Recusalpalooza: Democrats Demand McConnell Recuse Himself from Impeachment, Republicans Respond

Democrats added another ring to the impeachment circus Wednesday night when Rep. Val Demings, a Congresswoman serving as one of Pelosi’s impeachment managers, called for Senate Majority Leader McConnell to recuse himself from the upcoming impeachment hearings.

From the Miami Herald:

Rep Val Demings’ position, shared publicly by a just a few other Democrats, could undercut House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s efforts to frame impeachment as an exercise of constitutional duty. Republicans have argued for months that Democrats are on a partisan mission to remove Trump from office.Yet in selecting Demings on Wednesday as one of the seven impeachment managers, Pelosi is giving a national spotlight to a Democrat who has often gone against House leaders on impeachment issues — she first called for Trump’s removal from office a year before party leadership and is now agitating for McConnell’s recusal.Her opposition to McConnell’s participation in the Senate trial that is set to start next week stems from the Kentucky Republican boasting that he won’t be impartial in deciding whether Trump should be acquitted or convicted.

“I’m not an impartial juror,” McConnell said at a press conference in December. “This is a political process. There is not anything judicial about it. Impeachment is a political decision.”Demings released a statement on Dec. 13 declaring McConnell unfit to vote in Trump’s impeachment trial after Senate leader went on Fox News to further detail his coordination with the White House on impeachment strategy.“The moment Senator McConnell takes the oath of impartiality required by the Constitution, he will be in violation of that oath,” she said at the time. “He has effectively promised to let President Trump manage his own impeachment trial. The Senator must withdraw.”Following the press conference announcing impeachment managers on Wednesday, when asked if she still holds that position, Demings told McClatchy, “I certainly do.”“I’m disappointed,” she continued. “As I said before, the senators and we have been given a tremendous responsibility, as well as the president. For the Senate Majority Leader to publicly announce that he has no intentions on being impartial and, as a matter of fact, he’s coordinating every step with the White House and there will be no difference between the White House and his views, is absolutely shameful. It’s hard to take that one back and put that toothpaste back in the tube.”

In response, Sen. Marsha Blackburn called for Democrat presidential candidates to recuse themselves from the impeachment process. Her office released the following statement:

“Tomorrow, one hundred United States Senators will be sworn in to serve in the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump. Four of those Senators must recuse themselves for their unparalleled political interest in seeing this President removed from office. These four Democrats, Senators Bennet, Klobuchar, Sanders, and Warren, cannot sit in judgment of the very President they seek to replace. To participate in this trial would be a failure of the oath they took to be an ‘impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws’. Their presidential ambitions prohibit their ability to view this trial through an objective lens.” – Senator Marsha Blackburn

BACKGROUND

In Andrew Johnson’s impeachment trial, an objection was lodged against an Ohio senator who was next in line to become President, if Johnson were removed.

 

Tags: Marsha Blackburn, Mitch McConnell, Trump Impeachment

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