Impeachment manager says senators should vote for witnesses as a ‘favor’ to the country

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), a House manager presenting the impeachment case against President Trump, on Sunday urged senators to vote to compel witnesses and documents as part of his trial in the upper chamber, saying it would be a “favor” to the country. 

“I think the country wants a complete picture, the senators have an opportunity to do it,” she said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” 

“I think they would be doing themself a favor, as well as the country a favor.” 

The Senate will likely vote early this week on whether to call witnesses and documents as part of the impeachment trial. If all Senate Democrats vote to do so, they’ll need four Republicans to join them to be successful. 

At least three Senate Republicans have signaled they may support calling witnesses, and CNN’s Jake Tapper asked Lofgren if she sees a fourth somewhere. 

Lofgren did not directly name a potential fourth supportive GOP senator, but suggested she is hopeful senators will make the call for witnesses. 

“As I speak, and as I sit there, I find myself looking at the senators, a lot of them I served with when they were in the House, and wondering what’s going through their minds as they here this pretty overwhelming evidence from the House and then the president’s folks come in really not disputing what we put together in our evidence, and wondering if they might want to get a little more to nail this down,” Logfren said. 

“I hope they would this is a very serious case about whether the president is posing a threat,” she added. 

Lofgren also defended the House’s decision to vote on the articles of impeachment without trying to obtain the witnesses through the courts.

The process would have taken years and the issue would be “almost moot,” she said. 

She noted that in the Senate trial, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts could approve subpoenas for witnesses to testify and senators could get additional information without waiting.