Because House Democrats have tried to impeach President Trump even though he has not committed an impeachable offense, refused to allow the President proper representation throughout the impeachment inquiry, denied all Republican witness requests, declined to declassify the testimony of Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson, lied about meeting with the whistleblower prior to the submission of his complaint, and held onto the Articles of Impeachment for a month before handing them over, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is understandably wary of what they might have planned for the impeachment trial.
For that reason, he is alleged to have incorporated a “kill switch” into the impeachment trial rules. This means that if Democrats try to violate the rules or “engage in any shenanigans”, the President’s legal team can call for a summary judgment (a verdict) or a dismissal of the case.
A source close to House GOP leadership told Breitbart News, “It’s incumbent upon the Senate to preserve the right of the President’s legal team to ask for a verdict or move to dismiss this sham impeachment anytime they see fit during the Senate trial. Otherwise, Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans risk allowing Adam Schiff and his conspiracy caucus to hijack and take control of the trial.”
The logic behind the kill switch is that, although McConnell does not currently have enough votes to dismiss the trial, that will change once Senators witness the antics of the Democrats’ case managers, Reps. Adam Schiff (CA) and Jerry Nadler (NY).
McConnell doesn’t have the 51 votes required to avoid a trial because there are more than two Republican senators — think Sens. Mitt Romney (UT), Lisa Murkowski (AK), Susan Collins (ME) and Cory Gardner (CO) — who would like to see both sides present their cases.
Last week, Collins, who faces a tough reelection battle in November, issued a statement in which she clarified her position. She is opposed to dismissal of the case on Day One. However, she also objects to Pelosi’s demand that the Senate hold a vote on whether or not to subpoena witnesses and admit additional materials from the get-go. Collins supports following the model used during the Clinton impeachment trial. And the vote on witnesses and additional documents came after each side had presented their opening arguments.
Breitbart spoke to “a source close to McConnell” who told them, “My pal Cocaine Mitch is again proving his mettle when it comes to outmaneuvering leftist Democrats with this kill switch. If they even think about stepping out of line and being unfair in the slightest, it’s time to engage said kill switch and end this nonsense once and for all.”
A former Trump White House official explained that the kill switch “gives Senate Republicans the tools they need to help McConnell keep the trial on the straight and narrow. McConnell has proven time and time again he is a more effective Leader than Pelosi is Speaker. This resolution ensures the President and his team has every tool at their disposal.”
Late last week, Vice President Mike Pence told Breitbart:
When it comes to the Senate trial, it’ll be for the senators to decide [on witnesses and process], but I think the fact that you hear people talking about witnesses in the Senate just proves how weak the case underpinning the Articles of Impeachment really is.
The fact that we’ve heard they had an open-and-shut case, that despite the fact the American people can read the transcript, see the fact the president did nothing wrong, no quid pro quo, the military aid was released. The American people have the facts. We heard that Congress did what the facts demanded, and now suddenly we hear Democrats saying they need more facts and they need more witnesses. My view on this is the American people see through all of this—the sham investigation followed by a partisan impeachment. They’re saying ‘enough is enough.’
» Source » By Elizabeth Vaughn