Susan Collins: ‘I Am Open to Witnesses’ in Senate Impeachment Trial

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said on Monday that she is “open to witnesses” in a Senate impeachment trial.

Collins told Maine Public Radio on Monday that she is “open” to calling witnesses but suggested that it is too early to decide who should be called.

Collins stated, according to the Hill:

I am open to witnesses. I think it’s premature to decide who should be called until we see the evidence that is presented and get the answers to the questions that we senators can submit through the Chief Justice to both sides.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) have failed to see eye to eye on the parameters of the Senate trial. They had what McConnell described as a “cordial” conversation on the details of the trial prior to the holidays, but the majority leader said they remained at an “impasse.”

“As of today, however, we remain at an impasse because my friend, the Democratic leader, continues to demand a new and different set of rules for President Trump,” he said. “We remain at an impasse on these logistics.”

Collins suggested that the lawmakers use the Clinton impeachment trial as a general framework.

“I have shared with my colleagues my belief that the Clinton approach, the approach to the Clinton trial worked well,” she said.

While details remain up in the air, McConnell stated that the Senate is open to impeachment witnesses as well.

“We haven’t ruled out witnesses,” McConnell told Fox & Friends this month. “We’ve said, ‘Let’s handle this case just like we did with President Clinton.’”

“Fair is fair,” he added.