FACT CHECK // Democrats' Impeachment Hypocrisy

WASHINGTON, D.C. - As the first day of the impeachment trial is underway in the Senate, Democrats remain hell-bent on impeaching the president, regardless of the Constitutional standard. Which is no surprise; Democrats have been determined to impeach President Trump since day one.

The irony is, last time the country endured impeachment, the key players were singing a different tune.

DEMOCRATS THEN

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) claims Republicans are engaged in a cover-up. However, don't forget, that it was Sen. Schumer who blatantly sought to prevent an impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton:

"Well, I hope a trial doesn't go forward. And I am starting from this moment on to explore every possible way to avoid a trial."

During the Clinton impeachment, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) was outspoken against calling more witnesses, saying:

"I think we ought to consider the fact that in their deliberations on impeachment, they didn't call these witnesses under oath for examination before the House Judiciary Committee. They reached their conclusion by accepting Ken Starr's report in its entirety and then, of course, filing articles of impeachment voted on the House floor. And yet we hear now the Republican managers saying, it's indispensable for justice that we bring these witnesses before us. Why wasn't that necessary in the House?" - Fox News Sunday- January 3, 1999

"I believe the House managers want to bring witnesses to try to vindicate the results of their impeachment." - Chicago Tribune- January 10, 1999

Sen. Durbin was not alone, with Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) saying:

"Witnesses would not fill the holes in the Managers' case. The Managers only became interested in hearing from witnesses once they faced trouble obtaining a conviction in the Senate."

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) was once concerned about the Constitutional standard to impeach, saying:

"My friends, hunches are not impeachable, nor should they be. If the evidence required to convict a President of the United States in an impeachment trial is allowed to be less than that required in a shoplifting trial, the constitutional foundation for the Presidency will disintegrate before our very eyes. That is something that a few future Presidents in this body ought to consider for just a moment."

DEMOCRATS NOW

Minority Leader Schumer now believes the impeachment trial is a "weighty and solemn responsibility."

Sen. Durbin now believes the Senate should do the job of the House and hear from witnesses:

"Why do I think witnesses would be appropriate? Because I spent most of my life before Congress as a trial lawyer. You can't have a trial without witnesses and evidence. You can have a cover-up without witnesses, but you can't have a trial. And I don't think we ought to rule out the possibility that witnesses will get us closer to the truth, whatever that may be."

Here's the reality: House Democrats rushed their Articles of Impeachment through a sham, one-sided show trial.

Sen. Mazie Hirono (D- Hawaii) admitted as much this morning, saying:

"If we were following the Clinton precedent, there would have been all of this discovery done at the House level, and that's not what's happening at all."

This weekend, Sen. Cruz outlined his expectations for the Senate trial moving forward with Fox News' Maria Bartiromo. Watch his full interview here.

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