Veteran reporter Carl Bernstein said on Wednesday’s broadcast of CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360” that there are seven to nine Republican senators who would like to hear from witnesses during the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump.

Bernstein said, “I think this is a hugely damaging narrative that was laid out today.”

He continued, “Mitch McConnell understands, and has understood for a while that this hugely damaging narrative was going to affect his members. And that his strategy — I’ve talked to some Republicans about this Midnight Mitch is to wear out his own members so that they don’t vote for more witnesses because there are six, seven, eight, nine wobbly Republicans. Not necessarily going to vote to acquit, but want either to make some kind of statement that they don’t like what the president has done, that they think it is deplorable, disgusting, really have been affected by what they’re hearing.”

He added, “If there is a break of three or four, then you can go to six, seven, eight perhaps for witnesses. He’s very worried about holding them, particularly because of the strength of this narrative and how powerful it is. This president of the United States is the only president in our history who has done what the founders wrote this clause for. He has sought the interference of a foreign power in our elections to undermine our free electoral system. These Republicans, some of whom have not focused on this until now, they get it, a good number of them. Look, they’ve been craven since this president has come into office, but they’re also on the spot. ”

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