And there it is. The first Republican Senator has broken ranks and sided with the Democrats on a key issue in the impeachment trial.
“Senator Collins and others raised concerns about the 24 hours of opening statements in two days and the admission of the House transcript in the record,” Annie Clark, spokeswoman for Collins said in announcing her move.
“Her position has been that the trial should follow the Clinton model as much as possible. She thinks these changes are a significant improvement.”
It’s clear that as long as the GOP stays together they control the entire impeachment trial. The Democrats have little power.
Remember, and this is very important, the ultimate outcome – President Trump’s acquittal is a done deal – the rest is just for show.
This is a show meant to damage President Trump politically. So far, it has backfired on the Democrats and it looks to continue to do so.
But if Susan Collins and Mitt Romney break rank, the whole trial could quickly devolve into chaos. And while President Trump will still win in the end the odds of political damage go up with each time these turncoats stab him in the back.
The Hill reported that Sen. Susan Collins became the only GOP senator to break with her party during a marathon session over the rules for the Senate’s impeachment trial of President Trump.
The Dems forced a 10th amendment vote on Wednesday morning that would extend the amount of time House impeachment managers and President Trump’s legal team have to respond to motions.
Currently, both sides can file motions around 9 a.m., including a potential motion to dismiss the charges against President Trump. Under the rules, the opposing side would have to respond by 11 a.m. The amendment by the Dems would extend that time, giving them until Thursday to respond.
A spokeswoman for Collins didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about why she broke with her party and voted against tabling the amendment.
The vote came after the first nine amendment votes failed, with senators voting along party lines to table the proposals from Democrats, including attempts to subpoena former national security adviser John Bolton and White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney.