'Making me think about things': Joe Manchin says Trump legal team did a 'good job'

[mystery-ak]

'Making me think about things': Joe Manchin says Trump legal team did a 'good job'
by Kerry Picket
 | January 25, 2020 07:50 PM

West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin told reporters he thought Trump's legal team did a "good job" with its opening arguments.

"A good job. I thought they did a good job. They gave us a lot to think about, and I think it gives us more reasons why the one thing that stuck in my mind is they said that there wasn't a witness that they've had so far that had direct contact with the president," he said Saturday. "So, I think that it reaffirms why I would love to hear from [Mick] Mulvaney and [John] Bolton."

Senate Democrats have argued that former Trump national security adviser John Bolton and Director of the Office of Management and Budget Mick Mulvaney are among witnesses necessary to the impeachment trial that members of the Senate should vote to subpoena to testify.

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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/making-me-think-about-things-joe-manchin-says-trump-legal-team-did-a-good-job

[Snarknado]

IOW, he agrees that the witnesses they did call in the House weren't sufficient to warrant the impeachment. He probably thinks he was being clever, but I doubt if Schumer is pleased with that line of reasoning.

[skeeter]

IOW, he agrees that the witnesses they did call in the House weren't sufficient to warrant the impeachment. He probably thinks he was being clever, but I doubt if Schumer is pleased with that line of reasoning.

I'd wager Mitt Romney isn't either. He was really hoping to play kingmaker here.

[sneakypete]

I'd wager Mitt Romney isn't either. He was really hoping to play kingmaker here.

@skeeter 

[Snarknado]

The whole witness issue is just more cover for senators like Manchin to justify a conviction vote - "they didn't let us call witnesses so we had no choice but to vote to convict" - pretending that they might otherwise have considered acquittal. The dems have carefully orchestrated things to make this kind of phony posturing appear plausible.

Edit> I should stress that Manchin absolutely does NOT want witnesses, he wants the lack of witnesses to hide behind.