U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL) on Friday afternoon voted against subpoenaing further witnesses and documents in the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump. Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) voted with the entire Senate Democratic Caucus, led by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), to compel witnesses that were not previously heard from the the House.
In a tight 51-49 vote, the motion to subpoena witnesses failed. As of this writing, leaders in the Senate are negotiating a path to a final impeachment trial vote on each of the two articles of impeachment: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Trump is expected to be acquitted on both articles by a wide margin. Sixty-seven votes would be needed to convict and remove the president from office on either article.
In a statement, Shelby said, “Throughout the impeachment proceedings in the Senate, I have carefully listened as a juror to arguments from both the House managers and the President’s counsel in an effort to fairly evaluate whether or not the President’s actions meet the Constitution’s high bar for an impeachable offense. It is evident to me that his actions are not worthy of removal from office, and I do not believe additional evidence would prove otherwise. The President’s actions, as presented by the House in the two articles, do not constitute an impeachable offense.”
“The framers of our Constitution were cautious to ensure that the impeachment and conviction of a sitting President would not be of partisan intent. The Senate holds the power to remove a duly elected President from office for actions that rise to the level of being a high crime or misdemeanor, not for conduct that some deem inappropriate,” he concluded.
Jones has not announced how he will vote on either article. He could vote to convict on one article but acquit on the other. Keen observers expect him to vote to convict Trump on abuse of power, but obstruction of Congress seems to be less clear.
Friday’s vote on witnesses came after Jones released a video earlier in the day with his latest thoughts on the impeachment trial. Read more and watch that video here.
Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
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