GOP May Forgo Calling Any Witnesses in Impeachment Trial; Lawyer Turns Impeachment Tables by Scorching Bidens at Hearing

By The Blaze. Top Senate Republicans signaled Tuesday that the GOP may opt against calling any witnesses at all in an upper chamber trial if House Democrats vote to impeach President Donald Trump, offering numerous reasons for such a strategy. . .

The Washington Examiner spoke with several GOP lawmakers who floated the possibility of calling few witnesses or none whatsoever, with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) making the case for expedience in telling the outlet, “Here’s what I want to avoid: this thing going on longer than it needs to. I want to end this.”

Third-ranking GOP Sen. John Barrasso (Wyo.) asserted that after House Democrats and the White House have made their arguments at the beginning of the prospective Senate trial, “I would expect that most members would be ready to vote and wouldn’t need more information,” adding, “Many people have their minds pretty well made up.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told Reuters that at that point in the trial, it could go one of two ways: “Down the path of calling witnesses and basically having another trial,” or, a majority of senators coming together and deciding “that they’ve heard enough and they believe they know what would happen and could move to vote on the two articles of impeachment sent over to us by the House.”

Both The Examiner and Reuters noted that there is no indication at this point that the Republican-led Senate would vote to impeach the president, and both also pointed out that President Trump has pressed for calling GOP witnesses in the Senate trial. (Read more from “GOP May Forgo Calling Any Witnesses in Impeachment Trial” HERE)

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GOP Lawyer Turns Impeachment Tables by Scorching Bidens at Hearing

By Fox News. The top lawyer for Judiciary and Intelligence Committee Republicans testified Monday that there was a “legitimate basis” for President Trump to ask Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky to launch a public investigation into the Biden family’s dealings in Ukraine.

During impeachment inquiry testimony in front of the Judiciary Committee, minority counsel Steve Castor tried to turn the tables on the Democrat-led investigation into whether President Trump tried to pressure his Ukrainian colleague into investigating a political rival by withholding aid and a White House meeting by arguing that there were real concerns about the former vice president’s son’s involvement with the Ukrainian natural gas company, Burisma Holdings.

“Hunter Biden was reportedly receiving $50,000 to $83,000 a month for compensation for his role on the Burisma board,” Castor said of the former vice president’s son.

Castor questioned why a person who doesn’t have a history with Ukraine and doesn’t speak either Ukrainian or Russian would have a senior role on the company’s board.

“At the time that Hunter Biden joined Burisma’s board, his father, former Vice President Biden, was the Obama Administration’s point person for Ukraine.” (Read more from “GOP Lawyer Turns Impeachment Tables by Scorching Bidens at Hearing” HERE)

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