Senate Democrat Suggests He Could Vote To Acquit Donald Trump If Impeachment ‘Dots Aren’t Connected’
President Donald Trump and his Republican allies await the upcoming U.S. Senate trial to determine if the impeachment case brought against the president by the House of Representatives will result in his removal from the White House. At least one Democratic senator has publicly suggested he could rule in favor of Trump, depending on the evidence presented against him.
According to The Washington Examiner, Alabama Sen. Doug Jones sent ripples through the upper chamber on Sunday after stating during an interview on ABC’s This Week that unless he sees the “dots get connected” in the House impeachment case, he could break with his party.
“I have been trying to see if the dots get connected. If that is the case, then I think it’s a serious matter, and I think it’s an impeachable matter. But if those dots aren’t connected and there are other explanations that are consistent with innocence, I will go that way, too,” Jones said.
His response came after ABC host Martha Raddatz questioned Jones on a previous prediction made by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, in which he said that there could be multiple Democrat defectors in the Senate’s impeachment trial.
Before explaining his thoughts on dot connecting, Jones also said he had “no idea what Mitch McConnell is talking about,” with regard to potential Democrat senators who may be planning to vote against Trump’s removal from the Oval Office.
“I think these are really serious allegations,” Jones added.
Jones could fall into a group of vulnerable politicians, come November of 2020, who naturally would have greater hesitation in voting against the president if they come from districts or states heavily won by Trump in the 2016 presidential election. Jones represents Alabama, which Trump won by a staggering 30 points in 2016 against Hillary Clinton.
While Jones may be one of few Senate Democrats who could vote against removing the president, former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld, a Republican presidential primary challenger to Trump in 2020, recently predicted that a number of Republican senators could break from the party and vote with Democrats to remove Trump, as reported by The Inquisitr.
“I wouldn’t want to get quoted,” Weld said when asked for more detail. “I don’t even like to ask someone to do something which is not in their political self-interest. But yeah, I would say there are four to six votes for removal right now.”
Currently, the articles of impeachment still hasn’t been transmitted to the Senate by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Given that both chambers are currently on holiday recess, the soonest Americans could see a trial take place will be sometime in January.
