Posted on 01/18/2020 11:31:48 AM PST by libstripper
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, released a statement on Thursday to clarify her stance on President Trump's upcoming impeachment trial and claimed her past comments have been taken out of context and misunderstood. "There has been a lot of mischaracterization and misunderstanding about my position on the process the Senate should follow for the impeachment trial," the statement began. "Rather than have my position relayed through the interpretation of others, I wanted to state it directly." Collins, who is considered a moderate, shared her views on how the process should play out and recommended that it mirror former President Bill Clinton's impeachment trial from 1999, to allow for bipartisan input. "That process [from 1999] provided for the opportunity for both sides to state their case and for Senators to ask questions through the Chief Justice," she wrote.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Collins doesn’t want to be like KELLY AYOTTE. Senator Ayotte won as a “Tea Party” candidate but, once in DC, allowed herself to be “taken under the wing” of John McCain. And THAT ended up destroying her politically.
Rand Paul will soon put these RINO’s in a Vice Grip.
By forcing Roll Call votes on calling Hunter Biden, the Fake Whistleblower,
Adam Schiff, etc.
‘
And Mitts Romney will be explaining his “principles” soon.
Murky, Richard Burr, Rubio
Viper’s Den
‘
KELLY AYOTTE lost her seat due to 5000 illegal votes!
+100!
PDJT’s rallies are doing a lot of things very well, one of the less mentioned is keeping Rep. Senators in line by showing how strong PDJT’s support is, especially in the party, and, collaterally, that undermining him on impeachment will be a personal and political disaster for any GOP Senator who does it. Even Collins seems to be getting the message.
NBC is saying that if there is a 50-50 tie..Justice Roberts could be the tie breaking vote....
IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY
History shows Chief Justice John Roberts could cast tie-breaking votes at Trump’s impeachment trial
Collins is always the last minute drama queen.
Remember Kavenaugh ?
2 minutes after being sworn in, Scott Brown took a bear-hug of congratulations from McPain. So much for being the 41st vote.
She has not changed here position..the press tried to make something out of it..
The RINOS are hoping to drag this out and tank Trumps poll numbers ...they will vote for witnesses
Hoping he loses the election...they will aquit him in the Senate and hope their dearm comes true.
None of them will vote to convict
Ms. Collins has become a real looser for the Republicans. She has drifted out into left field and has nothing to offer anymore. Time to retire and get that fat retirement check and shutup.
“NBC is saying that if there is a 50-50 tie..Justice Roberts could be the tie breaking vote....”
Article I, Section 3 of the Constitution states:
“The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.” Note, the Constitution does not state this tie breaking vote authority is removed during an impeachment trial.
With respect to the Chief Justice presiding over impeachment the Constitution states: “The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. When sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two thirds of the members present.”
Note, the Constitution does not grant the Chief Justice the privilege of voting on procedures during impeachment or for guilt or innocence. He merely presides over the trial. The Constitution does not restrict the Vice President’s ability to vote in event of a tie or be present in the Senate during an impeachment, nor does it prohibit him from being present during the trial.
Remember, the framers of the Constitution did not anticipate the two party system. According to theConstitution as written, the individual with the highest votes in the Electoral College became President and the second highest became VP. When the rules for electing President and VP were changed by Amendment to the Constitution, there was no change made to the VP’s duties in the Senate.
It would seem if the Constitution is followed, as currently written and amended, the Chief Justice will take the place of the Vice President in presiding over the impeachment trial. However, the Vice President still is “President” of the Senate and can vote in the event of a tie on a procedural vote during the trial.
Sorry to rain on the parade.
A “50-50 vote” is an acquittal for Pres. Trump. The Constitution requires a two-thirds supermajority to convict a person being impeached.
The Democrats need 67 votes for a conviction.
A moderate what???
Good assessment...I concur with your conclusions.
I would not be surprised if the issue of who casts tie-breaker votes on procedural issues comes up. If it comes up, it WILL be resolved and will be precedent for all future impeachment’s.
Yes. I think til now at least she has just been posturing.
50 50 votes are referring to procedural votes during the trial. The final vote on conviction is the only vote that needs 67 votes.
Let’s not lose sight of the fact that Senator Collins is a Stateswoman. She made a very important vote for Justice Kavanaugh. I may not agree with all her positions, but I think she stands by her oath to the Constitution.
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