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Leader Schumer, in Letter to Leader McConnell, Puts Forward Structure for a Fair and Honest Bipartisan Impeachment Trial in Senate

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Specifically, Schumer Asks For Testimony From Mick Mulvaney, John Bolton, Michael Duffey And Robert Blair; Schumer Says Dems Are Open To Hearing From Additional Witnesses With Direct Knowledge Of Admin’s Decisions Related To The Delay In Security Assistant Funding To Ukraine And Its Requests For Certain Investigations To Be Announced By The Government Of Ukraine, If The President’s Counsel Or House Managers Wish To Call Such Witnesses.

Published

4 years ago

December 15, 2019

Oakland Post

U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer

Schumer Proposed-Trial Structure Would Require Specific Documents and Testimony from Four Key Witnesses

Specifically, Schumer asks for testimony from Mick Mulvaney, John Bolton, Michael Duffey and Robert Blair; Schumer says Dems are open to hearing from additional witnesses with direct knowledge of admin’s decisions related to the delay in security assistant funding to Ukraine and its requests for certain investigations to be announced by the Government of Ukraine, if the president’s counsel or house managers wish to call such witnesses.

Washington, D.C. – In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer today put forward a structure for a fair and honest Senate impeachment trial, should articles of impeachment pass the House of Representatives and be delivered to the Senate. Leader Schumer’s letter is the first move to establish a fair bipartisan process in the Senate. In the letter, Leader Schumer asks for specific documents and testimony from key witnesses that were all withheld in the House inquiry. Leader Schumer’s proposed structure would ensure both sides are treated fairly in the trial and given opportunity for rebuttal during opening presentations.

Leader Schumer’s letter also emphasizes that Senate Democrats and Republicans share the belief that the president deserves to have a fair and open trial process that allows both sides to present all of the evidence and adjudicate the case fairly. The letter also highlights the precedent set in the 1999 impeachment trial, and supported by all Republican senators at the time, that House impeachment managers be allowed to call witnesses.

Leader Schumer’s proposal comes after the White House refused to present any exculpatory documents or witnesses to disprove the evidence revealed in House of Representatives impeachment inquiry, and as some Republican Senators have said they are open to hearing from witnesses and analyzing any new evidence before rendering judgement in trial. The letter also comes after Senator McConnell announced that he was already attempting to corral Republican-only support for a Senate resolution defined by the president and his defense team, rather than one crafted and supported by a bipartisan majority of the Senate.

Specifically, Leader Schumer’s proposal would, among other things, establish that the Senate:

Begin with pre-trial housekeeping measures adopted on Monday, January 6, 2020; swearing-in of the Chief Justice and Senators occur on Tuesday, January 7, 2020; House Managers presentations begin on Thursday, January 9, 2020;
Provide 24 hours to each side for opening presentations and rebuttals and 16 hours for questioning by senators evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats;
Issue subpoenas for Robert Blair, Senior Advisor to the Acting White House Chief of Staff; Mick Mulvaney, Acting White House Chief of Staff; John Bolton, former National Security Advisor; and Michael Duffey, Associate Director for National Security, Office of Management and Budget to testify. All four of these witnesses were asked to testify in the House impeachment inquiry but did not appear;
- Schumer’s letter says that Democrats are open to hearing the testimony of additional witnesses having direct knowledge of the Administration’s decisions related to the delay in security assistant funding to Ukraine and its requests for certain investigations to be announced by the government of Ukraine, if the President’s Counsel or House Managers wish to call such witnesses.
Issue subpoenas for a specific, limited list of documents that will shed additional light on the Administration’s decision making regarding the delay in security assistance funding to Ukraine and its requests for certain investigations to be announced by the government of Ukraine;
The documents will include communications between administration officials about the withholding of the Ukraine military assistance and its requests for certain investigations to be announced by the government of Ukraine.
Allow for witnesses to testify and be examined for up to four hours by each side; and
Upon the conclusion of final arguments, the Senate will begin up to 24 hours of deliberations.

The full text of Leader Schumer’s letter to Leader McConnell can be found here and below:

December 15, 2019

The Honorable Mitch McConnell
Majority Leader
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Leader McConnell:

In a short time, the House of Representatives is expected to approve Articles of Impeachment against President Donald J. Trump. In response to the House’s action, as you have noted, our rules require the Senate to conduct a trial to consider and vote on the Articles of Impeachment. This is an enormously weighty and solemn responsibility that was assigned to the Senate by the Framers of the Constitution.

Senate Democrats believe strongly, and I trust Senate Republicans agree, that this trial must be one that is fair, that considers all of the relevant facts, and that exercises the Senate’s “sole Power of Impeachment” under the Constitution with integrity and dignity. The trial must be one that not only hears all of the evidence and adjudicates the case fairly; it must also pass the fairness test with the American people. That is the great challenge for the Senate in the coming weeks.

