Dems Attack McConnell 'Coordination' With WH on Impeachment, But They Did Exactly That in 1999 Clinton Impeachment
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has made no secret of his disdain for House Democrats’ rushed, partisan impeachment of President Donald Trump.
Such transparency is only good for getting a target painted on one’s back in Washington, however.
And according to Fox News, McConnell’s statements already have the Democratic establishment crying foul on the Kentucky Republican’s handling of the inevitable Senate impeachment trial.
Having long suggested a Republican-controlled Senate’s mere fingerprints on the trial amount to a miscarriage of national justice, Democrats are pointing to claims made in a Dec. 12 interview McConnell gave to Fox News host Sean Hannity as justification for their hesitance to deliver two recently passed articles of impeachment to the body in the first place.
“Everything I do during this, I’m coordinating with White House counsel,” McConnell said earlier this month, explaining the trial process. “There will be no difference between the president’s position and our position as to how to handle this to the extent that we can.”
“We’ll be working through this process, hopefully in a fairly short period of time, in total coordination with the White House counsel’s office,” he added.
The claim, though relatively innocuous given the hyper-partisan nature of recent congressional debate, has apparently resonated around Washington.
It “disturbed” RINO Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — who found Senate Democrats’ behavior during the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh palatable enough to abstain from voting in favor of the judge’s elevation to the High Court.
It was downright “out of line,” Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told CNN.
“Saying you’re going to do just what the president wants is totally out of line and Mitch McConnell has received a lot of justified criticism for that,” Schumer argued.
But not only does that claim misrepresent McConnell as a political pawn for this president, but it also reveals just how short congressional Democrats’ memories are.
And for reference, it appears they happen to be shorter than my lifespan — because, once again, Democrats were doing this exact thing just two decades ago.
Democrats Were ‘in Cahoots’ with Bill Clinton During Impeachment Trial Pelosi accused McConnell of being “in cahoots” with the White House, ignoring the fact that Democrats coordinated with Bill Clinton in 1999. https://t.co/noydcvwR1l
— Democracy In Motion (@DemocracyMotion) December 19, 2019
Impartial juror watch, 1999 edition: ‘During the impeachment trial, Daschle has stayed in constant contact with Podesta and spoken with Clinton several times.’ But don’t worry; Clinton was just giving the Senate Minority leader his ‘comments’ and ‘reflections.’ From AP: pic.twitter.com/YbdUs1GTwv
— Byron York (@ByronYork) December 15, 2019
A bit of sleuthing from the Washington Examiner’s chief political correspondent Byron York revealed The Associated Press in 1999 reported then-Sen. Tom Daschle of South Dakota, chairman of the Senate Democratic Caucus, had “stayed in constant contact with [White House Chief of Staff John] Podesta” during the 1999 impeachment of President Bill Clinton.
That, however, is just the beginning of the Democratic Party’s lock-step march with Clinton during his impeachment, Fox News reported.
According to the outlet, former Washington Post reporter Peter Baker’s 2000 book, “The Breach: Inside the Impeachment and Trial of William Jefferson Clinton,” revealed “Senate Democrats coordinated with the White House on a number of impeachment-related issues behind the scenes.”
A “secret signal” was established between Senate Democrats and White House Counsel Charles Ruff, which allowed Clinton’s defense team to bypass Senate rules and argue against the claims of Republican impeachment managers with the submission of “softball” questions to the White House through then-Chief Justice William Rehnquist.
Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa allegedly went so far as to speak with Clinton to organize a “pressure campaign” to halt Maine Sen. Susan Collin’s attempts to bring forth a simple majority vote on whether the president had been truthful under oath or attempted to obstruct justice, even if he was not to be removed from office.
Yet, given this disgusting precedent, Democrats would have you believe McConnell simply announcing intentions to coordinate with the White House throughout impeachment is “out of line.”
Oh, the ceaseless hypocrisy.
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