(CNN Spanish) – The Senate of U.S voted this Friday to prevent witnesses from being called to political judgment that develops against President Donald Trump, a decision that begins the end of the process.
The Senate voted 49-51 to reject a motion that allowed witness citations and documents, with two Republicans – Senator Susan Collins of Maine and Mitt Romney of Utah – joining the Democrats to support the extension of the trial political.
LOOK: The Senate decides not to summon witnesses in the political trial, but Donald Trump is not yet acquitted
Trump ruled after the News ensuring that “No matter what you give to the Democrats, in the end, they will NEVER be satisfied.”
No matter what you give to the Democrats, in the end, they will NEVER be satisfied. In the House, they gave us NOTHING!
– Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 1, 2020
–
The vote on not allowing witnesses will eventually lead to a vote to acquit the president, but the moment of that decision is in the air, and could happen next week after Trump’s State of the Union speech next Tuesday.
In fact, the date for the final acquittal vote was a matter of debate throughout this Friday, but Republican senators said leaving the meeting at night that it is likely to be Wednesday, after the State of the Union address Trump, scheduled for Tuesday.
Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell said lawmakers are discussing the next steps in the political trial. “The senators will now talk to each other, with the prosecutors of the Chamber and the lawyers of the president to determine the next steps as we prepare to conclude the trial in the coming days,” McConnell said in a statement.
Republican senators said an agreement was reached at the end of the trial. The Democrats would offer several amendments on Friday night that would be voted, and then the Senate will take a break over the weekend. The political trial in the Senate would resume on Monday with the final arguments of both parties – prosecutors of the House and Trump lawyers – and give lawmakers the opportunity to make public statements. The pronouncements of the senators would be Tuesday and Wednesday before a vote of final acquittal. Lawmakers John Barrasso and Roy Blunt said an agreement was reached for a vote of acquittal next week.
The vote on the witnesses
Democrats hoped to get more Senate Republicans to join them to hear witness statements, especially following the revelations of a draft of the book of John Bolton, former National Security Advisor. However, one by one the Republicans said they were ready to finish the trial.
His reasons were diverse. Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said in a statement: “I don’t think the continuation of this process will change anything. It is sad for me to admit that, as an institution, Congress has failed. ”
For his part, Senator Lamar Alexander, of Tennessee, said that the prosecutors of the House had demonstrated his case that Trump withheld US assistance to press for an investigation into his political rivals. “The question is whether capital punishment is applied to each crime. And in this case, I think the answer is no, you have to let people make that decision, ”Alexander said Friday.
After the vote on the witnesses, McConnell is expected to move towards a final vote of acquittal, but the road to get there is difficult and seems to extend until next week.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell at the Capitol on Friday, January 31. (Credit: Drew Angerer / Getty Images)
–
When the final vote to absolve President Trump takes place, the end of a remarkable and vertiginous four-month political trial that began when House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi announced a political trial investigation on September 24 will be marked. , which led to the political trial on two charges: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, less than three months later.
After a month late, the Senate trial began less than two weeks ago. The prosecutors of the House, led by the president of the Intelligence Commission, Adam Schiff, presented a detailed case arguing that they had overwhelming evidence that Trump withheld $ 400 million in security assistance from the United States while pressing Ukraine to Open investigations into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden.
“If the Senate allows President Trump’s obstruction to be maintained, it effectively overrides the power of political judgment,” Schiff said Friday. “It will allow future presidents to decide if they want their misconduct investigated or not, if they would like to participate in a political trial investigation or not.”
The president’s defense team argued that there were no irregularities, but also that, even if there was a quid pro quo, was within the rights of the president if it was in the national interest.
“The problem with the case, the problem with its position, is that even with all those witnesses, a crime is not proven. The charges fail, ”said President Jay Sekulow’s personal lawyer. “They got the desire for political judgment at Christmas. But now they want you to do the work they didn’t do, ”he added.
With information from Jeremy Herb, Phil Mattingly, Manu Raju and Lauren Fox, all from CNN.
– .
