A look from @jamiegangel and me at the behind-the-scenes lobbying effort by influential Republicans to get GOP senators to vote to convict Trump.
There's even a 9-point memo circulating among Republicans in DC. https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/22/politics/mcconnell-trump-impeachment-conviction-republicans/index.html
There's even a 9-point memo circulating among Republicans in DC. https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/22/politics/mcconnell-trump-impeachment-conviction-republicans/index.html
"Mitch said to me he wants Trump gone," one Republican member of Congress told CNN. "It is in his political interest to have him gone. It is in the GOP interest to have him gone. The question is, do we get there?" https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/22/politics/mcconnell-trump-impeachment-conviction-republicans/index.html
"There were 10 House Republicans who voted for impeachment. There were probably over 150 who supported it," said Charlie Dent, a former Republican congressman and CNN contributor. https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/22/politics/mcconnell-trump-impeachment-conviction-republicans/index.html
Former federal judge J. Michael Luttig's Jan. 12 op-ed arguing it would be unconstitutional to impeach a former prez is making rounds w/GOP Senators.
"I think a lot of people would like a reason not to convict," said a former Republican Senate staffer. https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/22/politics/mcconnell-trump-impeachment-conviction-republicans/index.html
"I think a lot of people would like a reason not to convict," said a former Republican Senate staffer. https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/22/politics/mcconnell-trump-impeachment-conviction-republicans/index.html
But also making the rounds with Republicans is the set of talking points, which charges that "it is difficult to find a more anti-conservative outburst by a U.S. president than Donald Trump the last two months." https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/22/politics/mcconnell-trump-impeachment-conviction-republicans/index.html
An important point that @jamiegangel and I found in our reporting is that this effort to influence GOP senators is not coordinated and is coming from lots of different people in the party -- from donors to current and former Hill staffers. https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/22/politics/mcconnell-trump-impeachment-conviction-republicans/index.html
Because of this diffuse lobbying effort, there's not a lot of confidence from the sources I spoke with that conviction is likely. The one factor giving these Republicans hope? @LeaderMcConnell's signaling in recent days that he may vote to convict. https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/22/politics/mcconnell-trump-impeachment-conviction-republicans/index.html
The ongoing Republican whisper campaign, according to more than a dozen sources who spoke to CNN, is based on a shared belief that a successful conviction is critical for the future of the Republican party. https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/22/politics/mcconnell-trump-impeachment-conviction-republicans/index.html
An opposing view from @GrahamBlog on Fox.
"If you're wanting to erase Donald Trump from the party, you're going to get erased...This idea of moving forward without Donald Trump in the Republican Party is a disaster for the Republican Party." https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/22/politics/mcconnell-trump-impeachment-conviction-republicans/index.html
"If you're wanting to erase Donald Trump from the party, you're going to get erased...This idea of moving forward without Donald Trump in the Republican Party is a disaster for the Republican Party." https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/22/politics/mcconnell-trump-impeachment-conviction-republicans/index.html