A new book shows how Democrats hobbled their own case to convict Trump after Jan. 6. by shooting down a last-minute bid for witnesses.
Jamie Raskin’s eyes bulged as he skimmed the CNN story on his phone. Huddled with his team in the impeachment managers’ holding room after the Senate trial proceedings had finished on Friday evening, the Maryland Democrat was stunned at the revelations: A moderate House Republican whom Raskin had never met was claiming to have firsthand evidence that Trump had sided with the mob on Jan. 6.
But Herrera Beutler had stuck out her neck furthest of all by describing Trump’s selfish nonchalance that day. “That line right there demonstrates to me that either he didn’t care, which is impeachable, because you cannot allow an attack on your soil, or he wanted it to happen and was OK with it, which makes me so angry,” she told CNN. “We should never stand for that, for any reason, under any party flag.”Raskin wanted to know. She had been among the 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump.
Herrera Beutler’s revelations complicated an already frenzied Friday night. The managers had been caught flat-footed. When Trump’s lawyers had rested their case after just a couple of hours, setting up closing arguments for Saturday morning. The managers hadn’t expected to give their closing statements until Sunday or Monday and hadn’t yet written a word of them. Even before the CNN story landed, they were staring down another all-nighter in a week where they had barely slept.
At 9:30 p.m., just as Raskin and the rest of the managers were about to head home, signs of life from Herrera Beutler gave them new hope. She texted DeGette that she was on the West Coast with her children but would be in touch soon, inquiring about the managers’ timeline. DeGette told her they would resume the trial at 10 a.m. the next morning and to call her ASAP, indicating that they’d be interested in seeing her notes about McCarthy’s call.
As he hung up the phone, Raskin could hardly believe their developing good fortune: The former vice president’s inner circle might be willing to refute Trump’s case! But what about Herrera Swalwell chimed in to agree. Without tipping his hand about his late-night effort to woo Marc Short, he suggested they subpoena the former vice president, his former chief, and even the Secret Service agents who had been with Trump on Jan. 6. If those witnesses challenged their summons in court, Swalwell wrote, “we can ultimately say that we’ve tried.”
As Raskin’s security detail drove him the seven miles of North Capitol Street from his house to Capitol Hill, he quietly digested the frenzied messages dancing across his phone. Herrera Beutler still hadn’t called him back, and in less than two hours he was expected to launch into his closing arguments. But Raskin knew his team was right. The managers had only put one night of effort into securing testimony that could seal the former president’s fate, hardly enough to warrant giving up.
“Let’s start with Herrera Beutler and then see if others like Marc Short feel compelled to testify as well,” Berke proposed. “We have to try. If we don’t, the American people will never forgive us.” Raskin knew that Democratic Party leaders wouldn’t be happy. They were eager to put impeachment behind them and move on to passing Biden’s agenda. But Raskin had always eschewed the political calculations that habitually guided those in leadership. For him, this wasn’t about political messaging, or the next election, or even how the trial would impact Biden’s planned policy agenda. This was about convincing most Americans that Trump should never hold office again.
At 10 a.m., a Senate aide appeared at the door. It was time to start. As Raskin headed to the floor, he made a quick call to his Republican friend Rep. John Katko for the first of what would become a series of last-minute sales pitches to unearth possible witnesses. As one of the 10 who had voted to impeach, Raskin figured Katko knew about this McCarthy tale that Herrera Beutler and the CNN story had exposed.Katko said no. He had heard personally from McCarthy about his Jan.
Top left: The letter to Trump, sent by Raskin, asking him to testify in his second impeachment trial. Top right: Herrera Beutler speaks as the House debates confirming the Electoral College. Bottom: In a video, Trump tells the rioters at the Capitol to go home on Jan. 6, 2021. | AP Photo; C-SPAN “I had never thought I’d see this day. I felt like we were under siege! Every American should be heartbroken. That’s how I felt.”After the story broke, Herrera Beutler had instructed her team to issue a press release detailing the McCarthy-Trump call. They closed it with a line encouraging anyone who knew anything to step forward, hoping McCarthy would get the message.
Outside, Washington was in an ecstatic fervor over Raskin’s surprise move. The city had expected Trump’s second impeachment trial to end that afternoon — but now, it seemed, there was a chance the Senate would be in it for the long haul, and possibly hearing firsthand evidence about Trump’s actions on Jan. 6. Progressive Democrats cheered the managers on, encouraging them not to leave a single stone unturned.
“Well, that came up . . . Short,” Raskin joked awkwardly, making the obvious pun with the elusive witness’s surname. With those frustrations in mind, Coons had marched into Schumer’s office and demanded to know what the hell was going on. Schumer had permitted the vote, but he also was befuddled by Raskin’s move. He told Coons he didn’t know what Raskin’s game plan was.
“Dragging this out will not be good for the American project or for the American people. We’re trying to do a lot,” he said, choosing terms that sounded to the managers like they came straight from the White House. Coons floated a possible compromise: Have Herrera Beutler make a written affidavit detailing her story, Coons instructed. Then, let the defense get a statement from McCarthy and be done with it.
Coons was incredulous at Berke’s naïveté. “That’s nuts!” he shot back. McCarthy would never agree to testify before retaining counsel, he retorted. If they were lucky — and that was a big if — it would take days to depose the GOP leader, not hours. But for Raskin, Coons’ warnings began to revive the doubts that had plagued him earlier that morning. They had succeeded in getting the Senate to agree to witnesses in concept — but the truth was, they still didn’t have any witnesses in hand. Moreover, everyone in the room agreed that Coons wasn’t actually speaking for himself. He might deny it, but his words were as good as a warning from Biden. Despite the uneasiness caused by Coons’ words, the managers continued to forge ahead.
Trump advisor Jason Miller carries a witness list in the Senate Reception Room during the fifth day of the impeachment trial. | Pool photo by Greg Nash As they deliberated, Schumer’s counsel, Mark Patterson, arrived with another possible deal to end the trial without witnesses. He’d been trying to negotiate a way out with the Trump team through McConnell’s counsel Andrew Ferguson, who also wanted to bring the trial to a swift end.
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