Senator Pat Toomey On McConnell's NEW Impeachment Rules

Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey released the following statement regarding the upcoming Senate trial on the impeachment of Donald Trump:

The impeachment of any president is an extraordinary event and I take my role in the Senate process very seriously," said Senator Toomey. "The Senate should conduct a fair trial consistent with past precedent. We will allow House managers to make their case, the President's lawyers to make their defense, and senators to pose questions. At the conclusion of these presentations, the Senate can then decide what, if any, further steps are necessary." [Emphasis added.]

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has released legislation outlining the rules for that impeachment trial that the Senate will debate.

Senator Toomey, these rules are not consistent with past precedent. In fact, they openly stack the deck in favor of the impeached Donald Trump. McConnell's rules are, however, consistent with his promise of "total coordination" with the White House during the trial

An aside, Senator Toomey: how is this in any way the "impartial justice" that you took an oath to uphold?

The NYTimes is reporting how these new rules differ from the Clinton rules your majority leader promised:

Like in the Clinton trial, the Democratic House impeachment managers and Mr. Trump’s defense lawyers will have up to 24 hours to argue their respective cases for and against conviction on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. But in 1999, the Senate imposed no additional limit on how the time was used. Mr. McConnell’s proposal states that each side much complete its work within two days, beginning as early as Wednesday.

And:

When the Clinton trial opened, the Senate “admitted into evidence,” printed and shared with senators all records generated by the House impeachment inquiry into Mr. Clinton. Not so this time.

Though the House’s evidence from the Trump impeachment inquiry would still be printed and shared with senators, it would only be formally considered by the Senate as part of its official record if a majority of senators voted to do so. That vote could only take place after the Senate decided whether to call witnesses and seek additional documents — that is, as the trial moves toward conclusion.

And:

As expected, the draft resolution does not incorporate Democratic demands that the trial guarantee witness testimony or requests for new documents. This was also the case in the Clinton trial, but Mr. McConnell’s proposal still differs slightly.

It says that after senators conclude their questioning, they will not immediately entertain motions to call individual witnesses or documents. Instead, they will decide first whether they want to consider new evidence at all. Only if a majority of senators agree to do so will the managers and prosecutors be allowed to propose and argue for specific witnesses or documents, each of which would then be subject to an additional vote.

The Times opened its piece on McConnell's rule changes with this:

For weeks, Senator Mitch McConnell sought to deflect charges that he was trying to stack the deck in favor of President Trump in his impeachment trial by repeating that he was merely replicating the Senate’s only modern precedent: the 1999 trial of President Bill Clinton.

“What was good enough for President Clinton in an impeachment trial should have been good enough for President Trump,” he told reporters this month, as Democrats pressed him to include a new guarantee for witnesses and documents. “And all we are doing here is saying we are going to get started in exactly the same way that 100 senators agreed to 20 years ago.”

Senator, Mitch McConnell promised what you're calling for, "a fair trial consistent with past precedent" but what he delivered was not.

I'll state it outright, Senator Toomey, if you go along with McConnell's cover-up, you'll be forever tainted by Trump's impeachment.