The real problem with McConnell's impeachment rules

How the Senate Majority Leader has already succeeded in derailing the case against Trump

Mitch McConnell.
(Image credit: Illustrated | Getty Images, iStock)

The principle behind guaranteeing a speedy trial is that the accused, then presumed innocent, should not endlessly languish behind bars for a crime he perhaps did not commit. But those ignorant of the concept might be forgiven if, first introduced to it via the rules proposed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) for President Trump's impeachment trial, they came away convinced it meant the proceedings must be done at double time, charging toward a verdict even if it requires marching straight through the night.

McConnell's proposed rules, to be voted on after amendments and debate Tuesday evening, have two chief features, of which the compressed timeline is but one. His dictate that each side — the House impeachment managers and the president's defense team — will have 24 total hours, to be used within three calendar days (up from the initially suggested two), to present their respective cases has won him the title "Midnight Mitch" as well as accusations of willfully obscuring the trial's content from the American people, most of whom (quite sensibly) will not track its proceedings at the very late or very early hours this schedule may necessitate.

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Bonnie Kristian

Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.