Article by Matt Margolis in "PJMedia":
Democrats are so afraid of
Hunter Biden testifying in the impeachment trial of Donald Trump that
they would rather have no impeachment witnesses than risk the country
hearing his testimony. During an interview on CBS’s "Face the Nation" on
Sunday, Nadler said Democrats would not be willing to negotiate on
witnesses for the Senate trial. In fact, he suggested that any attempts
by the GOP to block or negotiate on witnesses were tantamount to a
cover-up.
“Is there any circumstance in which Democrats would consider, for reciprocity, having Hunter Biden come and testify?” asked CBS’s Margaret Brennan.
“You
know, the question of witnesses in any trial, in any trial, all
relevant witnesses must be heard,” replied Nadler. “Whether if—if you’re
accused of robbing a bank, testi—testimony that I saw him rob the bank
or he was somewhere else, he couldn’t have robbed the bank, is
admissible. It’s not negotiable whether you have witnesses. And this
whole controversy about whether there should be witnesses is just—is
really a question of does the Senate want to have a fair trial or do
they—or are they part of the cover-up of the president? Any Republican
senator who says there should be no witnesses or even that witnesses
should be negotiated is part of the cover-up.”
After
that longwinded non-answer, Brennan asked more pointedly, “So, you’re
saying no way would Hunter Biden ever be called to testify?”
“Well,
I’m saying that Hunter Biden has no knowledge of the accusations
against the president,” Nadler replied. “Did the president, as we
said—as the evidence shows that he did—betray his country by conspiring
with a foreign country to—to try to rig the election? Hunter Biden has
nothing to say about that. Their—their asking for Hunter Biden is just
more of a smear of Hunter Biden that the president’s trying to get the
Ukraine to do.”
GWU Constitutional Law Professor Jonathan Turley believes that Nadler is suggesting
that “if a trade is needed to secure House witnesses, the managers will
not agree to any witnesses if Hunter Biden is part of the deal.”
“If
true, is the House prepared to give up on proving its case to protect
the Bidens from the ignoble moment of answering questions about the
Ukraine contract? That is a considerable price to pay to protect Joe
Biden,” Turley added.
What
exactly is Nadler afraid of? Hunter Biden being questioned about his
dealings in Ukraine, his father’s knowledge of those dealings and the
White House access Burisma effectively bought by putting him on the
board? Any shady dealings that could come up in testimony would
undeniably prove that President Trump was justified in suggesting the
Bidens deserved scrutiny. House managers would still be able to
cross-examine Hunter Biden. But, Nadler is clearly worried that even if
they cross-examine Hunter Biden the damage will have been done.
Republicans have been talking about having Hunter Biden testify for some time. Rand Paul has promised even to force a vote on the issue. While most Democrats oppose calling Joe Biden's son to testify, at least one Democrat senator, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, says he's okay with the idea.
After
rushing through the House impeachment process, Democrats are now in a
position where they have to clean up after Nancy Pelosi’s epic
miscalculation on impeachment the best they can. Democrats had the
opportunity to call more witnesses but didn’t because they wanted to
impeach Trump more than anything else. Nancy Pelosi has repeatedly said
that no matter what happens in the Senate, that President Trump is
“impeached for life.” Democrats didn’t care about the facts or witnesses
or even evidence meriting a conviction; they just wanted Trump
impeached to appease their base.
The Senate is expected to vote next week on whether to allow witnesses to be called or wait on that decision until a later date.