simply executed by leader mcconnell and senate republicans. it appears that leader mcconnell decided to go along with the president's desire to cover up his wrongdoing . hook, line and sinker. it almost seems the resolution was written in the white house, not in the senate. the mcconnell resolution is a blueprint for an impeachment trial onfast-forward . it asks the senate to sprint through the trial as fast as possible and make adding evidence as hard as possible. the bottom line, leader mcconnell wants the process rushed with as little evidence as possible in the dark of night. he pushes the argument into the wheat hours of the night so american people won't see them. in short, again, the mcconnell resolution will result in a rushed trial with little evidence in the dead of night . the president is so confident in his case, then why won't he present it in broad daylight? if leader mcconnell and the republican senators have said he's done nothing wrong, it's perfect, why not while the sun is shining instead ofat 2 am ? it was pretty obvious.

mcconnell: mr. president, i also would like to take a moment to congratulate the occupant of the chair with this important piece of legislation that will help us deal with ocean debris in a hopefully very successful way. i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today it adjourn until 3:00 p.m. monday, january 13. further that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, morning business be closed, and the senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the gaynor nomination. finally that the cloture motion filed during today's session ripen at 5:30 p.m. on monday. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: if there is no further business to come before the senate i ask it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the the presiding officer: the >> we were married in my mother-in-law

leader mcconnell promised his trial rules for weeks. let's end the same rules as the clinton trial rules. he said we're going to get started in exactly the same way . it turns out the mcconnell rules are not even close to the clinton rules. and there are many places where that happens. unlike the clinton rules, the mcconnell resolution does not admit the record of the house impeachment proceedingsinto evidence. so mcconnell seems to want a trial with no existing evidence and no new evidence . no evidence. you can understand why. because he's afraid of evidence. so is president trump. so are the presidents men . a trial with no evidence is not trial at all.it's a cover-up. second, unlike the clinton rules the mcconnell resolution minutes presentation by the parties to 24 hours per side over only two days. leader mcconnell wants to force the managers to make important parts of their case in the dead of night. i'veread the brief . about 45 pages, i commend each of you. it's a powerful document. very hard to rebut. in fact the president doe

mitch mcconnell: i want. so i began to follow politics and i remember at age 14, when the conventions were really the coverage they were really dull. it would focus on the podium and listen to all of the speeches on tv. lamar alexander: there is a big radio and we would listen to the whole thing. mitch mcconnell: pretty boring. you may have been doing this too. lamar alexander: i might've been too. [laughter]. mitch mcconnell: i thought maybe you were watching too. watching those things from gavel to gavel. so i began to try to practice this to see if i could get good at it. i ran for president and student counseling college to an in law school. clay, was the most famous politician in kentucky. lamar alexander: what about clay inspired you most. mitch mcconnell: the fact that in a not significant state have become a major face and voice. in the kentucky people focus on clay. i wanted to learn more about him. lamar alexander: he was known about crafting compromises. that's a dirty word today with some people.

after reading mcconnell's resolution it's clear mcconnell is hellbent on making it much more difficult to get witnesses and documents and intent on rushing the trial through. on something as important and serious as impeachment, senator mcconnell's resolution is a national disgrace. senator mcconnell repeatedly promised the senators, the public, the press, that his rules for the trial would be the same as the rules in the clinton impeachment. nothing could be further from the truth. senator mcconnell's rules dramatically depart from the clinton precedent in ways that are designed to prevent the senaten eneand the american peo from learning the truth about president trump's actions that warranted his impeachment. let's go over four of them. the mcconnell rules don't even allow for the simple basic step of admitting the house record into evidence at the trial. under the mcconnell resolution, he's saying that he doesn't want to hear any of the existing evidence and he doesn't want any new evidence. a trial where there's no evidence, no existing record, and no new evidence, no witnesses, n

there were witnesses in 1999, leader mcconnell. you want the president of 1999, there were witnesses as there were in every single impeachment trial of a president in history. it would be a break in precedent for there not to be witnesses. third, there was even a greater rationale for witnesses in the clinton trial. in 1999 the witnesses in question had already testified -- they had already testified under oath extensively and there were also bipartisan concerns about the suitability of the subject matter for the floor of the senate. there's no analogy to today's situation. the witnesses we requested never testified under oath and the documents we've requested have not been produced. fourth, we have a tradition in america of a fair and speedy trial. that's why we've requested only the relevant information up front so that the trial can truly be speedy and fair. it makes no sense, and in fact it is a ruse, to suggest that the senate wait until the end of the trial to settle the hardest question when it might take time for witnesses

