Dems Erupt, Say 'Mistrial' Possible After McConnell Declares He Will Not Be Impartial Impeachment Trial Juror

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky. walks back to his office after speaking on the Senate floor on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 10, 2019. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Mitch McConnell

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky. walks back to his office after speaking on the Senate floor on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 10, 2019. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

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The last three years have shown us there is never a a shortage of theatrics and high drama in Washington, D.C., and today was no exception.

As my Red State colleagues Streiff and Bonchie noted earlier, Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) slapped down Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on a number of fronts earlier in the day, including on Schumer’s request for new witnesses in the coming Senate impeachment trial as well as on Schumer’s hypocrisy when it comes to impeachment protocol in the Senate.

But McConnell wasn’t done. Later in the day in front of a gathering of reporters, the man House Majority Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) calls the “Grim Reaper” told journalists he had no intention of being an impartial juror during the impeachment trial after they asked him about Schumer’s complaints:

“I’m not an impartial juror. This is a political process,” McConnell told reporters Tuesday while fielding questions about the upcoming trial.

When asked about criticism from Democrats over his pledge to coordinate closely with Trump’s lawyers during the trial, McConnell said his colleagues shouldn’t expect him not to make the proceeding as favorable to Trump as possible.

“I’m not impartial about this at all,” he said.

In response, Schumer erupted in outrage:

“He was asked if he was an impartial juror. He seemed to proudly say no. I would ask every one of our Republican colleagues, ‘Do you want someone who proudly says they’re not impartial to be on a jury?” he asked reporters after McConnell spoke.

“Do the American people want Mitch McConnell not to be an impartial juror in this situation? And I would ask every one of my Republican Senate colleagues, ‘Are you impartial jurors or are you like Mitch McConnell, proud not to be?’” Schumer said, appearing clearly frustrated with McConnell’s refusal to call key witnesses.

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Watch video of McConnell’s remarks and Schumer’s reaction to them below:

Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) told CNN a “mistrial” might need to be declared before things even get started in the Senate if McConnell doesn’t “recuse himself”:

This is all so laughable that it’s hard to know where to start. But I guess the best place to do so would be to look at Sen. Chuck Schumer’s own comments on Clinton’s impeachment back in 1998:

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But even bigger than that are the number of Congressional Democrats that have called for Trump’s impeachment from the start, well before any investigations were launched or show trials held. In fact, some of the Senate Democrats currently running for president or who had been running at one time already called for Trump’s ouster before the impeachment inquiries even started. Will they be recusing themselves from proceedings? Of course not.

Quite simply put, Schumer, Speier, and all the rest can complain all they want to about McConnell’s statements about impartiality, but the bigger issue is they’re not happy because he refuses to play by rules they don’t hold themselves to. Good for him.

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