In keeping with the bipartisan spirit of the procedures adopted in the trial of President Clinton in 1999, and in order to advance what I believe are our shared objectives for the process in the trial of President Trump, Senate Democrats propose the following provisions for your consideration and in advance of our upcoming discussion. These provisions are modeled directly on the language of the two resolutions that set forth the 1999 trial rules. The first of those resolutions passed the Senate by a vote of 100-0, and the second resolution, allowing House Managers to call witnesses, passed with the support of all Senate Republicans.

Specifically, I propose that pre-trial housekeeping measures be adopted on Monday, January 6, 2020; that the swearing-in of the Chief Justice and Senators occur on Tuesday, January 7, 2020; that after a period for preparation and submission of trial briefs, the House Managers be recognized on Thursday, January 9, 2020 to make their presentation for a period of not more than 24 hours, followed by the presentation by the President’s counsel, also for a period of not more than 24 hours.

In the trial of President Clinton, the House Managers were permitted to call witnesses, and it is clear that the Senate should hear testimony of witnesses in this trial as well. I propose, pursuant to our rules, that the Chief Justice on behalf of the Senate issue subpoenas for testimony by the following witnesses with direct knowledge of Administration decisions regarding the delay in security assistance funds to the government of Ukraine and the requests for certain investigations to be announced by the government of Ukraine: Robert Blair, Senior Advisor to the Acting White House Chief of Staff; Mick Mulvaney, Acting White House Chief of Staff; John Bolton, former National Security Advisor; and Michael Duffey, Associate Director for National Security, Office of Management and Budget. All four of these witnesses were asked to testify in the House impeachment inquiry but did not appear.

We would of course be open to hearing the testimony of additional witnesses having direct knowledge of the Administration’s decisions regarding the delay in security assistance funds to the government of Ukraine and the requests for certain investigations to be announced by the government of Ukraine, if the President’s counsel or House Managers identify such witnesses. In order to ensure that the trial can be completed within a reasonable period of time, I propose that the total time allotted to testimony by each witness be limited to not more than four hours for the House Managers and not more than four hours for the President’s counsel.

I also propose that the Senate issue subpoenas for a limited set of documents that we believe will shed additional light on the Administration’s decision-making regarding the delay in security assistance funding to Ukraine and its requests for certain investigations to be announced by the government of Ukraine. This will be a narrowly drawn request limited to electronic communications, memoranda and related records of the relevant senior officials in the White House, Office of Management and Budget, and Department of State. Our understanding is that these records have already been collected by the White House counsel and counsel in the relevant agencies, so production in response to the Senate subpoenas should be neither burdensome nor time-consuming.

In addition, I propose that as in 1999 there be a period of not more than 16 hours equally divided for Senators’ questions to the House Managers and President’s counsel, and a period of not more than 6 hours equally divided between the House Managers and President’s counsel for final arguments. Finally, I propose that there be a period of not more than 24 hours for deliberations by Senators followed by votes on the Articles of Impeachment.

We believe all of this should be considered in one resolution. The issue of witnesses and documents, which are the most important issues facing us, should be decided before we move forward with any part of the trial.

We believe this proposal, which is set forth in greater detail in the accompanying document, will allow for a trial in which all of the facts can be considered fully and fairly, and in which final votes can be taken within a reasonable period of time, without any unnecessary delay. Conducting the trial according to this plan will also allow the public to have confidence in the process and will demonstrate that the Senate can put aside partisan concerns and fulfill its constitutional duty.

I look forward to discussing this plan with you and to working with you to ensure that the Senate can rise to this critically important occasion.

Sincerely,

Charles E. Schumer

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IN MEMORIAM: Ramona Edelin, Influential Activist and Education Advocate, Dies at 78

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Born on September 4, 1945, in Los Angeles, California, activist Ramona Edelin’s early years were marked by a commitment to education and social justice. According to her HistoryMakers biography, after graduating from Fisk University with a Bachelor’s degree in 1967, she pursued further studies at the University of East Anglia in England. She earned her master’s degree before completing her Ph.D. at Boston University in 1981.
The post IN MEMORIAM: Ramona Edelin, Influential Activist and Education Advocate, Dies at 78 first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

Published

4 weeks ago

April 3, 2024

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

Once upon a time, Black Americans were simply known as colored people, or Negroes. That is until Ramona Edelin came along. The activist, renowned for her pivotal roles in advancing civil rights, education reform, and community empowerment, died at her D.C. residence last month at the age of 78. Her death, finally confirmed this week by Barnaby Towns, a communications strategist who collaborated with Dr. Edelin, was attributed to cancer.

Born on September 4, 1945, in Los Angeles, California, Edelin’s early years were marked by a commitment to education and social justice. According to her HistoryMakers biography, after graduating from Fisk University with a Bachelor’s degree in 1967, she pursued further studies at the University of East Anglia in England. She earned her master’s degree before completing her Ph.D. at Boston University in 1981.

Edelin’s contributions to academia and activism were manifold. She was pivotal in popularizing the term “African American” alongside Rev. Jesse L. Jackson in the late 1980s.

Jackson had announced the preference for “African American,” speaking for summit organizers that included Dr. Edelin. “Just as we were called Colored, but were not that, and then Negro, but not that, to be called Black is just as baseless,” he said, adding that “African American” “has cultural integrity” and “puts us in our proper historical context.”

