House Democrats’ handling of the Trump impeachment to date may be turning off Republicans — notably, those seen as possible defectors in a final vote.
The first sign of a backlash among that critical group came Wednesday when Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, a moderate member of the conference, said she was offended by House manager Rep. Jerrold Nadler’s assertion that GOP members voting against allowing new testimony and evidence were engaged in a “cover-up.”
“I took it as offensive,” she told reporters Wednesday. “As one who is listening attentively and working hard to get to a fair process, I was offended.”
Nadler’s opening statement, which led to U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts admonishing those in the chamber, accused Republican senators of “voting for a cover-up, voting to deny witnesses, an absolutely indefensible vote, obviously a treacherous vote.”
Murkowski’s complaint about Nadler’s remarks is particularly noteworthy, as she is among the small group of Republican senators seen as a possible swing vote on impeachment and a possible supporter of allowing more witness testimony later on in the trial.
But Murkowski is not alone—Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., on Wednesday said Democrats “took a huge step backward” in their opening.
“I mean, that’s an extraordinary thing to say on the floor of the United States Senate, the middle of the trial, and that’s what drew the rebuke and rightly so,” Hawley told reporters. “I can tell you, there was an open, open gasping on the Senate floor when Nadler was saying these things. I mean, it’s really, really extraordinary.”
He added: “If the goal was to persuade, they took a huge step backward last night.”
Meanwhile, senators, in general, have already shown some restlessness on the floor after hours and hours of opening statements from the prosecution.
“The House is completely miscalculating how to handle this,” a Senate GOP source told Fox News Thursday. “They’re putting far too much emphasis on the time they use than the substance of what they’re delivering.”
“You just have to stretch and you just got to stand,” Murkowski said of the restlessness during the speech from lead House Manager House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif.
“Those chairs, they look nice, [but] they are not comfortable chairs.”
Murkowski, who is no stranger to having to sit still with her regular D.C.-to-Alaska commute, said even she had a hard time remaining stationary during the Senate trial.
Hopefully they are merely establishing an excuse to vote against this travesty because I would hate to think anyone but a liberal lemming still needs convincing that this is nothing but a complete political hit job.
nadler is a reptile with a reptilian brain. he is still FUS (FAT, UGLY AND STUPID) between gay pencil dick schiff, whore dog schumer with his stupid 70’s glasses, think they can control the senate is completely wrong. just like whore dog billies impeachment, no body recalls the speaker of the house or the senate majority leader. so how must of the US taxpayer’s dollars did we waste. DOJ should subpoena the bank accounts of all the house witnesses.