Chief Justice John Roberts intervened after a testy back-and-forth between Congressman Jerry Nadler (a House manager and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee) and Pat Cipollone and Jay Sekulow (the president’s counsels). He advised both sides at the Senate impeachment trial of President Donald Trump and urged those presenting to remember where they are. Nadler has rebuked the GOP-majority Senate for voting against hearing new key witnesses at the outset of the trial. Cipollone informed Nadler he owed an apology and hit out at the congressman’s false allegations. Sekulow alleged the Democrat of shredding the constitution. Roberts advised after ending the exchange, he said, “I think it is appropriate at this point for me to admonish both the House managers and the president’s counsel in equal terms to remember that they are addressing the world’s greatest deliberative body”.
Point to be noted that a Senator objected in the 1905 Swain trial when one of the managers used the word pettifoggery and the presiding officer said the word ought not to have been used. Roberts said, “I don’t think we need to aspire to that high a standard, but I do think those addressing the Senate should remember where they are”. House Democrats attempted in a series of amendments to secure the Senate’s backing for bringing Bolton to testify. He supposedly had knowledge of the alleged Ukraine scheme at the center of the case for removing Trump from office. Trump already denied any wrongdoing. Trump to be impeached with 2 articles, abuse of power and obstruction of U.S Congress.
The House alleged Trump of seeking Ukraine’s interference in the 2020 election to benefit his campaign and his obstruction in the investigation. Nadler delivered his words on the Senate floor, he said, “The president is on trial in the Senate, but the Senate is on trial in the eyes of the American people. Will you vote to allow all of the relevant evidence to be presented here or will you betray your pledge to be an impartial jury? Will you bring Ambassador Bolton here? Will you permit us to present you with the entire record of the president’s misconduct? Or will you instead choose to be complicit in the president’s cover-up? So far, I’m sad to say, I see a lot of senators voting for a cover-up, voting to deny witnesses, an absolutely indefensible vote, obviously. A vote against an honest consideration of the evidence against the President”.