Democrats’ fifth attempt to call witnesses and documents fails
The Senate voted 53-47 to table Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s amendment that would have subpoenaed documents relevant to the allegations against Trump from the Pentagon.
Democrats had advocated for the amendment as a necessary part of the case against Trump because of the Pentagon’s failure to comply with the impeachment inquiry.
“The Senate has an opportunity to obtain and review the full record that could fully demonstrate how and why the president was holding the aid,” Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., an Army veteran and one of the House impeachment managers said in remarks supporting the amendment.
Patrick Philbin, deputy counsel to the president, said the reason the Pentagon had not complied with the inqujiry was because the inquiry itself was “unlawful.”
“It was unlawful and that’s why no documents were produced,” Philbin said.
Donald Trump impeachment trial could continue late into the night
The Senate briefly halted proceedings to take a quorum call, or what is basically a roll call of senators, in order to give Senate Republican and Democratic leaders time to negotiate over proceedings.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had suggested Democrats bundle their amendments together for a single vote, rather than the sequence of debates and votes that have happened so far.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, however, disagreed.
“We will not back off on getting votes on all of these amendments, which we regard as extremely significant and important to the country,” he said on the Senate floor.
“We are willing to do some of those tomorrow,” he acknowledged. “There is no reason we have to do them all tonight and inconvenience the Senate and Chief Justice.”
When the Senate finished its quorum call, though, the trial continued with the introduction of Schumer’s amendment to subpoena Pentagon records, and it seemed no deal had been reached between senators.
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