mcconnell is trying to accommodate that. the question i have following these senators for so long is how are they going to stay awake this long? chuck grassley is 86 years old, one of the most senior members in the senate, he has a 9:00 bedtime every single night and he tells all of us about it. how is he going to do this for multiple nights on end? i don't know if they can keep it up. it will be interesting to see, these rules will obviously be adopted today, it's just a matter of how long do they debate them. but, you know, do they have to sort of reassess as they go because this is going to be really intense. >> i will make one side note here, the chief justice of the united states has a side job which is to be chief justice of the united states. >> his side hustle. >> so he is going to preside over the senate until 2:00 a.m. and then he's going to go to the supreme court tomorrow morning and do chief justice stuff, right? so he's going to be burning the candle on both ends. i think that we just need to take a step back,

senate shortly we're expecting to hear from senate majority leader mitch mcconnell and also the minority leader democrat chuck schumer and within half an hour the senate will start debating the rules that will govern this impeachment trial the chamber is taking up a resolution which was proposed by the senate majority leader mitch mcconnell that is seeking basically a swift trial and the democrats including senate minority leader chuck schumer have criticized this proposal that it's part of an effort to cover up president. we're watching again live pictures from inside the senate chamber where preparations are underway for the 1st process in president trump's impeachment trial let's bring in heidi is will cost 0 in washington d.c. on capitol hill heidi tell us what the 1st order of business is going to be as this gets on the way in washington. charm on just minutes time the senate will gavel and be in session but we won't see any impeachment related proceedings until just after the top of the hour when the u.s. senate once again becomes its new persona of impeachment courts that's when y

these are the mcconnell rules.t give the president everything he wants, but he's trying to give him everything he can. this is going to be a test of his leadership going forward here. you showed that national poll. mitch mcconnell does not care about the polls. he will only care if they come to him and say, susan collins will lose, cory gardener will lose, you will lose your majority if you continue to do what you're doing. otherwise, he doesn't care. remember in 2014, mcconnell was not part of this, dent lihe dide it. everybody said the republicans would pay the price for it, they won the senate in that election. mcconnell got what he wanted, a republican appointed justice. he does not follow the polls or the rules. he'll do it his way, unless he's convinced he would lose majority, then he would modify. right now he's on a fast track. >> if there are 12 hour sessions that go into 1:00, 2:00 in the morning, remember, a lot of those sessions will be in primetime. 7:00 at night, 8:00 at night, 9:00 at night, when the

there were witnesses in 1999, leader mcconnell. you want the president of 1999, there were witnesses as there were in every single impeachment trial of a president in history. it would be a break in precedent for there not to be witnesses. third, there was even a greater rationale for witnesses in the clinton trial. in 1999 the witnesses in question had already testified -- they had already testified under oath extensively and there were also bipartisan concerns about the suitability of the subject matter for the floor of the senate. there's no analogy to today's situation. the witnesses we requested never testified under oath and the documents we've requested have not been produced. fourth, we have a tradition in america of a fair and speedy trial. that's why we've requested only the relevant information up front so that the trial can truly be speedy and fair. it makes no sense, and in fact it is a ruse, to suggest that the senate wait until the end of the trial to settle the hardest question when it might take time for witnesses

third, leader mcconnell -- third, leader mcconnell's resolution makes it much harder to get witnessesents after the arguments are heard. we'll be able to force votes on witnesses and documents before his resolution is adopted tomorrow. and we will. but, they've all said so many of the senators, let's hear the arguments and then we'll decide on witnesses and documents. mcconnell lose the language in that makes it that much harder to happen. finally, the clinton resolution allowed for dismissal only after arguments were heard. this resolution allows for dismissal at any time. so this resolution is -- is totally departing from the clinton resolution in significant ways, despite what leader mcconnell promised. and in the ways it departs, the evidence is less available, the evidence is given in the wee hours of the morning. and may never be produced at all. it's a cover-up, it's a national disgrace. impeachment is one of the few powers that congress has when a president overreaches. to so limit impeachment and make it so less serious, is so, so wrong. we'll fight that tooth and nail. we ho

