The House of Representatives will officially impeach President Trump this week. Then the case moves to the Senate, where many Republicans are already calling for acquittal. That, despite the fact that a number of key witnesses have still withheld testimony.
Two ideas floated this weekend could potentially force a handful of Senate Republicans to give a trial a fair hearing.
On the House side, Speaker Nancy Pelosi should heed the advice of some 30 of her freshmen members: As she drafts her list of "managers" to prosecute the trial, add now-independent Rep. Justin Amash to the team.
A fifth-termer from Michigan, Amash is as conservative as one can get; he was, until this year, a strong tax-cutting, entitlement-slashing, small-government-touting Republican. Unlike most of his colleagues (of either party), he closely read the Mueller report upon its May release, and chose to assert, even then, that Trump had engaged in "impeachable conduct" by attempting to obstruct justice.
That integrity cost him: Trump targeted him, the GOP withdrew its support, and Amash registered as an independent. Continuing to call out Trump's offenses in clear Constitution-based language, he can reach conservative ears _ in and outside of the Senate _ as no Democrat could.
On the Senate side, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer outlined his blueprint for a fair trial, calling for witnesses the White House previously blocked, including chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, former national security adviser John Bolton and two key White House aides. Schumer argues trials are where witnesses, especially those not heard in the "grand jury" phase, are meant to be heard.
Mitch McConnell will resist Schumer's idea, but impeachment rules can be determined by majority (not supermajority) vote. That means a few Senate GOPers interested in getting to the bottom of Trump's Ukraine behavior could make the difference.
Will they?
