In January 1999, Joe Biden argued against witnesses in a memo to Chuck Schumer and other Democrats during the Clinton impeachment trial, Politico reports. “Biden circulated the four-page document, titled “Arguments in Support of a Summary Impeachment Trial,” on Jan. 5, 1999.
It destroys the Democrat argument in 2020.
Biden went back through historical precedents from impeachment cases since the beginning of the Senate. The 1999 Joe asserted “The Senate need not hold a ‘full-blown’ trial.
“The Senate may dismiss articles of impeachment without holding a full trial or taking new evidence. Put another way, the Constitution does not impose on the Senate the duty to hold a trial,” Biden wrote at the time.
In 1999, Biden also pointed to the impact drawing out the impeachment proceedings would have on the country.
“In light of the extensive record already compiled, it may be that the benefit of receiving additional evidence or live testimony is not great enough to outweigh the public costs (in terms of national prestige, faith in public institutions, etc.) of such a proceeding,” Biden said. “While a judge may not take such considerations into account, the Senate is uniquely competent to make such a balance.”
Schumer argued against allowing new witnesses to be deposed in the Clinton case, while McConnell argued for it in 1999. We need to go along with 1999 Schumer on this.
Jay Sekulow read from it yesterday:
READ THE MEMO
0247-001 Memo Biden January 5 1999 by Johannah Winter on Scribd
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