Any senator claiming to be seeking the truth during the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump should be open to the idea of calling former National Security Adviser John Bolton and acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney to testify, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said Tuesday.
"I think all the momentum is in favor of calling relevant fact witnesses because the purpose of a trial is to get to the truth about what happened," Van Hollen told Fox News' "America's Newsroom."
He said, in addition to Sens. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, other Republicans have expressed the view it would be important to get fact witnesses before the Senate, and it will be a "major test" about whether Republicans want a fair trial to proceed.
"Everyone in America knows that when you have a trial and it's a fair trial, people get to call relevant fact witnesses and get relevant documents," Van Hollen said.
He noted, on the first day of the trial, he proposed Chief Justice John Roberts, who had been nominated by a Republican president, should make a ruling for requests on documents and role witnesses.
"As to whether or not it will provide material evidence to get to the truth in the trial – I was very disappointed when Republicans voted that down," Van Hollen said. "I may renew that motion at this point in the trial because it provides a way to address the issue and make sure it's dealt with impartially."
Meanwhile, calls to bring Hunter Biden to testify is the "sideshow" of the trial, he said.
"With respect to taking a position on the board, Hunter Biden has conceded that was a mistake," Van Hollen said. "There has been zero evidence of any legal wrongdoing, and certainly no evidence that Vice President [Joe] Biden acted inappropriately here."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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