Senators vote to consider witnesses in a spin for Trump’s impeachment

UNITED STATES SENATORS HAVE VOTED to consider witnesses in the impeachment of former President Donald Trump.

Final arguments at the trial were expected today without witnesses being called, but the prosecution team asked to hear from a Republican representative.

Leading Democratic Attorney Jamie Raskin of Maryland called for a deposition of Republican Jaime Herrera Beutler for new information.

Herrera Beutler has widely shared a conversation he had with House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy about Trump’s actions on January 6 when a mob rioted in the US Capitol.

Raskin said it was information necessary to determine Trump’s role in inciting the deadly riot.

There were 55 senators who voted to debate the subpoena motion, including Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who changed his vote in the middle of the count.

Trump’s lawyer, Michael van der Veen, objected to the request, saying he would later call 100 witnesses and that it was not necessary.

The trial, which lasted nearly a week, has provided a grim and graphic narrative of the January 6 riot and its aftermath for the U.S. In a way that senators, most of whom fled for their own safety that day , they acknowledge that they are still reaching an agreement.

Acquittal is expected in the evenly divided Senate, a verdict that could greatly influence not only Trump’s political future, but also that of senators who vowed to provide impartial justice as jurors while casting their votes.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell will reportedly vote to acquit Trump, and his decision is likely to influence others who weigh his votes.

House prosecutors have argued that Trump’s rallying cry to go to Capitol Hill and “fight like hell” for his presidency just as Congress was meeting to certify the election of Joe Biden was part of an orchestrated pattern. of violent rhetoric and false claims that unleashed the mob.