leader mcconnell wants the process rushed. with his little evidence as possible in the dark of night. he pushes the arguments into the wee hours of the night so merican people won't see them. in short again the mcconnell resolution will result in a rush trial with little evidence in the dead of night. if the president is so confident in his case. then why won't he presented in broad daylight if leader mcconnell and the republican senators who've said he's done nothing wrong it's perfect. why not while the sun is shining. instead of a 2 am throws pretty obvious it's pretty obvious why not. on something as important as impeachment. mcconnell's resolution is nothing short of a national disgrace and it will go down in history as one of the very dark days of the senate not living up to its responsibility you know b. since to the president not to the truth. leader mcconnell promised his trial rules if you've heard this for weeks let's enact the same rules as the clinton trial rules he said we're going to get started in exactly the s

he worked for mitch mcconnell. this morning he somebody uses power liberally, and that leaves his opponents red with anger. chuck schumer and nancy pelosi saying that this resolution is a cover-up. >> it's ridiculous for so many reasons. on the process level, the clinton impeachment in the late '90s, both the house of petri managers and the president's defense team used less than half of the time that this impeachment trial is allotted. 24 hours for each side to make the case. i think that's ample time. secondly, this is the process where the house should have, before embarking on one of the most grave can dominate constitutional provisions we have come and get your ducks in a row. the reason we are talking about witnesses and that kind of thing on the front end is the house told us they couldn't wait for it, that everything had to move so quickly and get to the senate so fast because the country was in grave danger. were now obviously rearing a different tune. >> ed: senator schumer disagrees with you, obviously p

is slamming as a national disgrace. >> after reading mcconnell's resolution it's clear mcconnell is hell bent on making it much more difficult to get witnesses and documents, and intent on rushing the trial through. on something as important and serious as impeachment, senator mcconnell's resolution is a national disgrace. >> i wanted to bring in now senior national correspondent athena jones, and author of donald trump's war on the world's most powerful office. and global affairs analyst max boot. athena, start with you, less than 24 hours until trump's impeachment trial and mitch mcconnell wants to shorten opening arguments to just two days per side. tell me why he's doing this and fill us in on the details. >> he wants this to be over quickly, just like the president wants this to be over quickly. the president wants it to be over by february 4th, when he gives the state of the union. we can expect over the next few days, tomorrow the senate convenes at 1:00 p.m. and the first order of business is going to be debating these very rules that senator mcconnell put forward, the organ

the mcconnell rules seem to be designed by president trump for president trump. it asks the senate to rush through as fast as possible and makes getting evidence as hard as possible. it could force presentations to take place at two or three in the morning of the american people won't see them. in short, the mcconnell resolution will result in a rushed trial with little evidence in the dark of night. literally, the dark of night. if the president is so confident in his case, if leader mcconnell is so confident the president did nothing wrong, why don't they want the case to be presented in broad daylight? on something as important as impeachment, the mcconnell resolution is nothing short of a national disgrace. this will go down, this resolution as one of the darker moments in the senate history. perhaps one of even the darkest. now, leader mcconnell has just said he wants to go by the clinton rules are rules and whe change them in four important ways at minimum to all make the trial less transparent, less clear, and with less evidence? he said he wanted to get s

mitch mcconnell has not consulted with senator schumer at all. i expect senator schumer got to see it at the same time we did good david: where there any efforts made together to try to all? bipartisanship at anna: no. we were looking for a meeting between schumer and mcconnell to try to reach an agreement on what the rules would look like as they did in the clinton case. they were both in the capital building at the same time and did not meet. now we have this partisan resolution put forth by mitch mcconnell. mitch mcconnell said he would cordon eight closely with the white house and work hand in glove with the white house. up to capitol hill and emily wilkinson. it was a sense what the atmosphere is like. what you expect between now and 1:00 eastern time when they gaveled in the senate? emily: this morning there has been an air of formality. we have seen senators begin to comment. we have already seen statements made by adam schiff, who is a house impeachment manager, as well as head of the intelligence committee, and chuck schumer, both saying

