The Senate has voted to move President Trump’s impeachment trial into its final stages by denying a request to allow additional witnesses to testify.
According to Fox News, the vote comes after Democrats began pushing for former National Security Adviser John Bolton to testify in the trial. The vote on the motion was mostly along party lines with a final tally of 51-49. Utah Sen. Mitt Romney and Maine Sen. Susan Collins voted with Senate Democrats.
Mississippi’s Senators voted against the motion, and in a press release, Senator Roger Wicker said that each side has had adequate time to lay out their arguments.
“The articles of impeachment passed by the House do not allege a crime or any offense that warrants the removal of a duly-elected president,” Wicker said. “We have heard arguments from both sides through a fair process. It is now time to conclude this trial and get back to work for the American people.”
Wicker went on to say that during the trial, Senators have received more than 28,000 pages of documents from the House investigation, seen 192 video clips of 13 different witnesses, heard 48 hours of arguments, and questioned the House managers and the President’s defense attorneys for 16 hours.
Prior to today’s vote, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer tweeted the following message in regards to the expected outcome.
“If Republicans refuse to even consider witnesses and documents in this trial, any acquittal of President Trump will be meaningless, because it will be the result of a sham trial,” he said.
Fox News reports that “the final up-and-down vote — amid the widespread expectation that Trump will be acquitted in the end — could continue into next week.”
