saying privately," Blumenthal said.

He continued that McConnell is “sabotaging this proceeding by saying he won't be impartial.”

Trump became the third president in history to be impeached after the House of Representatives voted to approve two articles of impeachment over the president's request of Ukraine to investigate political rivals.

The Constitution gives the Senate the “sole power” to hold impeachment trials. Senators, who act as jurors, are required under rules of the chamber to swear to carry out “impartial justice.”