simply executed by a leader mcconnell. later mcconnell decided to go along with the president's desire to cover up is wrongdoing. hook, line, and sinker. it almost seems that the resolution was written in the white house, not in the senate. >> harris: and it is on. john cornyn fired back at the criticism of the mcconnell resolution, watch. >> our job is to lish listen to the case presented by the parties. not to hijack the trial and orchestrated ourselves. that's what senator schumer wants to do and i think that would be wrong. >> harris: you're watching "outnumbered." i'm harris faulkner. here today, melissa francis, dagen mcdowell, syndicated radio host and fox news contributor leslie marshall. in the center seat, former acting attorney general matt whitaker is with us. we will have full reaction from everyone around me but first let's go to congressional correspondent live on capitol hill. this is a huge moment. >> that's right. this is the debate about the argument, the framework that this is going to be a proposal put

after reading mcconnell's resolution, it's clear mcconnell is hell bent on making it much more difficult to get witnesses and documents and intent on rushing the trial through. on something as important and serious as impeachment, senator mcconnell's resolution is a national disgrace. >> chuck schumer vowing to fight for amendments tomorrow. but the fact is mcconnell is likely to get his way since he is in the majority -- he has the majority. democrats need four republicans to join them. it's clear mcconnell wouldn't have put this resolution out if he didn't have the votes. a trial taking place in the middle of the night. no guarantee of witnesses or evidence. all of it turning the impeachment trial only the third such trial in our history into a mockery. let's not forget what we have already heard. let's not forget the evidence we have heard. we have heard it out loud. from the president on the white house lawn calling for ukraine to investigate his political enemies and throwing in china for good measure. >> well, i would think that if they were honest about it, they would start a majo

after reading mcconnell's resolution it's clear mcconnell is hell bent on making it much more difficult to get witnesses and documents and intent on rushing the trial through. >> senior congressional correspondent manu raju has the latest from capitol hill. >> good morning, laura and ryan. now just hours before the senate trial is officially set to begin, mitch mcconnell unveiled the resolution detailing the parameters of how the trial would actually take shape. and under the rules that mitch mcconnell put out -- put forward it's expect today be a pretty fast moving trial if senators don't agree subpoena witnesses or documents, if they decide to reject all that then we could see the president potentially being acquitted by next week. this is how it will essentially play out under the resolution mcconnell laid out. after the debate on tuesday in which the lawmakers will take up the resolution that senator mcconnell put forward, there will be lots of amendments that democrats will offer. those democrat apremts undoubtedly will be rejected by republicans, probably all of them will fail, th

the likelihood the president could undermine mitch mcconnell's strategy?don't think out of the box he will. and i don't think someone will go rogue because that would be a real problem for that particular senator having to deal with mcconnell after the fact. i suspect at least in the first few days of this, it is going to go as scripted by mcconnell to the extent that the president gets a censor feeling, craig, that there's not a lot of pop here, that he's somehow losing the narrative or his lawyers who are made for tv, more made for fox lawyers than anything else, aren't necessarily getting across what trump wants to get across, then you may see some agitation by the president on twitter. i think by and large, what mcconnell has been able to do very effectively is rein in and control the president's out burst with respect to his particular strategy on impeachment as opposed to what the president wants on impeachment. >> senator, i want to play something lindsey graham said over the weekend. >> i think he wants to have a chance to have his day in court tha

we are not like mcconnell. we are not secretive or close to the best. three weeks ago i sent a letter to every member of the caucus saying we want to be 7 votes, four on witnesses, three and document and we ended up putting two together that were related, duffy and blair and i said publicly we are going to try to undo some of the most egregious parts of mcconnell's deviation from the clinton plan. most particularly we are want to undo the situation where we are not able to vote on witnesses and documents afterwords. and what we wanted to ask for yesterday. >> do you worry about the strategy to push for witnesses and documents including the vote last night to turn off moderate republicans? >> here is the bottom line. we are seeking the truth, the american people want the truth. we would be derelict in our responsibility that we didn't ask for these votes. this is the only time we are guaranteed a vote on witnesses and documents. we would not be doing our job if we didn't try to make this trial fair and we will continue to do it and it will determine in m

