Retiring GOP Sen. Lamar Alexander explains his crucial ‘no’ vote on witnesses in the Trump impeachment trial
, which most of his GOP colleagues in the Republican-controlled Senate opposed.
The senator said he believed the House proved its case that Trump withheld nearly $400 million in military aid last year in part to pressure Ukraine, notably former Vice President Joe Biden. But that act, while “inappropriate,” was not impeachable, he said. Two of the four counts against Clinton were rejected in the House because enough Republicans defected on both to defeat them. One of the articles was approved when a handful of Democrats joined most Republicans in voting for it.
Democrats were hopeful that Alexander would at least be open to gathering more information and pushing back against Trump’s demands for a fast trial. He was viewed as the potential make-or-break vote over whether witnesses would be heard from in the trial. “We're pretty accustomed in our everyday life to being able to distinguish between things that are inappropriate and things that deserve capital punishment,” he said. “When you don't give capital punishment to somebody who left the scene of an accident, you disapprove of what they did. You may penalize them in the next election, but you don't throw them out of office, and tell the American people they can't vote for him in the election that's already underway.
"I hope what they'll remember is I listened to carefully, insisted that we heard the case, and did what I thought was right," he said, noting that his legacy was not over and he still was working on legislation to lower healthcare costs, make it easier to attend college and restore the national parks.
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