During a press conference today Senator Murray blasted Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s proposed impeachment trial rules as a “rushed cover-up”
Senator Murray called for fair, impartial trial so that all the relevant facts can come to light
Senator Murray: “We all need to vote today for evidence and fairness, not a sham designed to protect an impeached President from the facts”
New York Times: Leader McConnell’s trial rules proposal makes “meaningful changes from the way Mr. Clinton’s trial was conducted” – MORE HERE
***WATCH SENATOR MURRAY’S REMARKS HERE***
(Washington, D.C.) – Following the release of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) proposed rules package for the Senate impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) joined her fellow Senate Democratic leaders to decry McConnell’s resolution as a “cover-up” that would not lead to a fair and transparent trial. In remarks delivered during a morning news conference at the U.S. Capitol, Senator Murray emphasized the importance of both the Senate and the public hearing from key witnesses and seeing relevant documents that President Trump has withheld, and castigated Senator McConnell’s proposed resolution for breaking with bipartisan precedent—in particular by holding some of the most important parts of the trial in the dead of night.
See the full text of Senator Murray’s remarks below:
“Thank you very much.
“Last week, my colleagues and I signed our names in the official Senate record affirming our promise to ‘do impartial justice.’
“It was a sobering experience, especially since Senator McConnell has explicitly said he would do the complete opposite.
“He said ‘no’ to impartial justice in spite of the careful and thorough investigation the House conducted…
“In spite of President Trump’s unprecedented stonewalling, which denied Congress access to key material witnesses and documents, directly related to the President’s actions, during the House investigation…
“In spite of the President’s continued refusal to provide any credible defense against the allegations against him, including in the trial brief we saw this weekend…
“And, the Majority Leader’s position has not changed despite new evidence made public in recent days, which lays out a complex web of falsehoods and corruption surrounding the President’s actions in Ukraine.
“And now, as the trial begins, as new evidence comes out, and after each of us has reaffirmed our most solemn responsibilities to our states and our country, it is clear people across the country are watching this carefully, and they are deeply concerned our President may have demanded a foreign government interfere in our next election, to help him in his campaign.
“They want to know all the relevant testimony and evidence is being considered—and the Senate is acting fairly rather than staging a cover-up.
“So I hope Republican senators remember they have a choice.
“I hope they choose to recognize we cannot do our job as senators to ‘do impartial justice’ without key documents and witness testimony that has so far been hidden from the public.
“And I hope they choose to work with Democrats to make sure fairness and honesty in this process—because that is what the people we represent here deserve.
“And I want to make one more point: the President’s actions are on trial—but the U.S. Senate is on trial, too.
“I’ve heard many Republicans say they want a trial modeled after the Clinton impeachment trial.
“But I will remind all of us that at the end of that trial, no one doubted the Senate had acted fairly and honorably.
“That’s the truly critical test before us and this institution, beginning today…
“And to be clear, we will fail that test with a dead-of-night, rushed cover-up resolution like the one Majority Leader McConnell has put forward.
“We all need to remember the oath we took and act in ways that prove the Senate, and all of our democratic institutions, are worthy of the public’s trust now and for generations to come…
“We all need to vote today for evidence and fairness, not a sham designed to protect an impeached President from the facts.
“Thank you.”
For video of Senator Murray’s full remarks, visit HERE.
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