Adam Schiff indicates he would like witnesses called and documents introduced in Senate impeachment trial

The California Democrat’s remarks come ahead of an expected House floor vote this week after the House Judiciary Committee on Friday approved articles of impeachment against the President. The full House vote will set up the Senate trial, for which senators are now gearing up.

The layout of the Senate trial is still under deliberation and leaders have been clear that no final decisions about strategy or structure have been made, but in interviews over the last several days, GOP senators say they are beginning to see the benefit of keeping the process short, leaving out witnesses and instead, simply laying out the facts with a presentation from House managers and the White House.

“I would urge Mitch McConnell to start negotiating with Chuck Schumer to make sure that those senators have a full record,” Schiff said. “So far Majority Leader McConnell and Minority Leader Schumer have not started discussions about the outlines of the rules that will govern a trial.”

“My hope is that it will be a shorter process rather than a lengthy process,” McConnell told Fox News on Thursday. He made clear, however, that those decisions would be made “in total coordination with the White House counsel.”

“This thing will come to the Senate, and it will die quickly, and I will do everything I can to make it die quickly,” the South Carolina Republican said.

He also said he does not wish to hear testimony from the Bidens or any other witnesses. “I want to hear the House make their case based on the record they established in the House and I want to vote,” he said.

On Sunday, Schiff criticized Graham’s remarks.

“I think we see clearly what’s going on here with the comments of Lindsey Graham and others and that is they don’t want the American people to see the facts. They realize what’s been presented in the House is already overwhelming but that there’s more damning evidence to be had and they don’t want the American people to see that,” he said.

Schiff continued: “You know I think that’s disgraceful but I hope that the senators will insist on getting the documents, on hearing from the witnesses, on making up their own mind even if there are some senators who decided out of their blind allegiance to this President that he can do nothing wrong. That he can shoot somebody in middle of the street and they’d still support him, that these other senators I hope will fulfill their constitutional obligation.”