'Moderate' Murkowski Sells Out on Impeachment, Won't Vote for Witnesses

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, a moderate Republican, said Friday she won't vote to call witnesses in Donald Trump's impeachment trial, meaning the trial will likely be over soon and Trump will be acquitted -- and not removed from office.

"The House chose to send articles of impeachment that are rushed and flawed. I carefully considered the need for additional witnesses and documents, to cure the shortcomings of its process, but ultimately decided that I will vote against considering motions to subpoena," Murkowski said in a statement, NBC News reports.

"Given the partisan nature of this impeachment from the very beginning and throughout, I have come to the conclusion that there will be no fair trial in the Senate. I don't believe the continuation of this process will change anything. It is sad for me to admit that, as an institution, the Congress has failed."

Trump is accused of abuse of power in pressuring the government of Ukraine to investigate work done by Hunter Biden, the son of former Vice President Joe Biden, for a Ukrainian energy company. Trump, threatening to withhold aid designated for Ukraine, claimed Hunter Biden engaged in corrupt practices, although he has actually been found to have done nothing wrong. Joe Biden is running for the Democratic presidential nomination this year, so Trump was seeking actions that would harm Biden's campaign and help Trump get reelected, according to the articles of impeachment.

The articles of impeachment were brought by the House of Representatives, which has a Democratic majority. But the Senate, which holds the trial and votes whether to acquit or convict an impeached president, has a Republican majority, and it was always unlikely that the Senate would convict Trump, therefore removing him as president. It takes a two-thirds vote to do so. The vote has now been scheduled for Wednesday, after closing arguments Monday.

It takes only a simple majority to call witnesses, though, and Democrats had been holding out hope for witnesses, which would prolong the trial. Four of the Senate's 53 Republicans would have to vote to call witnesses to produce a majority vote. Two of them, Mitt Romney of Utah and Susan Collins of Maine, have said they would vote to call witnesses. The greatest "get" as a witness would have been former National Security Advisor John Bolton, who has a new book out in which he reportedly attests that Trump indeed pressured Ukraine.

But the decisions of two others the Dems had hoped to get, Murkowski and Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, not to vote for witnesses mean the Dems' hopes will be dashed unless another Republican breaks ranks. And if there was a 50-50 tie, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, who is presiding over the trial, would have had to cast a tie-breaking vote.

Murkowski has opposed Trump on a variety of issues. She is largely pro-LGBTQ, with scores that have steadily improved on the Human Rights Campaign's Congressional Scorecard; in the most recent session of Congress, she scored 88 out of 100. But on this matter, she appears to be taking the party line.