On Friday, Senate Chaplain Barry Black opened the impeachment trial for President Donald Trump with a forceful, eloquent prayer. Black involved the Bible, reminding Senators that what they do will have eternal consequences — if not here in this life than perhaps in the one to come.
It’s quite a moment, helped immensely by Black’s stirring baritone.
Senate chaplain: "Remind our senators that they alone are accountable to you for their conduct. Lord help them to remember, that they can't ignore you and get away with it. For we always reap what we sow." pic.twitter.com/CNOk5S34dc
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) January 31, 2020
The trial will likely be a brief one, as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell appears to have enough votes to block new witnesses from testifying, including barring an alleged bombshell from former National Security Advisor John Bolton confirming that Trump attempted to link foreign aid to Ukraine to an announced investigation of former Vice President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden.
While Democrats hoped that Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander might break ranks with the Republican Party and call for witnesses, Alexander announced that he would not do so on Thursday, saying he did not believe Trump’s actions, while “inappropriate”, did not rise to the level of impeachable offense.
Senator Marco Rubio of Florida issued a similar statement on Friday, writing that “just because actions meet a standard of impeachment does not mean it is in the best interest of the country to remove a President from office.”
