CNN declared late on Thursday that Democrats appear to be in trouble with impeachment as they do not appear to have the votes that they need to keep the Senate trial going.
“They’ve been going for several hours already today, I think they have about three hours left after dinner tonight,” CNN’s Wolf Blitzer said. “The big fight clearly over whether or not there will be witnesses and Jake [Tapper] the big vote on that will come tomorrow.”
“They need four Republicans,” Blitzer continued. “Right now, the Democrats look like they’re in trouble.”
“They sure do,” CNN’s Jake Tapper responded. “One of the illest omens that I’ve seen for the Democrats so far came when Senator Lamar Alexander, theoretically one of the swing vote that could possibly vote for more witnesses, submitted a question along with two Trump stalwarts — Senators Daines and Cruz — and the question was, ‘please compare the bipartisanship in the Nixon impeachment, the Clinton impeachment, and the Trump impeachment.”
“One of the very many loaded questions in which they’re just trying to make a point,” Tapper added.
“Well, I think it’s almost been a return to the beginning of the week, before the big New York Times bombshell about the Bolton book, where the Republicans are just trying to run out the clock and not make any mistakes,” CNN’s Jeffrey Toobin said. “Because it looks like they think they’re ahead, they are certainly are ahead on the issue of whether the president is going to be convicted and there seems to be a lot more confidence in their camp on the issue of witnesses.”
“So, they are answering the questions with big picture issues, talking about the unfairness of the House investigation,” Toobin added.
WATCH:
CNN’s Wolf Blitzer recaps the second day of Senators asking questions: “Democrats look like they’re in trouble.” pic.twitter.com/yKCZ58Oka1
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) January 30, 2020
Other key votes that Democrats need in their hopes of calling new witnesses in the Senate trial appear to be leaning in the opposite direction.
The New York Times reported on Wednesday:
Senator Martha McSally of Arizona became the second Republican standing for election in a swing state to announce on Wednesday that she would vote against calling new witnesses and documents in President Trump’s impeachment trial.
“I have heard enough,” Ms. McSally wrote on Twitter. “It is time to vote.”
Hours earlier, Senator Cory Gardner, Republican of Colorado, said he had reached a similar conclusion. Their stances were a positive sign for Republican leaders hoping to end the trial this week without compelling new evidence, though several key moderate Republicans remain publicly undecided before the vote expected on Friday.
In a separate report, The Times noted that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer acknowledged that Democrats’ hopes of getting new witnesses in the trial was fizzling out.
“We’ve always known it will be an uphill fight on witnesses and documents, because the president and Mitch McConnell put huge pressure on these folks,” Schumer said.
“Is it more likely than not?” Schumer continued. “Probably no. But is it a decent, good chance? Yes.”
This article has been updated to include additional reporting from The New York Times.