I took a look at the Senate rules for “Rules for Impeachment Trials” at Cornell.edu. It seems that the Presiding Officer has tremendous discretion in a trial — power to determine what’s relevant, compel witnesses, etc.. Some diarists have worried that McConnell will use his power to gum up the works. However, McConnell isn’t the Presiding Officer of the Senate. That would be …. Mike Pence, the Vice President. Get your popcorn ready.
Even better, during Clinton’s impeachment, Chief Justice Rehnquist was Presiding Officer of the Senate, according to WikiPedia. So it sounds like John Roberts would be the one making all the rules on a trial, if the House voted to impeach.
Karma is a …..
Is my interpretation correct? Would Chief Justice Roberts become the “Presiding Officer” like Rehnquist, and take over from McConnell? If that is the case, Trump may regret some old tweets …