Later, Edelin told Ebony magazine, “Calling ourselves African Americans is the first step in the cultural offensive,” while linking the name change to a “cultural renaissance” in which Black Americans reconnected with their history and heritage.

“Who are we if we don’t acknowledge our motherland?” she asked later. “When a child in a ghetto calls himself African American, immediately he’s international. You’ve taken him from the ghetto and put him on the globe.”

The HistoryMakers bio noted that Edelin’s academic pursuits led her to found and chair the Department of African American Studies at Northeastern University, where she established herself as a leading voice.

Transitioning from academia to advocacy, Edelin joined the National Urban Coalition in 1977, eventually ascending to president and CEO. During her tenure, she spearheaded initiatives such as the “Say Yes to a Youngster’s Future” program, which provided crucial support in math, science, and technology to youth and teachers of color in urban areas. Her biography noted that Edelin’s efforts extended nationwide through partnerships with organizations like the National Science Foundation and the United States Department of Education.

President Bill Clinton recognized Edelin’s expertise by appointing her to the Presidential Board on Historically Black Colleges and Universities in 1998. She also co-founded and served as treasurer of the Black Leadership Forum, solidifying her standing as a respected leader in African American communities.

Beyond her professional achievements, Edelin dedicated herself to numerous boards and committees, including chairing the District of Columbia Educational Goals 2000 Panel and contributing to the Federal Advisory Committee for the Black Community Crusade for Children.

Throughout her life, Edelin received widespread recognition for her contributions. Ebony magazine honored her as one of the 100 Most Influential Black Americans, and she received prestigious awards such as the Southern Christian Leadership Award for Progressive Leadership and the IBM Community Executive Program Award.

The post IN MEMORIAM: Ramona Edelin, Influential Activist and Education Advocate, Dies at 78 first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

Stacy M. Brown

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Tennessee State University Board Disbanded by MAGA Loyalists as Assault on DE&I Continues

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Recent legislative actions in Tennessee, such as repealing police reform measures enacted after the killing of Tyre Nichols, underscore a troubling trend of undermining local control and perpetuating racist agendas. The new law preventing local governments from restricting police officers’ authority disregards community efforts to address systemic issues of police violence and racial profiling.
The post Tennessee State University Board Disbanded by MAGA Loyalists as Assault on DE&I Continues first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

Published

4 weeks ago

April 3, 2024

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

Tennessee State University (TSU), the state’s only public historically Black college and university (HBCU), faces a tumultuous future as Gov. Bill Lee dissolved its board, a move supported by racist conservatives and MAGA Republicans in the Tennessee General Assembly, who follow the lead of the twice-impeached, four-times indicted, alleged sexual predator former President Donald Trump. Educators and others have denounced the move as an attack on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) and a grave setback for higher education.

Critics argue that TSU’s purported financial mismanagement is a manufactured crisis rooted in decades of underinvestment by the state government. They’ve noted that it continues a trend by conservatives and the racist MAGA movement to eliminate opportunities for Blacks in education, corporate America, and the public sector.

Gevin Reynolds, a former speechwriter for Vice President Kamala Harris, emphasizes in an op-ed that TSU’s financial difficulties are not the result of university leadership because a recent audit found no evidence of fraud or malfeasance.

Reynolds noted that the disbanding of TSU’s board is not an isolated incident but part of a broader assault on DE&I initiatives nationwide. Ten states, including Tennessee, have enacted laws banning DE&I policies on college campuses, while governors appointing MAGA loyalists to university trustee positions further undermine efforts to promote inclusivity and equality.

Moreover, recent legislative actions in Tennessee, such as repealing police reform measures enacted after the killing of Tyre Nichols, underscore a troubling trend of undermining local control and perpetuating racist agendas. The new law preventing local governments from restricting police officers’ authority disregards community efforts to address systemic issues of police violence and racial profiling.

The actions echo historical efforts to suppress Black progress, reminiscent of the violent backlash against gains made during the Reconstruction era. President Joe Biden warned during an appearance in New York last month that Trump desires to bring the nation back to the 18th and 19th centuries – in other words, to see, among other things, African Americans back in the chains of slavery, women subservient to men without any say over their bodies, and all voting rights restricted to white men.

The parallels are stark, with white supremacist ideologies used to justify attacks on Black institutions and disenfranchise marginalized communities, Reynolds argued.

In response to these challenges, advocates stress the urgency of collective action to defend democracy and combat systemic racism. Understanding that attacks on institutions like TSU are symptomatic of broader threats to democratic norms, they call for increased civic engagement and voting at all levels of government.

The actions of people dedicated to upholding the principles of inclusivity, equity, and justice for all will determine the outcome of the ongoing fight for democracy, Reynolds noted. “We are in a war for our democracy, one whose outcome will be determined by every line on every ballot at every precinct,” he stated.

The post Tennessee State University Board Disbanded by MAGA Loyalists as Assault on DE&I Continues first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

Stacy M. Brown

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