Sen. Alexander: If you start with partisan impeachment, you’re destined to have partisan acquittal

Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, talks to reporters as he arrives at the Capitol for the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, in Washington, Friday, Jan. 31, 2020. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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UPDATED 12:05 PM PT — Sunday, February 2, 2020

Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander said he had a “light bulb moment” when contemplating his vote to call witnesses in the Senate impeachment trial. During a recent interview, Alexander said he realized the Senate should not be the one to decide who does and doesn’t run for president in 2020.

“It struck me really for the first time,” he said. “We’re not just being asked, we’re saying, ‘Tell him he can’t run in the 2020 elections.’”

Alexander said the American people are the ones who should have the power, which is why he voted ‘no’ on Friday.

“It’s up to the American people to say, ‘Okay, good economy, lower taxes, conservative judges, behavior that I might not like, call to Ukraine…,’” he said. “(They can) weigh that against Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and pick a president.”

President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Drake University, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2020, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

The senator added after so many hours and so much information, he also didn’t need more evidence to make his decision. He said he was positive the president’s actions were not impeachable.

When asked if the Senate’s partisan vote will set a dangerous precedent, Alexander said, “If you start out with a partisan impeachment, you’re almost destined to have a partisan acquittal.” However, he pointed out the Senate made sure to do its due diligence.

“I helped make sure that we didn’t dismiss it, we heard it. There were some who wanted to dismiss it. I helped make sure that we had a right to ask for more evidence, if we needed it, which we thought we didn’t. We saw video tapes of 192 times that witnesses testified, we sat there for 11 to 12 hour days for nine days. So, I think we heard the case pretty well.” – Lamar Alexander, U.S. Senator (R-TN.)

Moving forward, Alexander was confident the Senate will acquit the president in their final vote this week. He added impeachment should only be used as an extremely rare tool for grave bipartisan concerns.

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