The House and Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff had better bring their A game to the public impeachment hearings. They need to make a rock-solid case to the public to make it that much harder for Moscow Mitch McConnell and gang in the Senate to summarily dismiss the charges. Which is what Mitch has already indicated he's leaning toward, preemptively acquitting Trump in a statement this week.
As the Senate has to decide how it will proceed with the process, McConnell hasn't even had preliminary discussions with Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer yet about setting the rules they will operate under. "There's no reason we can't come up with an agreement," Schumer told Politico Wednesday. "I'm open to trying to be fair and down the middle and letting the facts come out and be nonpartisan. […] There's no reason we can't come up with good, fair and honest rules." There's no valid reason, but it's McConnell he's dealing with.
Sen. Patrick Leahy, who worked to broker the agreement the Senate used in the Clinton impeachment in 1999, has talked to McConnell, who declined to provide a comment to Politico beyond to say that he's not talked to Schumer. Leahy only says "I talked to the appropriate people. […] The worst thing that could happen to this body—which is important to this country—is we engage in political gamesmanship."
McConnell will have to discuss the procedures and ground rules with Schumer. That much is a given. But that doesn't mean he intends this to be a fair hearing of the case. His mind is made up—Trump won't be removed, no matter what he's done. Which means the case that the House sends to the Senate has to be so strong that McConnell and team pay an extremely high political price for dismissing it.
Moscow Mitch has to be stopped. Please give $1 to our nominee fund to help Democrats and end McConnell's career as majority leader.