The senators rejected, Friday, January 31, with 49 votes against 51 the possibility of hearing witnesses at the trial in dismissal of Donald Trump, which will allow them to quickly vote the acquittal of the American president. The verdict is expected on Wednesday.
The 100 elected members of the upper house of Congress met at midday to hear the prosecution and the defense plead for or against the calling of witnesses and the admission of new evidence to this historic trial.
"The facts will come out, but the question before you today is whether they will come out in time for you to form an informed opinion on the president's guilt or innocence", launched elected Democrat and Chief Prosecutor Adam Schiff in a final effort to unsuccessfully win 51 votes.
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Courting the Republicans
The Democratic camp has 47 elected officials and has been courting for four hesitant Republicans for days. Two of them have just announced their intention to vote " against " which resulted in the motion being rejected in an late-day vote.
Senators will now be asked to rule on the two charges against Donald Trump: abuse of power and obstruction of the proper functioning of Congress. With the US Constitution imposing a two-thirds majority (67 votes) to convict a president, he is likely to be acquitted.
Launched at full steam in his re-election campaign, the Republican billionaire is in a hurry to finish. Relatives say he hopes to be cleared before giving his traditional State of the Union address Tuesday evening before Congress.
He must also give a television interview Sunday before the Super Bowl, the final of the American football championship, an event which brings together approximately 100 million televiewers.
"Not fair"
On behalf of "Fairness" and to mark the spirits within 300 days of the presidential election, the Democrats have been asking for weeks for the hearing of several close to the president.
Confidences from former national security adviser John Bolton released to the public this weekend have strengthened their case. Moderate Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski So Said Monday "Curious" to hear from Mr. Bolton.
However, on Friday, she announced that she would not support calling witnesses. criticizing "Partisan nature" debates she ruled "There would be no fair trial in the Senate". "I don't believe that continuing will change anything", she added in a bitter press release.
The previous evening, his colleague Lamar Alexander had made the same decision. "We do not need additional evidence to establish what has already been proven, but which is not liable to dismissal under the Constitution", he justified. Moderates Susan Collins and Mitt Romney voted for witnesses, but the count was not there. The hundred elected members of the upper house could very quickly vote on the verdict, perhaps in the evening or on Saturday.
Anticipating this hypothesis, the leader of the Senate Democrats, Chuck Schumer had estimated that, without witnesses, "The acquittal of the president would mean nothing because it would be the result of a rigged trial".
"Dirty" a rival
With a majority in the House of Representatives, the Democrats charged Donald Trump in a so-called vote"Impeachment" December 18 which had almost strictly followed the partisan lines. The investigation took place in an acrimonious climate and gave rise to very tense exchanges between Republican and Democratic representatives.
The framework of the Senate trial, much more strict and formal, hushed the debates, without preventing the emergence of two speeches at antipodes. Prosecutors have blamed Donald Trump for asking Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden, his potential opponent in the November 3 poll, and for having frozen crucial military aid to the country at the same time.
Donald Trump used state resources to "Mess" his rival and " cheat " in the election, they argued. Once exposed, he did everything to block the Congressional investigation, in violation of the Constitution, they added.
Donald Trump worried about corruption in Ukraine and could legitimately " To ask questions " on Joe Biden and the affairs of his son Hunter in this country, replied his lawyers. "Even if he did what he is accused of, it is not serious enough to justify his dismissal", they further advanced, imploring the senators of "Let the voters decide".
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