WASHINGTON – In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to conduct a fair impeachment trial with key witnesses and documents directly related to the Trump Administration’s decision-making regarding the delay in military aid to Ukraine and the Administration’s requests that Ukraine conduct certain investigations.
“What we are saying on the Democratic side is if there’s to be a trial for impeachment in the United States Senate, common sense and the Constitution require that it be a fair trial with evidence for not only the Senators but the American people to see [for] themselves,” Durbin said. “What we have asked for so far is limited in terms of what we are looking for – four witnesses and documents that can be clearly identified. Those are things which I think should be part of this trial record so that regardless of the outcome of the trial, the American people believe that it was handled fairly in a dispassionate and nonpartisan way.”
Video of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor are available here.
Audio of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.
Footage of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here for TV Stations.
In December, Senate Democrats requested that the Senate issue subpoenas for testimony by the following four witnesses with direct knowledge of Administration decisions regarding the delay in security assistance funds to Ukraine and the requests for certain investigations to be announced by the government of Ukraine: Robert Blair, Senior Advisor to the Acting White House Chief of Staff; Mick Mulvaney, Acting White House Chief of Staff; John Bolton, former National Security Advisor; and Michael Duffey, Associate Director for National Security, Office of Management and Budget.
