Liberals inside and outside Capitol Hill are armed after Democratic dismissal managers abandoned their effort to force a new witness to testify at trial accusing the former President Trump
Donald Trump: Capitoline Police cast a vote of confidence in the investigation of Graham’s post-election call with Georgia’s Secretary of State: The Trump report told McCarthy that the riots “are more annoying to the election than you.” : report MORE of inciting last month’s attack on the Capitol.
Progressive critics argue that Democratic prosecutors, in accepting an agreement to exclude those witnesses and concluding the trial, missed a unique opportunity to highlight Trump’s involvement in the aggression, particularly his refusal to turn off violence afterwards. of having begun.
They are not chopped words.
“This is a retreat. White flag. Wrong practice. Totally strategic. They just closed the door on others who may have left, as @HerreraBeutler urged last night,” Adam Green, who runs it, said on Twitter. the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. to the rep. Jaume Herrera Beutler
Jaime Lynn Herrera BeutlerTrump told McCarthy that the riots are “more annoying than you for the election”: report Here are Republican Party lawmakers censored by Republicans for accusing Trump. (R-Wash.), Who had called Friday for Republicans to file information on Trump’s actions on Jan. 6.
“Just when we thought the demos were bold and strategic. That’s getting lame jaws out of audacity,” he added.
Markos Moulitsas, the founding liberal activist of Daily Kos, was more forceful. “It really all comes down to that: Hey, Democrats, you’re done,” he said.
The criticism came after a chaotic day of debate and partisan disputes in the Senate trial, which ultimately resulted in Trump’s acquittal.
Democratic prosecutors had surprised Washington on Saturday morning when they rejected an initial plan to reinstate his case and forced the Senate to take action to allow new witnesses to attend, a strategy that even Senate Democrats said which had not been warned.
“We have social conversations, but we don’t talk about strategy. So we didn’t know if they were going to ask for witnesses or not. We just didn’t,” the senator said. Ben Cardin
Benjamin (Ben) Louis Cardin The Hill’s Morning Report (presented by TikTok), the others are the case; verdict on Trump this weekend There are no signs of witness demand at Biden’s Trump trial to redirect .4M in aid to Myanmar, key military figures sanctioned MORE (D-Md.), Adding that he supported the additional testimony.
“If managers believe it helps their presentation to have witnesses, we should let them have witnesses,” he added.
Additional witnesses were needed, managers argued, after new details surfaced about Trump’s refusal to intervene when the violent crowd of his supporters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, even despite the leader’s pleas. of the minority of the house. Kevin McCarthy
Kevin McCarthy Trump told McCarthy that the riots “are more annoying than you for the election”: report Even with acquittal, the Republican Party sees a trial ending Trump’s execution in the future office. The Conservative House Republican welcomes Clark as head of the U.S. MORE chamber (R-California) and other GOP allies to do so.
McCarthy’s urgent request for Trump’s help had been reported last month, but Herrera Beutler provided new details this week, saying Trump had sided with the riot police by attacking the Capitol.
“Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are,” Trump told McCarthy during the attack, according to Herrera Beutler’s account. This led to the dismissal managers, led by Rep. Jamie Raskin
Jamin (Jamie) Ben Raskin: Trump lawyers center defense around attacks on Democrats Democrats reject claims that distorted evidence during the impeachment trial. Democrats warn of “whataboutism” before Trump’s defense MORE (D-Md.), To request that he testify as part of the trial.
“Needless to say, this is additional critical evidence that confirms the charges before you, as well as the willingness to relinquish the president’s duty,” Raskin said.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi
Nancy PelosiChapter Police issue vote of confidence to leaders Senate approves bill to award Capitol police officer Congressional Gold Medal We know how Republicans will vote, but what do they believe? MONTH (D-California) had signed the decision, according to a senior Democratic aide.
However, after a few hours of backstage negotiations, the parties reached an agreement: they would allow Herrera Beutler’s statement to be part of the official record of the trial, but no witness would be asked to provide new evidence in the case. .
Dismissal managers quickly won, saying it was a concession Trump’s defense team would never have made without the threat of bringing in new witnesses.
“Now that the Trump team has agreed to bring this non-contradictory statement to the trial record, senators can consider it along with the already overwhelming evidence on President Trump’s conduct on Jan. 6, without the need for summons, deposition, and other witnesses, ”he said. a senior assistant to the dismissal team.
The quick end of the trial means Democrats can return their energies to the task of adopting the ambitious legislative agenda of President Biden
Joe BidenGraham’s post-election call with Georgia’s secretary of state will be investigated: Night Defense report: Pentagon and Congress appoint panel members to rename Confederate bases | The military approves 20 more coronavirus vaccination teams Lawmakers applaud officer Eugene Goodman MORE, starting with a massive COVID-19 stimulus bill.
But the decision to undo new witnesses launched a storm of attacks from the left, while the Liberals threw sour notes of disappointment that Democrats had no longer fought to win Trump’s sentence.
“The fact that Mark Meadows
Mark Meadows: Mother triumphs as Senate debates role in inciting Capitol crowd on Sunday shows preview: Budget resolution paves the way for a .9 trillion stimulus The Senate is preparing for the trial of dismissal To Marjorie Taylor Greene, a vision of the future MORE, Donald Trump, Tommy Tuberville and Kevin McCarthy will probably * never * have to testify under oath that the insurrection is an insult to justice and history, “tweeted David Atkins, a liberal activist in California.
“Republicans would have carried out a month-long dismissal trial summoning dozens of witnesses,” he added.
Some Capitol Hill Democrats were equally angry. A Democrat familiar with the witness negotiations said Senate Democrats, led by the majority leader Charles Schumer
Chuck SchumerSenate Approves Bill to Award Congressional Gold Medal Lawyers a Capitol Police Officer Defending Attacks on Democrats Democratic rules are not safe just because Biden won MORE (NY), were willing to accept any decision made by hesitant dismissal managers on the issue of asking for a new witness, a message the senators delivered to House prosecutors.
However, after the Senate voted to allow these new witnesses, the source said, the administrators failed the next steps.
“After the vote, it was clear that the executives had no plans,” the Democratic source said. “Senate Democrats gave them the votes, but executives didn’t know what their next step would be.”
In the long run, tensions may not matter. The final vote on Trump’s fate featured seven Republican senators who crossed the aisle to condemn the former president, marking the most bipartisan condemnation vote in the country’s history.
This has provided Democrats a powerful point of conversation toward the 2022 cycle, when both houses are ready. And many Senate Democrats noted that the Republican Party’s opposition to Trump’s conviction was so ingrained that new witnesses would never have changed the verdict.
“I don’t think anything would have made a difference with people on the other side,” the senator said. Raphael Warnock
Raphael WarnockOssoff presses Biden budget candidate for HBCU Georgia funding, GOP tries to tighten voting rules after losing losses Centrist Democrats pose major problem for progressives MORE (D-Ga.), He said after Trump’s acquittal.
However, immediately after the vote, the Liberal Democrat base is sure to send the party leaders an unmistakable message that they expect more struggle in the upcoming debates.
“Only Democrats can unquestionably win a vote and then concede,” Green said.
Jordain Carney contributed.