Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) criticized the insignificance and theatrics of House Democrats’ forthcoming resolution to formalize the impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump.
“It is a lot of play acting,” Kennedy told Fox News anchor Bill Hemmer on Thursday morning. “Speaker [of the House Nancy] Pelosi’s plan A, the secret hearings and the absence of due process just did not work — she got a lot of pushback and not just from the politicians up here, but I think a lot of members of the American people were offended.”
“Whether they like Trump or not, we all believe in due process and the rule of law,” he continued. “So, she’s moved to plan B.”
Kennedy’s remarks came as the House Rules Committee voted along party lines to advance a resolution establishing the process for the Democrat-led impeachment investigation into the president — it outlines how the House Intelligence Committee will proceed with the hearings and gather evidence before turning over the process to the House Judiciary Committee to craft the articles of impeachment.
After nearly three hours of Republicans’ unsuccessful attempts at amending the resolution, it passed 9-4. It will be brought to the House floor for a full vote later in the day.
“My personal opinion is that [the vote] is like putting fresh paint on rotting wood. I think everybody knows how it is going to come out,” Kennedy said. “This whole freak show, circus without a tent, whatever you want to call it — maybe that is being too harsh, let’s just call is play acting — this was all preordained as soon as the Mueller report came out.”
“The Washington establishment — and I’m talking about the entrenched politicians here on both sides of the aisle, members of the media, academics, the corporate phonies — they just knew that [Special Council] Bob Mueller was going to get rid of the president,” he continued. “They were shocked when he called it like he saw it, and they started scrambling, and I think this was planned the day after the Mueller report came out.”
The Louisiana senator further explained that Republicans have been urging Pelosi to bring a formal vote on impeachment to the floor in order to give the White House due process, which the aforementioned resolution still does not fully provide.
“These rules are not due process. The minority, yes the minority, can now call witnesses, but only with [House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff’s] and Speaker Pelosi’s consent,” Kennedy said. “That is not due process. You can’t challenge the evidence if your opponent gets to approve the introduction of the evidence first. That’s why I say it’s a lot of play acting.”
“Speaker Pelosi better be careful because she is going to hurt Congress’s 10% approval rating here with the American people,” he joked. “I think our country is very divided, I think half are saying to themselves ‘give the guy a break’ and the other half are saying ‘how did we get here?’ And you know what? That is why God made elections.”