There are already "plenty of witnesses" in former President Donald Trump's impeachment case, as all 100 senators were there on Jan. 6 as rioters attacked the Capitol, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin said Wednesday.
However, the Illinois Democrat told CNN's "New Day" that if House impeachment managers decide it is necessary to call in outside witnesses and present further evidence, he'll stand by their request.
"We were all there on Jan. 6," said Durbin. "We saw the vice president yanked off the podium. We found ourselves running in the tunnels, trying to escape the mob, and frankly, we were running from a crime scene where we were literally sitting on the Senate Chamber floor, which was just a few minutes later overrun by these terrorists."
Meanwhile, Durbin said it's important to continue with the trial, as there must be a clear record about what happened for both current people and future generations because there are already people trying to change the narrative.
Durbin also said Wednesday he's hearing disappointment from his Republican colleagues about the defense mounted by Trump's attorneys during the initial hearing to determine that proceeding with the trial is constitutional.
"They really expected a spirited defense of the president, and it didn't happen," said Durbin. "I wanted to take notes to follow, and I just gave up on [Bruce] Castor. I couldn't understand his line of thinking. Maybe he was the good cop and Mr. [David] Schoen was the bad cop? That's the best I can come up with."
He said he thinks Trump's attorneys will argue on Wednesday that the right to free speech will absolve Trump "from anything he said intentionally or recklessly" and that there were outside elements who drove the insurrection.
"I am not sure where they are going with this," he said. "It's not a very strong position and it's understandable why they've had a tough time enlisting lawyers to argue it."
The impeachment managers will make the case not only that Trump incited the riots, but that he was "standing by and observing it and doing nothing, virtually nothing," said Durbin.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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