HARTFORD—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Sunday joined Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace to discuss the upcoming impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump and the need to get COVID-19 relief to Americans struggling across the country.

On the upcoming impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, Murphy said: “…I think we have a constitutional responsibility to hold this trial. And I think you laid this out for Senator Paul. There is clear precedent for the Senate moving forward on an impeachment trial once being sent articles, even after an official has left office. And so my analysis here sort of begins and ends with what is my constitutional responsibility. I don't think our job ends just because the president has left office in part because impeachment comes not only with a provision to remove an official from office, but to disqualify them for future office. So there's still a consequence to President Trump if convicted.”

Murphy continued: “And second, this doesn't stop the rest of the business we're considering. In fact, the Senate can walk and chew gum at the same time. We will next week. We'll start off on Monday, by confirming another cabinet nominee by the president. We will likely hold hearings and committees next week to move other nominees forth. And because last week, we moved forward the process on the COVID relief bill that is going to save this country's economy, we will also spend next week writing that legislation, working hopefully with Republicans like Rand Paul to make it bipartisan in the end. The Senate is going to do all three thing next week. We're going to do our constitutional responsibility and hold a trial, it won't last very long. We are going to move forward nominees and we're going to continue to push forward COVID relief legislation. The Senate can do all of those things. And we will.”

 

On witnesses for the upcoming impeachment trial, Murphy said: “…[I]f the House managers want to call witnesses, then I think we should allow them to do so…[I]n the first trial, we didn't see what happened; the American public didn't have a window into the decisions that were being made behind closed doors to trade American influence in order for campaign help. This time, we saw what happened in real time. President Trump sent that angry mob to the Capitol on live TV. So it's not as important that you have witnesses.”

 

On the president’s incitement of the mob, Murphy said: “I was in the Senate chamber, literally as those rioters were outside our doors…Instead of sending out a tweet saying that everybody should leave the Capitol, President Trump sent out a tweet attacking Mike Pence, the very person that those rioters were there to hang. And so even as the riot was occurring, the president had a chance to turn it around. And instead he incited it knowing what was happening at the Capitol.”

 

Murphy continued: “So I think the case is absolutely clear, both in that rally at the White House, and during the riot itself, the president was taking steps to make it worse, not better. And there is of course, reporting from inside the White House that suggests the president was slow walking the response because he was very happy with what was happening over at the United States Capitol. So I think that once all that evidence is put on, there'll be no choice but to convict.”

On conviction of former President Trump, Murphy said: “I think that conviction will be a bipartisan vote. I think it's also very important to know that many Republicans in the House of Representatives believes that the president's conduct was impeachable, that's different than the trial that we conducted a year ago.”

Click here to view the entirety of Murphy’s interview.

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