Mitch McConnell considering 'kill switch' that allows him to pull plug on Trump impeachment.

[TheBlackAdder]

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According to a report at Fox News, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is consulting with senior members of his party in an attempt to cobble to together a “kill switch” rule that would allow him to dismiss the articles of impeachment in the Senate against Donald Trump quickly after a minimum of evidence has been presented.

For the moment, McConnell is keeping the whatever rules the Senate will have to abide by secret from the Democrats, but lawmakers who appeared on the Sunday cable shows have revealed some details.

As Fox News reports, “The discussions came as Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz told Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” that the trial could extend “to six to eight weeks or even longer” if the Senate decided to hear from additional witnesses.”

McConnell is reportedly going to reveal the rules just prior to the beginning of the impeachment, and Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) admitted he expects the “kill switch” rule to be in place from the start.

Saying he would be”very, very surprised” if McConnell’s resolution didn’t include that kind of kill switch, Hawley told Axios, “I am familiar with the resolution as it stood a day or two ago. My understanding is that the resolution will give the president’s team the option to either move to judgment or to move to dismiss at a meaningful time.”

Hawley added on Twitter, Trump, “… deserves the right during Senate trial to ask for a verdict or move to dismiss – otherwise trial will become endless circus run by Adam Schiff.”

https://www.rawstory.com/2020/01/mitch-mcconnell-considering-kill-switch-that-allows-him-to-pull-plug-on-trump-impeachment-at-any-time-report/

Does this surprise anyone?

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[UniteFightBack]

1. The Axis of Evil: Dump, Barr & McConnell. Will the American people care? nt

[NewJeffCT]

8. they'll care initially

but, with the mega bullhorn of Fox News, OANN, Sinclair, Rush Limbaugh and RW radio, they'll pacify many of the masses and with the Trump scandals and corruption, new issues will arise that will push impeachment and Ukraine to the backburner.

[TheCowsCameHome]

2. Go ahead, MM. Enjoy your political suicide.

I'm beggin' ya.....

[Iliyah]

3. I find that automatically illegal in a trial situation . . .

Future trials in the senate? Republicans be very careful cause you ain't gonna be in power forever no matter how you guys want to be.

[Thomas Hurt]

4. Hey, someone might grow a conscience, can't have that happening.

[kentuck]

5. Oh! That's really going to hurt those Democrats!

Not!

[RKP5637]

6. Just more GOP crap as they trash the constitution and try to topple the nation! n/t

[kentuck]

7. The first thing the Democrats should do is to make a motion that they vote on witnesses.

Hit 'em quick and hit 'em early.

Make them put their cards on the table.

[RKP5637]

9. K&R!!!!! n/t

[Igel]

18. Or put the motion on the table.

Which is what I think they'd do.

Sure, their cards would be on the table. Face down.

[tritsofme]

19. Motions will likely not be in order until after opening statements and questions.

[Squinch]

10. Why is McConnell not worried about his re-election? He's in the toilet, and this doesn't help him.

Whose bag is he in?

...As if we didn't know....

[2naSalit]

15. He has already made arrangements

for his overwhelming fix on the election.

[kentuck]

21. Trump is very popular in KY.

McConnell is going to wrap himself in Trump's coattails and pray that carries him across the line, Smart move. Might work?

[Botany]

11. The kill switch will be in place in case some really damning evidence or testimony is coming out.

The installation of Trump into the White House was the biggest crime in our history, Trump
is the biggest crook in America's history, and McConnell is working on covering it all up.

[spanone]

12. Fox, the mouthpiece for the dismantling of our democracy....murdoch must be proud

[TheBlackAdder]

17. He's not really American. Just became one because US Code mandates TV owners are citizens.

.

He gives two shits about the US.

.

[Baitball Blogger]

13. This is ridiculous.

It’s like they know they can steal an election.

[Baitball Blogger]

14. So the Republicans can gaslight our witnesses and put up their perjurers to create chaos

and confusion. And then FoxNews will amplify to dirty the water and then, that becomes the "meaningful moment" where Trump's lawyers can give McConnell the kill switch signal.

God, they're so transparent.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

16. Trump, "... deserves the right during Senate trial to ask for a verdict or move to dismiss"

In other news, a defendant in a local murder trial should be able to set up the rules so he could unilaterally dismiss the charges whenever things aren't going his way.

Trump has a history of pardoning people at random whenever he thinks they have been treated "unfairly." He's already established a pattern of complaining how unfairly he's being treated by the Democrats, the media, Robert Mueller, and anyone else who attempts to hold him accountable for his actions.

The rules have to be approved before they go into effect. Do we know anyone who thinks giving Trump the power to stop his own trial is a bad thing?

BTW, in the court system -- state or federal, civil or criminal -- the defendant can make a motion to dismiss at certain points of the trial. The difference between this motion and the one McConnell is going to put into place is who decides whether to grant the motion. In a real trial, the judge is the one who decides whether to grant the motion. Since Roberts' role is severely constrained by the Constitution, the decision making process is reserved for the Senators.

At any time during the trial the Senators will be forced to vote on a motion to dismiss that Trump makes -- his attorneys won't even have to argue for the motion, just make it -- and if a majority of them agree, then the trial is over. If McConnell sets it up where he or the GOP decide which witnesses the House managers can call, all he has to do is let them call the most innocuous witness, whose testimony is needed only if the more significant players are called, and when that one person has testified make the motion to dismiss, which will pass. Then when the Dems complain McConnell and the GOP can say, "See, we gave them witnesses, just like they asked, and they're still complaining. They just want to overturn the results of the last election, no matter how long it takes." (Expect Trump's lawyers and loyalists to repeat this trope ad nauseam.)

McConnell may not be planning to do this, but then again, he is the man who says his proudest accomplishment is to have kept Obama's nominee for the SCOTUS seat left vacant by Scalia's death from even getting a hearing in the Senate. Letting a crook like Trump off the hook for his illegal and impeachable acts would be child's play for such an unethical man who has proven his loyalty to Trump supersedes his oath to protect and defend the Constitution and even his own party.

[Igel]

20. Not what the quote says.

It says that Trump could *move* to dismiss. After that it's a question as to what the jury wants to do--because in this case the jury is also really the judge. Roberts is just the ref.

But if you're in court and the defendant, you have two options. Because that's your right.

One is a motion for summary judgment. "Okay, judge/jury, you've heard all I think you need to hear. The other side has no case. Let's call an end to this nonsense and you just render your verdict."

Yes, it's a thing.

The other is a motion to dismiss. If the case falls apart because of witness problems, legal difficulties, lack of standing, the case can be tossed. You hear about that happening all the time. You can make that motion on any grounds--frivolous, well founded, whatever. It's up to the judge to decide. And in this case, the Senate is the judge.

Suddenly these protections are now viewed as corrupt, mostly because they slow down the frenzy. I'm pretty sure that if I were being prosecuted and saw either of these two situations arise--or merely wanted to delay for a few minutes while something else might turn up--I'd approve of my attorney's making use of them.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

22. Here's the entire last paragraph of the posted quote from which I titled my post.

Hawley added on Twitter, Trump, “… deserves the right during Senate trial to ask for a verdict or move to dismiss – otherwise trial will become endless circus run by Adam Schiff.”

I just copied the underlined part for my post's title. It says Trump has the right to move to dismiss.

Otherwise I agree with the rest of your post. I forgot that "summary judgment" is the correct term.