Fredericks in the News: Trump agrees not to press Senate Republicans for immediate dismissal of charges

Truncated from Washington Examiner report

“When it comes to Republican voters, it’s clear,” said Sen. Mike Braun of Indiana. “They would like an early dismissal.”

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts would preside over an impeachment trial, with broad discretion over motions offered by individual senators, who otherwise have minimal influence over the proceedings. A majority of senators are empowered to vote to overrule a decision by Roberts, although that could be a tall order for Republicans. As many as five of them, but at least three of them, are running for reelection in 2020 in states that could vote to oust Trump.

Trump’s voting base can accept Senate Republicans’ internal political limitations, said John Fredericks, a conservative talk radio host in Virginia, if they help the president offer an aggressive defense. Indeed, Trump loyalists are excited about the possibility of a trial where the president can make his case.

But they expect Senate Republicans to be full participants, calling witnesses that the GOP base believes would support Trump’s claims that former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter are corrupt and deserve to be investigated. Democratic allegations against Trump center around a July 25 call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in which the president asked his counterpart to investigate the Bidens.

In other words, the base expects Hunter Biden, at least, to be called as a witness. Whether there are 51 Republican votes to satisfy that demand is unclear.

“What most Trump voters want is for their belief in the president to be justified — and for him to be exonerated,” Fredericks said. “The base wants to hear from the Bidens and wants them to be asked legitimate questions.”

Read the full report from the The Washington Examiner.