On Sunday, Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union” with host Dana Bash to discuss the ongoing impeachment efforts against President Trump by the Democrats.
During the segment, Bash first asked Blunt about the upcoming Senate trial.
BASH: You have relationships across the aisle. So, what is your sense? Are you going to come up with a deal so that this trial is going to start early January?
BLUNT: You know, I think a deal is easy to come up with. And we have even got the plan in place from what happened in the Clinton impeachment. And I think that’s ultimately where we wind up, where we start down this path – let both sides make their case; let the House impeachment managers make their case; let the president, for what I would argue is the first time, have a chance to make his case publicly; for his defenders to do that, and then see where we are.
That’s what happened with Clinton. I think that’s the best way to approach this. And my guess is, that’s what we do. Otherwise, we just sort of start down a path where 51 senators decide every issue as it comes up. I don’t know that anybody wants to either have that happen or take the time that would take on either side for us to get this out before the American people, both sides having a chance to present their case.
Bash then asked Blunt about Speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) withholding the articles of impeachment.
BASH: So, as you well know, the standoff right now is that the speaker is holding the articles of impeachment at the House until the parameters of the trial are done. “The Wall Street Journal” editorial board said that the Senate should and even could hold a trial even if they don’t get the articles. You’re the chair of the Rules Committee. Is that possible? Have you even looked into that?
BLUNT: You know, I don’t know that that’s possible. I think it’s very unlikely. I, frankly, don’t think the speaker has the right to do this or the power to do this. The speaker has a lot of power, but once the House has spoken, the speaker doesn’t get the decision as to whether or not she transmits that decision to the Senate, in my view.
Blunt added: “Frankly, I think it’s a mistake on the speaker’s part. I think this has looked pretty political anyway, and this is sort of the icing on the political cake, where, at the end, the speaker still can’t let go of this as an issue to try to wring the last vestige of politics out of.”
Despite the House of Representatives voting on Wednesday largely along party lines to impeach President Trump, Speaker Pelosi has decided to hold off on sending over the articles of impeachment to the Senate.
Following the impeachment vote on Wednesday, Pelosi said: “We’re not sending [the articles] tonight because it’s difficult to determine who the managers would be until we see the arena in which we will be participating.”
She added earlier: “So far, we haven’t seen anything that looks fair to us, so hopefully it will be fairer, and when we see what that is, we’ll send our managers.”
Speaking with Liz Wheeler on One America News Network, Daily Wire Editor-at-Large Josh Hammer noted that “according to the Senate’s own internal rules,” the trial cannot begin until the “articles of impeachment have been physically delivered to the Senate.”