Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) doubts there are enough votes in the Senate to quickly dismiss any articles of impeachment against President Trump.
While the first public impeachment hearing featuring acting Ukraine Ambassador Bill Taylor and top State Department official George Kent was underway in the House, Cornyn told reporters Wednesday that he doesn’t think a motion to quickly dismiss would get the 51 votes required in the Republican-controlled Senate to pass.
“There’s some people talking about trying to stop the bill, dismiss charges basically as soon as they get over here. I think that’s not going to happen. That would require 51 votes,” Cornyn said, according to The Hill.
The Hill reported that Cornyn believes it “would be hard to find 51 votes to cut the case off before the evidence is presented” and that a Senate trial is a “better course” if Trump is impeached by the House.
On the eve of the first public impeachment hearing, Cornyn took to Fox News Radio to call the impeachment hearings, which had been held behind closed doors until Wednesday, a “partisan process” while railing against House Intelligence Chair Adam Schiff (D-CA).
“Schiff has been interviewing people behind closed doors and then selectively leaking information that supports their narrative, finally they’re going to open it to the public,” Cornyn said during an interview with Fox News Radio host Guy Benson Tuesday. “But I don’t think anybody should be under the illusion that this is a fair process.”
Earlier this month, several Trump allies urged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to ditch the notion of a fair Senate trial by dismissing the articles of impeachment outright. However, McConnell suggested Wednesday that the Senate doesn’t plan to cut short an impeachment trial because “the rules of impeachment are very clear,” according to Politico.
Last month, Cornyn shrugged off Taylor’s explosive closed-door testimony by telling reporters that he hadn’t read the career diplomat’s 15-page opening statement — which supported the quid pro quo that Trump has vehemently denied — because he believes the impeachment inquiry in general is “just an illegitimate process.”
Read The Hill’s report here.