mitch mcconnell gets on the floor and says the house rushed it.e's rushing it far more than the house ever did. they say that the house didn't allow witnesses. it was the president who blocked all these witnesses. the house subpoenaed all four witnesses that we have asked for here in -- that i've asked for here in the senate. so there's so much double-talk going on and all i can think about is that the republican party is now in blind -- to president trump, a person that even the american people as a majority don't think is honest, don't think is fair. founding fathers didn't >> there is an element of this with who runs this chamber. you're making some of the same arguments the republicans were making in the house which is we're not getting a fair swing at this. >> well, i think -- >> this is being run by the democrats and now when it's being run by the republicans, it's -- >> no offense, that's sort of a very superficial argument. it was the president who blocked the witnesses in the house. we want the witnesses. the right thing to do was have wi

mitch mcconnell serving up a brawl.at from the hour number one of the process? >> listen, they knew it would happen, based on the last 72 hours or so, there was the expectation there would be a locking of horns right as soon as the meat of the trial was getting started. i'm told that there were contingencies plans being put into place. even just this morning, sources are saying they're working on how to handle some of the motions. they had a feeling this might happen even though the democrats are tipping their hand totally at least at this point. but one example of this is that the new letter sent over to the white house counsel pat cipollone saying we believe based on the evidence that you are a material witness. you're a fact witness to this stuff at hand here and we want to know all of the documents and everything that you have. has there been an official response from the white house, not yet. that letter just came out. we have asked for a response, but let me take you behind -- remember the west wing is behind the

>> mitch mcconnell does not need the democrats in any shape or form in this procedure. impeachment trials are a majority-rule situation which is unusual in the senate, and the minority party in the senate usually has leverage o. outside of the trials there is filibuster, but they have usually leverage for the minority party, but not in impeachment trials. this is cover baed by a two-hou limitation of not debate but arguments. so the parties argue and the senator stay silent, so the democrats have few cards to play here, and mitch mcconnell does not need them at all. >> unless they are republicans who say 12 hours is too much. and we'd like to break this up a little bit. i mean that is not impossible. >> well, needs a majority and the question is if he is going to keep the troops in line. >> and elliott, this is it. this is the white house trial memorandum of president donald j. trump and the president's attorneys signed it, and they say that the whole process in their words is a dangerous perversion of the u.s. constitution. >> wolf, i was talking to a senior democratic

mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the distinguished senate majority leader is recognized. mr. mcconnell: this morning iran's master terrorist is dead. the architect and chief engineer of the world's most active state sponsor of terrorism has been removed from the battlefield at the hand of the united states military. no man alive was more directly responsible for the deaths of more american service members than qasem soleimani. the leader of the quds force within iran's islamic revenuesary guard corps. his schemes and his agents killed hundreds of american service members in iraq and afghanistan. he personally oversaw the state-sponsored terrorism that iran used to kill our sons and our daughters and as we've seen in recent days and weeks, he and his terrorists posed an ongoing threat to american lives and american interests. soleimani made it his life's work to take the iranian revolutionary call for death to america and death to israel and turn them into action. but this terrorist mastermind w

there were witnesses in 1999, leader mcconnell. you want the president of 1999, there were witnesses as there were in every single impeachment trial of a president in history. it would be a break in precedent for there not to be witnesses. third, there was even a greater rationale for witnesses in the clinton trial. in 1999 the witnesses in question had already testified -- they had already testified under oath extensively and there were also bipartisan concerns about the suitability of the subject matter for the floor of the senate. there's no analogy to today's situation. the witnesses we requested never testified under oath and the documents we've requested have not been produced. fourth, we have a tradition in america of a fair and speedy trial. that's why we've requested only the relevant information up front so that the trial can truly be speedy and fair. it makes no sense, and in fact it is a ruse, to suggest that the senate wait until the end of the trial to settle the hardest question when it might take time for witnesses

mcconnell: now, mr. president, for the information of all senators, a few minutes ago, the senate was notified that the house of representatives is finally ready to proceed with their articles of impeachment. so by unanimous consent, we have just laid some of the groundwork that will structure the next several days. we have officially invited the house managers to come to the senate tomorrow at noon to exhibit their articles of impeachment. then later tomorrow afternoon, at 2:00 p.m., the chief justice of the united states will arrive here in the senate. he will be sworn in by the president pro tempore, senator grassley. then the chief justice will swear in all of us senators. we will pledge to rise above the petty factionalism and do justice for our institutions, for our states, and for the nation. and then we will formally notify the white house of our pending trial and summon the president to answer the articles and send his counsel. so the trial will commence in earnest on tuesday. but first, mr. pre

