By CAROLINE BECK, Alabama Daily News
U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos Sunday morning that he hasn’t made any decision yet on the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump.
“I have not prejudged anything,” Shelby said. “I have my own thoughts about things at this point. But we haven’t heard any of the summaries, any of the arguments… I do have some observations, though, at this point, and they’re early and they’re not conclusive. One, it looks to me at this juncture that the House has got a weak hand. They’re wanting us in the Senate to open the case up and to retry everything. We don’t know what’s going to come forth this week.”
Watch the full interview HERE:
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And read the full transcript HERE.
Shelby continued to say that the facts presented this upcoming week will determine whether or not additional witnesses need to be called.
“What we do this week and what we hear and what are the facts that we hear will probably meet the test and determine whether we get additional witnesses that will help us make a relevant and a fair decision,” Shelby said.
When asked if a witness like John Bolton, Trump’s former national security adviser, would be a relevant witness, Shelby said he “could be,” but maintained that the House’s case is generally weak.
“Well, he could be. He might be. Would he add anything? I don’t know yet. But I would be open to listening to the arguments,” Shelby said.
“And I think that’s the only way to be fair to both sides in this case. I think the House rushed to judgment on this. They could have pursued this a lot longer. But they made a political decision. And I think it’s — they’ve got problems now and they want us to unwind their problems.”
Earlier on the show Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz said that Trump’s actions were not an impeachable offense, which Shelby said he seemed to agree with at this point in time.
“Professor Dershowitz is an esteemed scholar of constitutional law. And he’s followed this and he’s outspoken, and a lot of people follow him. We have a lot of respect for a lot of his opinions. But ultimately, we will make that decision in the Senate,” Shelby said.