President Donald Trump indicated on Friday that he will leave the details of the impeachment trial up to the Senate leadership when asked about what kind of trial he preferred.
“I’ll do long or short. I’ve heard Mitch. I’ve heard Lindsey. I think they are very much on agreement on some concept. I’ll do whatever they want to do. It doesn’t matter,” Trump said to reporters, referring to comments from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Judiciary chairman Lindsey Graham.
Trump commented to reporters on the forthcoming trial as he met with the president of Paraguay at the White House.
Supporters of the president are eager to see a long trial from Senate Republicans in which they would punish Democrats by forcing testimony from the so-called “whistleblower,” whose report kicked off the impeachment process as well as testimony from House Intelligence chairman Adam Schiff, possibly Hunter Biden, and even former Vice President Joe Biden.
The president said he would not mind a longer impeachment process because he wanted to see the so-called “whistleblower” testify.
But McConnell and more establishment senators have signaled that they prefer a shorter, less theatrical process with no new witnesses.
White House officials have been meeting with Senate Republicans to discuss the process, which is likely to take place in January 2020.
Trump called the “whistleblower” a “fraud,” noting that his decision to release the phone call transcript proved that Democrats were misled by his complaint.
“I really blew it up when I released the transcript of the call,” Trump said.
He taunted the media for failing to report on the two whistleblowers, the “informer,” and “Lieutenant Colonel” Alexander Vindman.
“I ask the corrupt media, where’s the second whistleblower?” he asked.
Trump denounced the impeachment process pursued by Democrats, accusing them of trying to achieve a political goal with a serious process.
“It’s a scam. It’s something that shouldn’t be allowed. It’s a very bad thing for our country. You’re trivializing impeachment,” he said.
Despite his anger at the impeachment process, which he described as a “hoax,” a “sham,” and a “disgrace,” he asserted that he was benefiting politically as a result of the process.
“That being said, my poll numbers, as you know, have gone through the roof. Fundraising for the Republican party has gone through the roof. We’re setting records. Nobody’s ever seen anything like it because the people are disgusted,” Trump said.
Trump also taunted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for slipping up in an interview, admitting that she was pursuing impeachment for two-and-a-half years, prior to any phone call with Ukraine.
“It’s a hoax, and Nancy Pelosi knows it,” he said, referring to the interview. “It shows she’s a liar.”