Senator Ted Cruz speaks at the George H.W. Bush Commemorative Center in Midland, Texas for a campaign stop Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2018. (Mark Rogers/Odessa American via AP)
In a blaze of glory on Wednesday, the House voted to approve the transmission of the articles of impeachment to the Senate. Just a few hours later and after a “somber” signing ceremony held by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), the impeachment managers formally delivered them.
Now that the standoff on sending over the articles of impeachment is over after Pelosi’s surrender, Senate leaders have wasted no time dropping some inconvenient truths on Democrats – namely that the sham nature of how they conducted their impeachment inquiry is over now that the Senate begins to take center stage.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, weighed in on Twitter in a five tweet thread after the vote on transmitting the articles of impeachment passed yesterday to alert Democrats that the adults were, thankfully, now in charge of things:
The reason is that the Articles fail to meet the constitutional standard for impeachment. They do not allege a single crime was committed – not even a speeding ticket.
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) January 15, 2020
Make no mistake; the Senate will give President Trump and the American people a fair trial. One that follows precedent and respects due process. Unlike the House, we will be fair, give both sides a full opportunity to present their case, and allow the President to defend himself.
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) January 15, 2020
At the end of his thread, Cruz indicated he was hoping the Senate would wrap this up quickly so that they could get back to the priorities that matter most to the American people:
Senate should do its job quickly. I look forward to reviewing the evidence, voting on these facially-deficient Articles & continuing to deliver on promises made to the American people, like securing our border, reducing federal regulations & creating more economic opportunities.
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) January 15, 2020
Cruz has also stated he’d be open to a “witness reciprocity”-type plan that would involve Republicans getting to call their own slate of witnesses if Democrats were allowed to call theirs. Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has indicated he’d be on board with the idea as well if it came to that.
The Senate impeachment trial is scheduled to start next Tuesday. Stay tuned.
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