Delaware’s U.S. Senators are continuing ask to hear from witnesses in the impeachment trial of President Trump, while questioning the believability of accusations made against former Vice President Joe Biden and his family.
A New York Times report says the manuscript of former National Security Advisor John Bolton’s forthcoming book includes a passage where Bolton writes he heard President Trump say he wanted to hold up aid to Ukraine to put pressure on the country to investigate the Bidens for corruption.
Sens. Tom Carper (D-Delaware) and Chris Coons (D-Delaware) each say they want Bolton and others to testify.
In a statement, Coons said if the report is accurate, it “provides firsthand, relevant evidence that President Trump committed the abuse of power for which he was impeached by the House.”
Coons also called on Republicans to work across the aisle to ensure relevant testimony is heard. Four Republican votes are needed in order to hear witnesses in the trial.
Carper says he thinks most Americans want witnesses to be called.
“As it turns out there are national polls now that indicate about 75% of the people believe that the thing to do here is to actually, logically, just like in a real trial in a real courtroom, bring in people who have information to offer it one way or the other to resolve this,” said Carper.
Trump’s lawyers say the president’s decision to hold up aid to Ukraine was legal. They also made the case for investigating the Bidens for corruption Monday during the impeachment trial, raising questions about Hunter Biden’s role on the Ukrainian natural gas company Burisma.
Trump’s defenders say the company was corrupt and had been accused several times of money laundering.
Carper defended the former vice president, questioning the believability of those making the case against Biden to the Senate.
“The folks who presented stuff to us on the floor today, I don’t know them from Adam,” said Carper. “I don’t know if they’re ultimately believable or not. We just don’t know. They had a whole lot to say, but the Bidens had no opportunity to rebut or respond to that, and it’ll settle out. It’ll settle out in the next day or two.”
A spokesman from Coons’s office said in an email, the Senator “has repeatedly called for *relevant* witnesses and documents that can shed light onto President Trump’s actions. That’s who the Senate - and the American people - should hear from. Trials have relevant witnesses and documents. Cover ups don’t.”