senate majority leader mitch mcconnell releasing the senate resolution. rules that will guide the debate ahead in the discussion ahead in the u.s. senate in the impeachment trial of donald trump. in general those rules, i want to point out it is not a long read, they are available on our website, c-span.org/impeachment, those rules include the time for presentation of the case, the house managers and the president's attorneys will each have 24 hours over two days, a total of potentially 48 hours of deliberation, presenting the case for the house managers and the president's attorneys, senators will have up to 16 hours of questioning and there will be motions to subpoena witnesses and documents. you heard from the democratic leader, chuck schumer, a short while ago on the senate floor in a news conference earlier that he will make several amendments, proposed several amendments to the underlying resolution. we expect that to begin shortly after the senate gavels in for what is essentially the first day of the trial of donald trump in the impeachment trial.

that means mitch mcconnell has 49 votes or less. it means that at least four republicans have told mitch mcconnell that they are going to vote for witnesses, and that's all it takes to force witnesses in the senate trial. but why would mitch mcconnell turn over his cards like this? why would mitch mcconnell reveal now that he does not have the votes? two, three days before that vote is going to come? that is not mitch mcconnell's style when he is approaching a very close vote in the senate. in the past mitch mcconnell never let it be known that he didn't have the votes even when he didn't have the votes. like the time john mccain voted against mitch mcconnell and donald trump on repealing the affordable act. mitch mcconnell knew that it would leak immediately when he privately told republican senators that he didn't have the votes to stop witnesses. mitch mcconnell wanted it to leak because he knows he needs a lot of help now to get those votes to stop witnesses. he needs sean hannity's help. he needs rush limbaugh's help. he needs

on mcconnell. to make sure there is way to have witnesses and documents and so what's so interesting is that this resolution doesn't ech allow for the admission of the evidence presented in the house to process. that's something that has to be voted on. that's different from the clinton model. that is why you hear a minority leader saying this is a no way like the clinton model. i have many problems with it. he'll try to amend it. >> here's what the "washington post" is reporting. trump's legal team and the gop senator allies working on a contingency plans if they get votes to witnesses. one is move boltens testimony to a out of the public view. why are they so afraid of that? >> there is a rumor going around that boltens friends are trying to block testimony for him. in other words he's made himself available. so he's protected on his book to say whatever he wants to say. i didn't try to hide it. but i think this whole thing where you have depositions before any witness is permitted to testify and

that's part of mcconnell's intention. after that's done, senators get 16 hours to present questions in writing. then they'll consider and vote on witnesses and documents. unlike the clinton impeachment proceedings, none of the evidence from the house will immediately come over to the senate chamber as part of the senate case. it will all have to be subject to a vote. more on that in a bit. you may recall mcconnell was pretty clear about his agenda with regard to the impeachment case. >> everything i do during this, i'm coordinating with white house counsel. there will be no difference between the president's position and our position. there's no chance the president's going to be removed from office. >> so that's coordination. tonight democratic senate minority leader chuck schumer, who has been pressing for witnesses, slammed mcconnell's decisions. >> it is now certain that leader mcconnell is going along with president trump's cover-up hook, line, and sinker. when you look at his resolution, it's no wonder he delayed it

mitch mcconnell would have said that. we all know that is a lie coming from trump, trying to make and send good before the public. my question is, what the president is impeached and he hasn't gone to the senate yet to have his trial to be acquitted or to be removed from office, isn't it that was a president is impeached, his power is suspended until he gets through the senate trial? why he is doing this stuff as though he is still king of the republican party? guest: that's untrue. impeachment actually has no force of law behind it, the president still has all the powers he did on december 17 and vice versa. the only actual ramification of any is that it is supposed to force a trial in the senate to vote whether to convict or acquit the present, which a sitting president has never been convicted in the senate. we had two impeachments, andrew johnson and bill clinton, both of which ended in acquittal in the senate. johnson, nearly by just one vote. i would also come in to the point, point out that trump in recent days has

