"A majority of the U.S. Senate has determined that the numerous witnesses and 28,000-plus pages of documents already in evidence are sufficient to judge the House Managers’ accusations and end this impeachment trial," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a written statement.
The vote was mainly along party lines, as all 47 Democrats were joined by two Republicans, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT).
"A trial without witnesses is simply not a trial," said lead House prosecutor Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA). "You can call it something else, but it's not a trial."
But Democrats did not have the votes to force action on testimony for officials who had refused to come before House impeachment investigators.
NEW: Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says the no vote on witnesses is "a grand tragedy, one of the worst tragedies that the Senate has ever overcome."
— ABC News Live (@ABCNewsLive) January 31, 2020
"America will remember this day unfortunately, where the Senate did not live up to its responsibilities." https://t.co/nCgAyKTxFb pic.twitter.com/0qQD8H4WZE
A majority of the U.S. Senate has determined that the numerous witnesses and 28,000-plus pages of documents already in evidence are sufficient to judge the House Managers’ accusations and end this impeachment trial.
— Leader McConnell (@senatemajldr) January 31, 2020
My full statement: https://t.co/SmXFoME7TO
The Senate also defeated a series of efforts by Democrats to subpoena former White House aide John Bolton, White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, and several other Trump Administration officials.
While Republicans wanted to move to a final vote as soon as possible to acquit President Trump, leaders of the two parties agreed to set for that 4 pm next Wednesday, to give Senators time for debate, and statements on the Senate floor.
“We do not want this rushed through. We do not want this in the dark of night,” said Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer, as Democrats denounced the refusal of Republicans to hear from other witnesses who did not testify before the House impeachment proceedings.
McConnell called President Trump before he introduced the resolution establishing a final vote on the articles of impeachment on Wednesday. They discussed the details and the president signed off, per source familiar.
— Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) February 1, 2020
“In no way can this be understood as a fair trial,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH). “John Bolton’s testimony, and that of other members of the administration, can provide further evidence of the fundamental charges.”
"The House investigation was hasty, flawed and clearly undertaken under partisan pretenses," said Sen. John Boozman (R-AR), as Republicans said it's time to end this trial.
“House Democrats failed to make a compelling case for either article of impeachment,” said Sen. David Perdue (R-GA). “They based this entire impeachment on their own opinions about President Trump, without material facts.”
"What's a trial without witnesses & documents?" tweeted Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM). "A sham."
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