Ted Cruz explains how a Democratic 'stunt' backfired and helped cement Trump's acquittal

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has revealed how a Democratic "stunt" ensured that new witnesses would not be called during President Donald Trump's impeachment trial.

 

Speaking on the latest episode of his podcast "The Verdict," Cruz explained that Democrats sought to compromise the integrity of the Supreme Court via a question from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) that challenged the credibility of Chief Justice John Roberts.

Warren asked on Thursday:

At a time when large majorities of Americans have lost faith in government, does the fact that the chief justice is presiding over an impeachment trial in which Republican senators have thus far refused to allow witnesses or evidence contribute to the loss of legitimacy of the chief justice, the Supreme Court, and the Constitution?

The questioned earned Warren a stern glare from Roberts, who presided over the trial.

But according to Cruz, the question also triggered the moment that two moderate Republicans — Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) — decided to vote against allowing new witnesses.

"What the Democrats were trying to do, if we'd have been 50-50, the Democrats were trying to go after the U.S. Supreme Court," Cruz said. "They would've tried to make John Roberts decide, and whatever he did, it would have been viewed through a political lens."

Cruz continued, "Elizabeth Warren helped defeat the impeachment of the president of the United States."

"That stunt helped deliver the votes of Lisa and Lamar," Cruz explained.

What Warren did, Cruz said, was prove to Alexander and Murkowski that Democrats viewed the trial as a "political game" that would end with Democrats politicizing the Supreme Court.

Indeed, after Warren's "stunt," Alexander announced Thursday evening that he would not vote for new witnesses.

Murkowski later announced on Friday that she would also vote against new witnesses, citing Democrats who wanted to "politicize this process, and drag the Supreme Court into the fray, while attacking the Chief Justice."

Because the Senate ultimately voted against allowing new witnesses, Trump will likely be acquitted by Wednesday.