they're watch aring mitch mcconnell.y are watching republicans trying to, again, trying to hide the truth from them. as jon meacham said, it's not because of the witnesses schedule or the schedule on the floor that week. you're worried about the truth coming out. also, the hypocrisy at every turn. look what ken starr said. look at the way republicans ra'anan the impeachment in the '90s, but, stephen dennis who is bloomberg's senate reporter tweeted this -- earlier -- sitting gop senators who voted to toss bill clinton because's obstruction of justice. something that again 60% of americans believe donald trump is guilty of, blunt, crapo, ensley, grassley, graham, who, of course, was a manager, imhoff, mcconnell, moran, portman, roberts, shelby, thune and wicker. there is -- you can't turn in any direction where republicans don't look hypocriticahypocriti. again, that's political scar tissue, that adds up. i'm wondering. i'm wond othering whether 2020 t look like 1994, 1974, 1966 in terms of congressional landslides. >> ye

there were witnesses in 1999, leader mcconnell. you want the president of 1999, there were witnesses, as there were in every single impeachment trial of the president in history. it would be a break in presidcet for there not to be witnesses. third, there was even a greater rationale for witnesses in the clinton trial. in 1999, the witnesses in question had will testified. they had already testified under oath. ex ten-- and there are also questions on the floor of the senate. the witnesses we've requested never testified under oath, and the documents we've requested have not been produced. fourth, we have a tradition in america of a fair and speedy tri trial. that's why we've requested only the relevant information up front so the trial can truly be speedy and fair. it makes no sense, and, in fact, it is a ruse to suggest that the senate wait until the end of the trial to settle the hardest question when it might take time for witnesses to prepare testimony and for the senate to review new documentary evidence. we can and should be

to mitch mcconnell s no one is fooled about where your allegiances lie. tois my privilege to be able welcome two of our dpcc co-chairs, and i will hand it to matt cartwright. m mr. cartwright: thank you, vice hair clark and chairman jeffries. ladies and gentlemen, the house majority was won work for promised to the people, for the regular working, ordinary american people. who we promised to stick up for, and this is a promise we've been keeping. promise to clean up government. h.r. 1 takes bold steps in that direction. promised to bring down the skyrocketing cost of medications.l we've done that. currentsed to fight the administration's efforts to dismantle health care for people pre-existing conditions. it was astonishing when we spring that the attorney general of the united decided toliam barr, throw the full weight of our american justice department to invalidate t the patient protection and affordable care act. astonished to learn that. when i asked the attorney general myself what happens if the lawsuit, what's your plan, he said, well, that's not

and when mitch mcconnell, senator mcconnell said he was going to work in lockstep with the president, we now have the proof in this resolution, and that's why you've seen the president's lawyers tweeting their approval of this resolution because it tries to speed this through in the dead of night and changes the rules relative to the clinton provisions in dramatic ways. we all heard senator mcconnell over and over tell the country that he was going to follow the clinton model. well, he doesn't follow that with respect to the time allocations in terms of how you spread it out. but there's also a very interesting provision in here that says all the evidence that's already been collected by the house of representatives does not enter into evidence and the trial from the beginning. it would go in at the end. and only then by motion, which means only by majority vote, which is an outrageous change from what the clinton trial proceedings were. and it means two things possibly, but all of them are troubling. >> tell me what you think the two things are because i'm confused. there seems somet

mitch mcconnell wants the republicans to hold the senate. part of this is going to be whether he can give vulnerable republicans like susan collins, the kind of cover that she needs for her election. yet, still do what he thinks is best for president trump and that is get it through quickly. >> jeffrey, we heard the senate majority leader mitch mcconnell announce that at 12:00 noon, the seven house managers will return with the articles impeachment, make the formal presentation. why he was impeached in the house of representatives and full scale trial will go forward. at 2:00 p.m. john roberts will come before the senate and he will have a very detailed specific role as outlined in the u.s. constitution. tell us about that? >> well, he will have a role. that role is not specifically defined in the institution other than to preside over the trial. one of the mysteries here is how much of a role roberts will have. this is a very different impeachment than bill clinton's impeachment because as i believe dana mentioned earlier, all 100 senators

they say that mcconnell isa very months ago. they say that mcconnell is a very good vote counter.ion is backwards and designed result in mind, and that the result is not a fair trial, i hope that he is wrong because whatever senators may have said or pledged or committed, it has been superseded by an event of constitutional dimension. you have all now sworn an oath. not to each other, not to your legislative leadership, not to the managers or even to the chiefjustice, you have sworn an oath to do impartial justice. that oath finds you, supersedes all else. many of you in the senate and many others in the house have made statements about the president's conduct. this trial or this motion or expectations and none of that matters now. that is all in the past. nothing matters now but the past. nothing matters now but the oath to do impartialjustice. that oath requires a fair trial. there should be president, fair to the american people. but is that really possible? the american people. but is that really possible ? 0r the american people. but is that really possible? or is the —— as t

