In an appearance on Fox Sunday Morning Futures, Sen. Ted Cruz told Maria Bartiromo that if Democrats get their wish to hear from witnesses at the Senate impeachment trial, the trial could go from lasting 1-2 weeks to up to a months-long affair!
“I think it’s certainly possible that this trial could last one to two weeks. On the other hand, if the Senate makes the decision to go down the road of additional witnesses, that could extend it to six to eight weeks or even longer,” warned Cruz.
However, Cruz went on to push the idea of a rule of reciprocity in the trial, which he best explained as,
“If the prosecution gets a witness, the defense gets a witness. If the prosecution gets two, the defense gets two. If the prosecution gets to call John Bolton, the prosecution gets to call Hunter Biden.”
He added that this should make Democrats scared, singling out Hunter Biden,
“The Democrats are terrified about seeing a witness like Hunter Biden testify because they don’t want to hear evidence of actual corruption.”
Watch what Ted Cruz had to say here:
More on Cruz's warning, from The Hill:
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said Sunday that the Senate’s impeachment trial could last as long as eight weeks if the chamber elects to hear from witnesses.
“I think it’s certainly possible that this trial could last one to two weeks. On the other hand, if the Senate makes the decision to go down the road of additional witnesses, that could extend it to six to eight weeks or even longer,” Cruz told Fox News’s Maria Bartiromo on “Sunday Morning Futures.”
“This week is going to be the first time in a year that the president has had the opportunity to defend himself, to lay out the facts, to lay out the law, to lay out the actual substance,” he added.
Cruz, like his fellow Senate Judiciary Committee member Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), said that if the Senate does vote to call witnesses, rules of reciprocity should apply.
The Washington Examiner gave more details on Cruz's view on witnesses, and the rule of reciprocity:
Republicans could compel Hunter Biden to testify if Democrats succeed in calling former national security adviser John Bolton to be a witness in the Senate impeachment trial.
So said Sen. Ted Cruz in an interview Thursday with the Washington Examiner, shortly after he was sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts for the Ukraine impeachment trial set to begin next week. The Texas Republican made it clear that, while no decision has been reached on whether new witnesses would be called, he believed the Republican Senate majority would support Trump's legal team getting to call at least an equal number of its own witnesses, potentially including 2020 Democratic front-runner Joe Biden's son, if Democratic House managers for the trial are allowed to call in further people to testify.
“If additional witnesses are called, at a minimum we should respect the principle of reciprocity,” said Cruz. “So, if the prosecution is allowed one witness, the White House ought to be allowed at least one witness. If the prosecution is allowed two witnesses, the White House ought to be allowed two witnesses.”
The Republican said: “That would mean, as a practical matter, if the House managers called, for example, John Bolton, that the White House defense team could call as a witness, say, Hunter Biden.”
Join the conversation!
Please share your thoughts about this article below. We value your opinions, and would love to see you add to the discussion!