Senators will get four hours of debate Friday before voting on whether to call witnesses and introduce documents — a vote that is expected to fail after Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), announced late last night.
Alexander said that though the House Managers indeed proved the president used Ukraine aid to force an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, he does not believe the conduct rises to the level of an impeachable offense.
Without Alexander's vote, the push for witnesses all but assuredly ended as Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) joined him Friday in rejecting the call. Even if Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Mitt Romney (R-Utah) were to vote yes, the motion will fail unless Chief Justice John Roberts makes a ruling that would set the vote aside, a ruling he is not expected to make.
Once the Senate votes on the witness issue, it's not clear what happens next. Senator Mike Braun (R-Ind.) told Cheddar that after the initial vote "it's not necessarily quick. There's a lot of parliamentary wrestling that goes on to bring it to the ultimate vote, which is the verdict.
"Even in Senator Alexander's statement, though he came to the wrong conclusion, he's said it was proven the president did what he was accused of," Senator Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told reporters before the start of what may be the last day of the president's impeachment trial.
Republicans have made a few key arguments against witnesses, primarily that the House should have pushed harder to call witnesses, a court fight over testimony could prolong the trial for months, and that if the House says its case is clear it shouldn't need more evidence.
Democrats have argued Senate Republicans could keep the trial short by having Chief Justice John Roberts sign off on subpoenas because that would likely limit court reviews from lower courts. If Republicans do not vote for witnesses, Schumer says they are aiding the president in "the greatest cover-up since Watergate."
"The truth will eventually come out," Schumer said.
"Despite all the arguments back and forth, the bottom, bottom thing, is: I don't know how you can not want to hear from Bolton … One of the senators called it circumstantial evidence, so why wouldn't you want to hear from the man who was in the room where it happens," Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) told reporters after the conclusion of yesterday's question and answer session at almost 11 pm ET.
She said she has always seen this as "an economic check, but also a decency check, a patriotism check on this president" and called today "game day."
Today's vote on allowing witnesses will ultimately set a precedent for impeachment trials moving forward, but also for questions about executive privilege and congressional oversight, as both House Managers and defense lawyers have repeatedly warned senators.
"You cannot have a true acquittal if you've not had a fair trial," Senator Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) said at a press conference on Friday morning.
"Let fairness ring … Americans know Democrats are for a fair trial and witnesses and documents are needed," Minority Leader Schumer said.
A new report by the Foreign Correspondents Club of China warns that press freedom in the most populous country in the world is declining at an alarming speed. Cheddar News speaks with Steven Butler, Asia Program Coordinator at the Committee to Protect Journalists, about the hardships journalists face in China.
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C. 1st District) joined Cheddar to discuss her cannabis legalization bill, the States Reform Act, and the prospects for gaining bipartisan support for a bill that has garnered the endorsement of e-commerce giant Amazon. This legislation is supported by businesses large and small, Amazon obviously being the most recent and largest business to support it," Mace said. "They don't want to sell pot. But what it does do is it affects their working employment pool." She stated that 10 percent of eligible new hires for Amazon are affected by restrictive marijuana laws. The representative also explained that the bill leaves equity provisions up to the states rather than mandating them on a federal level.
After a number of tragic subway incidents, the MTA is facing increased pressure to install subway platform screens to help prevent injury or death. However, according to an earlier report from the MTA, installing these prevented measures isn't feasible. New York City Council Member Keith Powers, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Across the country, states are working to redraw their congressional lines in what is often known as gerrymandering. These news lines are expected to determine the balance of power between Democrats and Republicans within the next decade. Senior Counsel for the Brennan Center's Democracy Program, Michael Li, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
The state of California is officially planning to close its death row in the next two years. That state's governor Democrat Gavin Newsom says the plan is now to move all condemned inmates to other prisons and turn it into, as he calls it, a positive healing environment. Former U. S. Assistant Attorney and Legal Analyst, David Katz, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Anthony Saccaro, Founder and President of Providence Financial, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he elaborates on why he is excited that the market is beginning to rebound and believes February has the potential to be a good month after a turbulent January.
Cryptocurrency is expected to become a part of our daily lives — but what sort of environmental impact does it have? As the U.S. becomes the crypto mining capital of the world, climate advocates are worried about mining companies reopening old coal plants, using massive amounts of energy, wasteful hardware, and more. Congressional Democrats led by Senator Elizabeth Warren are demanding answers from mining firms about their electricity use and waste levels. John Belizaire, CEO of Soluna Computing, joins Cheddar Climate to discuss the congressional letters, how crypto mining can become a green industry, and more.
The Supreme Court will reconsider race-based affirmative action in college admissions. The court will examine admissions policies at Harvard University and The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, which count the race of applicants as a factor in admissions. The court has upheld affirmative action policies in the past, saying it helps to create more diverse student bodies. However, the conservative Supreme Court could be skeptical and even possibly hostile to such policies. Nick Anderson, Higher Education Writer, Washington Post joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