mitch mcconnell didn't budge. democrats are pushing moderate republicans on the need for witnesses in the upcoming trial. >> we don't know what the witnesses will say. what the documents will reveal. they could hurt the president's case. or they could help the president's case. we don't know. we know one thing. we want the truth on something as weighty and profound as an impeachment trial. >> many senate republicans argue the process in the house was not fair to president trump. so some leading senate republicans say after speaking with the president, they recognize he's eager to get moving. be. >> he believes he wants to get it done sooner rather than later. it's frustrating. he didn't think he did anything wrong. i told him there's a process. once we start, we will plow ahead and get it done and be over by the time of the state of the union and you'll have it behind you and come out politically stronger. >> sounds like the actual articles of impeachment could be physically walked over from the house chamber to t

that's true. >> could prove to be mcconnell's biggest challenge. >> have you voted for mitch mcconnelli'm torn. i think he is staying in step with party line, that's what his motive is, and i think he could be voted out this year. >> peter and elise are back. you know southern voters. i was surprised at the number of people who voted for mitch mcconnell before, not so crazy about him now, for the same reason the president became president because they're sort of sick of business as usual. having said that, i also couldn't find political insiders, not voters, insiders, people that run campaigns that would say i think mitch mcconnell is in trouble. >> i would be hard pressed to believe that mitch mcconnell is in real trouble. you look at how much he delivers to kentucky from his leadership post, how much money he is able to bring to the state, and from now until november, is the landscape going to dramatically change? he is up against a challenger that didn't win a congressional race in a district that would have been one of the more easy kentucky pickups, and i don't really worry for mi

mcconnell had to include that. that's the way it was done in the clinton trial -- clinton impeachment trial. is not that there will be no chance on witnesses, but this does put everyone, gianno, on the spot, voting in front of the chief justice asked whether or not they think he could be fair and trusted with these decisions. >> i disagree with richard's analysis, and i would say this probably is, for some, a difficult vote, but certainly not for all. the constitution is clear about who can determine the rules when it came to a senate trial for the removal of a president. with that being the case, there has already been a determination, like you said, shannon, to have opening remarks -- >> shannon: gianno, sorry to interrupt, but we're going to get the results of this boat here. >> have the is tabled. >> mr. chief justice -- >> shannon: a party line vote again, 53-47. let's listen to the senate majority leader now. >> it comes with the job. [applause] >> on scheduling, assuming there are no more amendments, the nex

now i want to respond to one suggestion by leader mcconnel mcconnell. we follow the 1999 example, beginning the impeachment trial first and deciding on witnesses and documents at a later date. first, to hear mcconnell say no witnesses now but may be some later is another indication he has no argument against witnesses and documents on the merits. will leader mcconnell commit to witnesses and documents now and it discuss timing later? second, leader mcconnell's comparisons to 1999 are hopelessly flawed and inaccurate. there were witnesses in 1999. do you want the president, in 1999 there were witnesses as there were in every single impeachment trial of the president in history. it would be a break in precedent for there not to be witnesses. third, there was even greater rationale for witnesses and the clinton trial. in 1999 the witnesses in question had already testified under oath. extensively. and there were also bipartisan concerns about the suitability of the subject matter. there is no analogy to today's situation. the witnesses we requested never t

mitch mcconnell is saying you get two 12-hour sessions. each side gets two 12-hour sessions or 24 hours you can use 24 hours straight if you feel like it, 12 hours one day, 12 hours another day but a maximum of two days. so the maximum division of that would be 12 and 12. so what's your reaction to that? >> so it's about jurors, four jurors, the four republicans who have the power to determine whether this is going to be a sham trial or whether this will be a trial with actual witnesses or evidence. think of people like senator alexander, senator collins and murkowski and romney. so how long will it take to convince them that there should be witnesses? how long will it take them to understand they must subpoena john bolton so they can find out why he called out the president's dealings in ukraine a drug deal, high he called giuliani a hand grenade. it pushes it out of prime time, it pushes some of the most important testimony out of the public view. and that may cause people like senator collins to cave, to give in to her caucus. we saw sh