The Senate Democratic leader wants to seek testimony from Mick Mulvaney, John Bolton and other White House officials, and subpoena documents the White House has withheld.
By Sheryl Gay Stolberg and
The article above lays out a fair & reasonable plan--based primarily on the Clinton impeachment plan approved by all of the Senate Republicans back in 1999. Schumer also wants to subpoena the testimony of witnesses who have here to date refused to testify and limited number of documents that the WH has refused to produce. Seems fair, doesn't it?
The witnesses, including Mulvaney and Bolton, could provide definitive exculpatory evidence in favor of the president. So, too, the documents. The Democrats will have established a prima facie case if the House votes in favor of impeachment, the analog of a criminal indictment. At this point, the Democrats can claim that they have established probable cause that an impeachable offense has been committed. One could argue that by calling these (hostile) witnesses and obtaining these documents, the Democrats could ruin their case. What if Bolton & Mulvaney lie to protect Trump? What if the documents are inconclusive? It's a gamble. Of course, if a lie is apparent enough in the face of all of the evidence and an attorney believes that during the examination of the witness the witnesses credibility will be undermined by obvious attempts to lie or evade, then breaking the adage about never asking a question that you don't the answer to can be set aside. (Prosecutors in criminal cases, because of a defendant's 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination, quite often don't have the benefit of advanced statements from the defendant to use in cross-examining a defendant who's chosen to testify.)
Query: if impeached, does Trump have a 5th Amendment right to refuse to testify (if subpoenaed)? This is not a criminal offense. Impeachment is a constitutional provision that his neither strictly civil or criminal, nor even legal in nature. There most certainly is a political component. So why would the 5th Amendment apply? And why wouldn't Trump want to appear and testify to clear his good name about what he considers scurrilous charges?
Just askin'.
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