Manu Raju Profile picture
13 Feb, 10 tweets, 2 min read
Behind-the-scenes details here about talks:

-- It was truly a last-minute decision to call witnesses after House Dems debated until 3am whether to call witnesses
- It was ultimately a huge risk, they concluded. A deal to submit statement was safer route

cnn.com/2021/02/13/pol…
Democrats believed that pushing forward with Herrera Beutler testimony would add little beyond her statement and could potentially cost them GOP support, while dragging out the proceedings further.
Democrats were uncertain how Herrera Beutler's testimony would come across after she was subject to cross examination, with some concerns that she could potentially undercut their case if there were holes in her account, sources said
Moreover, if they called other witnesses, it could also backfire. For instance, McCarthy could provide testimony that defended Trump, undermining what they believe is a rock-solid case that Trump incited the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol, the sources said.
Plus witnesses would not ultimately change GOP senators' minds, they concluded, while hearing from witnesses could bog down the Senate for weeks and imperil Biden's agenda.
Manchin and Angus King said that there needed to be an equal number of witnesses on both sides, that meant that the trial could be delayed for an indefinite period, perhaps weeks. Plus Trump team could bring witnesses not helpful to their case
With a weeks-long delay, it could threaten Democrats' ability to advance Biden's agenda since they need consent from Republicans to schedule votes on nominees and other matters. Also Democrats are pushing to get covid-19 relief package done within weeks.
Ultimately, the team decided that if they went forward with witnesses, it could potentially alienate Senate Republicans, causing them to shed some support, rather than gain any more supporters for conviction.
“After the vote, it was clear the managers had no plan,” one Democrat. “Senate Democrats gave them the votes, but the managers didn’t know what their next step was.”
Safest move was to get her comments into record, they believe.

Senate Dems were in the dark about their plans.

Schumer's team told House Dems last night and this morning that the caucus would support whatever decision they made

But during 9am Senate Dem call, was still unclear

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More from @mkraju

13 Feb
#Breaking: The Senate is voting on whether to convict Donald Trump on a charge of inciting an insurrection. Their choice: Guilty or Not Guilty. 67 votes needed for conviction.
Baldwin: Guilty
Barrasso: Not guilty
Bennet: Guilty
Blackburn: Not guilty
Blumenthal: Guilty
Blunt: Not guilty
Booker: Guilty
Boozman: Not guilty
Braun: Not guilty
Brown: Guilty
Burr: Guilty
Cantwell: Guilty
Capito: Not Guilty
Cardin: Guilty
Carper: Guilty
Casey: Guilty
Cassidy: Guilty
Collins: Guilty
Coons: Guilty
Cornyn: Not guilty
Read 9 tweets
13 Feb
YES votes on witnesses: Sasse
Collins
Murkowski
Romney
Toomey and Cassidy both “no” votes on witnesses
McConnell voted against witnesses, as did Thune
Read 4 tweets
13 Feb
I’m hearing there’s been a debate brewing among Dems about calling witnesses who could shed any light into Trump’s thinking during the riot. It’s unclear where they landed. Witnesses had not been expected. Will see if anything changed. Should know more when Senate opens at 10aET
Democratic senators said Chuck Schumer signaled to them he doesn’t know if House Dems will ask for witnesses.

“We were told just a few minutes ago we don’t know,” Ben Cardin told me. Cardin said he would be fine with witnesses but doesn’t think they’re necessary.
A person familiar with Trump team strategy told me that if Dems seek witnesses, Trump’s legal team will try to call Pelosi and Bowser.

They would need 51 votes to subpoena the witnesses.

Dem managers have refused to comment this morning about witnesses
Read 4 tweets
11 Feb
GOP Sen. Tommy Tuberville, who was elected to his Senate seat in part because of Trump's strong support in his Alabama bid, told me this when asked if he’d support Trump in four years if he ran again. "I'm not going to do that. We won't go that far. A little hypothetical there."
Tuberville also declined to say if Rudy Giuliani and Trump made a mistake by trying to call him after the Jan. 6 riot to get him to object to more states' results.

"I'm not answering that one," he told me.
Tuberville did vote to throw out the PA and AZ electoral results -- but said he had no regrets.

"I learned a lot of the time, you made a lot of bad calls or good calls in football -- you don't look back. You make it at that time, and you own it. Same thing I'll do with this one”
Read 4 tweets
10 Feb
Several GOP senators make clear they view the footage as chilling and are shaken by what they saw - but are singaling they won’t change their plans to vote to acquit

“Same way that I was before,” Sen. Mike Braun told me when asked if he was shaken.
Braun added: “When you think the process is flawed in the first place,” it’s hard to vote to convict.

“Who wouldn’t be” shaken? said Sen. Ron Johnson. But he added that he blames the rioters - not Trump.
Sen. John Cornyn, usually very talkative, told me: “I’ve got nothing for you now.”

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who is likely to convict, said “that the evidence that was presented thus far is pretty damning.”
Read 4 tweets
10 Feb
Romney, sitting in the chamber just now, was stoic and didn't move when the Senate was shown this video showing Officer Goodman saving him from the mob
Romney just told reporters “no” he didn’t know he was this close to the mob until just now
Romney and Officer Goodman were speaking just before they started back up, per reporters in the gallery
Read 5 tweets

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