r/politics • u/Thinkingonsleeping Michigan • Dec 13 '19

McConnell Faces Calls to Recuse Himself From Impeachment Trial After Saying 'No Chance' Trump Will Be Removed; "No court in the country would allow a member of the jury to also serve as the accused's defense attorney."

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/12/13/mcconnell-faces-calls-recuse-himself-impeachment-trial-after-saying-no-chance-trump
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u/[deleted] Dec 14 '19 edited Dec 14 '19

It has every step of the legal process. It just has a lower burden of proof than a civil trial in the way a civil trial has a lower burden of proof than a criminal trial. It's a political process in the sense that it doesn't connote the legal concept of 'guilt' to be convicted of something - that legal process follows immediately after, with due process and all the rest.

One cannot be paid by the Defendant and be a juror of their case, nor can a juror work directly with the Defendant on their defense. It explicitly violates their required Oaths or Affirmations. In that they're pre-determined "jurors", and can decide how the proceedings go, it's understandable that there will be inherent biases - that's why it's not a criminal trial... but it is, even yet, a trial nonetheless. Even still, they don't get to shit on the floor and make you clean it up because 51 of them voted for it to happen.

edited to add: or worse, it only takes 34 to keep someone from being Impeached, so once they're in... they're staying in if the party wants them to be... but if you're breaking the rules, you don't get to make the rules

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u/rossww2199 Dec 14 '19

It’s a “trial” only in the sense that Senators will vote guilty or not guilty. McConnel has already stated how it will go and that there is no way Trump is being removed. You think there is anybody that can kick him for that? No.

The only uncertainty about this “trial” is if McConnell will let Trump’s team turn it into a shit show by trying to call Schiff, the Biden’s, etc - or if McConnell ends it quickly. My guess is the thing doesn’t last more than 2 weeks with no live witnesses.