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.
Concerns over inflation have become one of the biggest worries for executives. A survey from The Conference Board shows that more than 900 CEOs consider inflation a top tier concern, a major shift from last year's survey that had it as a low-level concern. Rebecca Ray, Executive Vice President, Human Capital, The Conference Board joined Cheddar's Opening Bell for more.
Jordan Zakarin, Media Producer at A More Perfect Union, joined Cheddar News to break down the latest from Colorado, where at least 8,700 Kroger employees walked off the job in demand of increased benefits and wages.
With the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing rapidly approaching, clouds of controversy continue to swirl around China's treatment of the Uyghur Muslim minority population, its surveillance state, and security for visiting athletes. Phelim Kine, China correspondent for Politico, joined Cheddar to break down the big storylines surrounding the Beijing Games and highlight what he saw as the complete disregard by top corporate sponsors like P&G, Airbnb, Intel, Visa, and Coca-Cola, for the controversies. "They spend $100 million for every Olympics that they sponsor, and they have frankly shown absolute willful indifference to any type of entreaty to essentially be more vocal about their concerns about human rights in China," he said. Kine also touched on the data privacy fears for athletes as visiting contingents are being told to carry burner phones to avoid security risks.
Texas's six-week abortion ban remains in effect after a federal appeals court ruling on Monday. The U.S. court of appeals for the fifth circuit temporarily transferred the case to the Texas Supreme Court, which is expected to leave the dispute in limbo for months to come. Katie Barlow, attorney and media editor of SCOTUSblog, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
Hugh Odom, founder and president of Vertical Consultants, shared his expertise on telecommunications with Cheddar on the safety issue raised about 5G deployment by airlines. The installation was partially delayed again on Tuesday as the airlines warned of potentially catastrophic delays in a letter to the Biden administration. Later, both Verizon and AT&T relented and put a pause on some of the implementations. "The first thing the Biden administration needs to do is get everybody in the room and say, look, aviation industry, identify the problem — wireless industry, come up with a solution," said Odom.
Dave Levinthal, deputy Washington Bureau chief at Insider, joins Cheddar News to discuss Gallup's new survey that reveals more Americans leaned Republican by the end of 2021.
Women's March ATX rally, Saturday, Oct., 2, 2021, at the Texas State Capitol in Austin, Texas. An expected decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in the coming year to severely restrict abortion rights or overturn Roe v. Wade entirely is setting off a renewed round of abortion battles in state legislatures. (AP Photo/Stephen Spillman, File)
Inflation in the U.S. is only getting hotter. The 12-month inflation rate for December 2021 was the highest in nearly 40 years - continuing the trend seen at the close of 2021.
The Consumer Price Index increased 7% in the 12-month period ending in December, marking the fastest increase since 1982. Scott Wren, Senior Global Market Strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute, joined Cheddar's Movers for more.
If President Biden runs for re-election in 2024, he may not have anyone to debate. The Republican National Committee sent a letter to the commission on presidential debates, saying the RNC will require candidates to pledge not to participate in those general election debates. Paris Dennard, RNC national spokesperson, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
