WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) spoke with reporters Tuesday to provide an update on the latest developments in the impeachment process.
Click here or the photo below to watch Sen. Kennedy’s statement on impeachment.
Highlights from Statement:
Senate impeachment trial: “There will be a trial conducted in the Senate. That trial will begin either Jan. 2 or Jan. 6. I don’t know how long the trial will take. My guess is a minimum of two weeks. It could last four, five or six weeks.”
Rules for the trial: “The rules will be set either by negotiated agreement, on which all senators have to vote, or just a straight up Senate vote in terms of the rules on how we will proceed. I can tell you right now that I will vote to allow both sides – the House managers of the impeachment articles and the President – to have virtually unfettered discretion to cross examine all witnesses, to call any witness that they want to and to offer any rebuttal evidence that they want to. And I will vote that way because I think that no one is above the law, but nobody is beneath the law. And I’ve been very disappointed at the absence of due process in the House of Representatives.”
Future impeachment trials: “This will be the first purely partisan impeachment in the United States. And I worry that Speaker Pelosi, in her decision to do this, is normalizing impeachment as a routine political weapon.”
Impeachment corruption: “The second concern I have about the House proceedings is that they’re rigged. They’re as rigged as a carnival ring toss, as I’ve said before. The president has not been allowed to cross examine any of the witnesses against him. He’s not been allowed to call witnesses. He’s not been allowed to offer rebuttal evidence. Toward the end, Speaker Pelosi and some of the other leadership said now, after all the damage has been done, you can come participate. But at this juncture it’s pretty clear that the cow is out the barn … We will do it differently in the Senate, and we will afford both sides due process.”
###
