Senator Lindsey Graham, the former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told Fox News on Monday night that if Democrats called a witness during ex-President Trump’s impeachment trial next week, they would be “opening.” a can of earthworms “and Republicans will respond by calling the FBI to testify.
The 50-50 Senate is preparing for another trial that many Republicans say will serve no purpose other than to further divide the country. They say Democrats want nothing more than to score political points with the trial and have one last chance against Trump.
Democrats, on the other hand, say Trump needs to be held responsible for the deadly Capitol riot last month. They want to condemn Trump on an “incitement to insurrection” charge.
Reuters reported that House Democrats will process the case in the Senate and are expected to announce as early as Tuesday whether they are going to call witnesses or not. Graham, who pointed out that no witnesses were called in the House’s impeachment, said that if Democrats call “a witness”, it is better to prepare for a long trial.
“If you open this can of worms, we will want the FBI to come and tell us how people previously planned this attack and what happened to the security footprint on Capitol Hill. You open Pandora’s Box if you call a witness,” he said.
David Schoen, one of the two lawyers who will represent Trump, told “Hannity” on Monday that Senate Democrats have already determined that Trump is guilty of the charge against him.
“This process is completely unconstitutional and it is a very, very dangerous path to be followed in relation to the First Amendment, putting at risk any passionate political speaker who is really against everything we believe in and in this country,” he said.
Trump’s advisers have made it clear that they intend to present a simple argument at the trial: Trump’s trial is unconstitutional because he is no longer in office.
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The trial, which is scheduled to begin on February 9, will be chaired by Senate President Pro Tempore Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., Instead of Supreme Court President John Roberts.
Graham also criticized Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Of his decision to call the Senate to hold a confirmation hearing for Judge Merrick Garland the day before Trump’s impeachment began.
“Democrats fail to score political points in an unprecedented act of political theater on the one hand while also trying to claim the mantle of good government on the other,” Graham wrote.
Fox News’s Charles Creitz and the Associated Press contributed to this report