At least four Republican senators are playing a cagey game on the calling of witnesses for the impeachment trial of President Trump. There doesn't seem to be much reason for this cageyness other than to steer the trial in such a way as to justify their joining Democrats for a majority vote for removal. Trump still is unlikely to be removed, since that would require 67 votes. But a majority in favor of removal could severely hamper his re-election chances.
The numbers show that it will be a close-run operation as to whether the Deep Swamp is able to achieve a Senate vote of censure, which could be enough to weaken the hand of federal prosecutor John Durham as he conducts a criminal investigation of the secret political police (AKA the "intelligence community").
Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska hasn't been very clever about disguising her pro-abortion, anti-Trump animus. She made clear that she was eager to hear from Trump's former national security adviser, John Bolton, who is thought by Democrats to have damaging information against Trump, but she is extremely reticent on whether she would like to hear from witnesses called by the Trump team, in particular Joe Biden and his son Hunter. That is, her public priorities are no different from those of the Democrats.
Sen. Susan Collins of Maine says her position on the calling of witnesses has been "mischaracterized," but she also won't grant that the President should be allowed to call witnesses. She is campaigning for a fifth term for a seat expected to be strongly challenged by a Democrat.
Sen. Mitch Romney of Utah has said explicitly that he wants Bolton to appear. Romney has issued a scathing denunciation of Trump's mocking call for China to investigate Joe Biden and his son Hunter with respect to special financial favors from a government-controlled business.
Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado has declined to say whether he is one of a group of GOP senators who could vote with Democrats to obtain witnesses wanted by the Democrats.
Another unknown quantity is
Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee. Despite his being counted as a member of the turncoat cabal, from his most recent statement it is not certain that he will tilt the table in favor of the Democrats. Alexander
however cannot be counted on to vote with the Democrats. Alexander said he is open to seeking additional information and having witnesses testify, if necessary, during the Senate trial.
With the trial expected to begin Thursday, the three-term senator also said he opposes immediate dismissal by the GOP-controlled Senate of the articles of impeachment.
"I think we should hear the case," Alexander said Wednesday. "We have a constitutional duty to do that."
Alexander said that "number one," the arguments should be heard. "Number two," senators should ask questions and "number three," senators should be able to vote on whether additional evidence should be sought.
"Evidence could be witnesses," declared Alexander, who is retiring at the end of this third term. "It could be documents."
Without naming names, Sen. Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, blistered the turncoat GOP cabal whose memmbers would, he suspected, grant the Democrats their witnesses but not Trump or other Republicans theirs.
The cabal is crucial to the Deep Swamp's push to get Trump "six ways to Sunday" as Durham closes in on security officials who abused power in order to carry out espionage against the Trump campaign and the Trump presidency.
