McConnell: GOP will move on without Democrats to set rules for Senate impeachment trial of Trump

Christal Hayes | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Why a president can be impeached and remain in office Impeaching a U.S. president might not be the be-all-end-all for their career. We explain why this is the case.

WASHINGTON – Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that the GOP-led Senate would move forward on establishing rules for President Donald Trump's impeachment trial without Democrats.

“We have the votes, once the impeachment trial has begun, to pass a resolution essentially, very same, similar” to the one establishing rules passed for the first phase of President Bill Clinton's impeachment trial, McConnell said.

But the announcement wasn't enough to move House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has refrained from sending articles of impeachment to the Senate, leaving the trial in a state of limbo. Pelosi, in a letter to Democratic colleagues Tuesday evening, indicated that she would continue to hold articles, saying that she wanted to see a Senate resolution that will outline the procedures for the trial.

"It is important that [McConnell] immediately publish this resolution, so that, as I have said before, we can see the arena in which we will be participating, appoint managers and transmit the articles to the Senate.

McConnell said the resolution would establish "phase one" of the trial, which involves "arguments from the prosecution, arguments from the defense and a period of written questions." A decision on witnesses would be made during the trial, rather than before it began, he said.

Zarif: US denies visa to Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif before UN Security Council meeting

For weeks, McConnell, R-Ky., and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., attempted to come to an agreement on how the trial should operate. McConnell pointed to precedent, arguing the trial should operate like Clinton's in 1999.

Schumer argued the presentation of witnesses and documents should be agreed to beforehand, saying the Trump administration blocked information and testimony important to impeachment. The information, he said, would shed more light on the allegations at the heart of impeachment: that the president asked Ukraine for investigations that would have helped him politically while delaying military aid to the country and a White House meeting.

In Clinton's impeachment trial, witnesses and other sticky issues were decided in the middle of the trial. Senators decided to establish basic rules and procedures for the trial, which passed 100-0, and to take up more contentious issues later.

John Bolton: Bolton says he will testify in Trump's impeachment trial if Senate subpoenas him

More: Feds recommend prison sentence of up to six months for ex-Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn

Schumer pointed to comments made by McConnell signaling that after opening arguments, the Senate could vote and move forward on other issues without additional witnesses.

Pelosi has said she worried the Senate would not hold a fair trial and said she wanted to know the arena the House would operate in before naming house managers, which are lawmakers who will act as prosecutors in the trial.

McConnell said the resolution outlining impeachment trial rules would be unveiled after the articles are transmitted to the Senate, leaving McConnell and Pelosi at another stalemate.

Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said the House and Senate need to move forward.

“It’s time for Speaker Pelosi to get on with it or get out of the way,” he said.

After McConnell's announcement, some Democrats said the best way to move forward was for Pelosi to send over articles and wait until the trial to argue for witnesses.

"I think our best leverage at this point is likely votes on the floor of the Senate," said Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn. "Pelosi's going to make her own decision, but I think that at this point, our best leverage to get witnesses and document production is inside the confines of the trial."

Schumer would not say whether Pelosi should send over articles but pointed out that "the speaker has said all along that she wanted to see the arena in which she was playing in when it came to a trial, so she could appoint impeachment managers."

He said she has "some idea" how the trial will work and applauded Pelosi for holding the articles, saying she helped prevent the trial from being dismissed. The delay allowed for a "cascade" of new information that bolsters the case for witnesses to testify, Schumer said.

But several House Democrats backed Pelosi's decision to continue holding the articles until assurances are given that ensure a fair trial.

“It’s hard to take Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham and that whole kangaroo court over there seriously at this point. They are in the pocket of President Donald Trump,” Rep Hakeem Jeffries said. “I support her decision to hold the Articles of Impeachment until we get some clarity on what exactly the kangaroo court is going to look like.”

John Bolton, Trump's former national security adviser and a key figure in the Ukraine controversy, announced Monday he is "prepared to testify" in the impeachment trial if he's subpoenaed.

Bolton's statement – after he played coy for weeks about what he knows – may help Democrats in pressuring Republicans to include witnesses in the trial.

Sen. Susan Collins: 'It is inappropriate' for Mitch McConnell, Democrats to prejudge impeachment trial

Asked at the White House on Tuesday whether he’d be OK with Bolton testifying in the Senate impeachment trial, Trump left it up to the Senate and his lawyers.

"That's going to be up to the lawyers. It'll be up to the Senate, and we'll see how they feel. He would know nothing about what we're talking about," the president said.

If Senate Republicans refuse to subpoena Bolton and other witnesses, "they would make absolutely clear they are participating in a cover-up," Schumer said.

A majority of 51 senators could vote to call for testimony or documents during the trial, something Schumer said Democrats would force.

"We are telling our Republican colleagues you can run but you can’t hide," Schumer said Tuesday. "There will be votes on the four witnesses we’ve asked for. There will be votes on the three sets of documents we’ve requested."

Several moderate Republicans could hold the key to whether witnesses and new information are part of the trial.

One of them, Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, signaled on Monday that he was open to hearing from Bolton. "I'd like to hear what he has to say," Romney said.

Contributing: Nicholas Wu and Michael Collins