WASHINGTON – The Senate rules for impeachments are being thrown out the window today.
Not only is Senate Democratic Leadership attempting to dismiss an impeachment without trial for the first time, but they’re also not following the basic rules of the Senate, like issuing a “writ of summons” to Secretary Mayorkas.
In every one of the 21 impeachments in American history, the Senate has issued a “writ of summons” to the impeached party requesting either his presence before the Senate or a written response to the charges.
The Senate rules impeachment rules clearly say a writ of summons “shall” be issued, leaving no room for interpretation.
Senator Mike Braun will raise a point of order today and ask Senators to vote to issue this required writ of summons to Secretary Mayorkas to hear his response to the charges that he willfully and systematically refused to comply with the law and broke public trust.
“President Biden and his allies in the Senate are trying to sweep this impeachment under the rug because they don’t want to talk about their open border policy and the Americans who have lost their lives because of it,” said Senator Mike Braun. “They’re breaking even the most basic rules of the Senate to stop the American people from hearing about their catch-and-release program that’s let millions into our country with no right to be here.”
In President Trump’s first impeachment trial, when Republicans controlled the Senate, a writ of summons was issued. President Trump responded with a substantive response to the charges against him for all Senators to consider (see pages 7 to 14).
The U.S. House of Representatives has impeached Secretary Mayorkas on two counts following an extensive, five-phase investigation. Concerning the first Article of Impeachment (catch and release), the Committee demonstrated that Secretary Mayorkas refused to detain illegal immigrants as federal law requires, instead putting forward his catch-and-release program.
