What Comes Next In Trump Impeachment? McConnell Says 'No Chance' Of Senate Conviction

Update 3:30 p.m. EST

President Trump told reporters Friday he "wouldn't mind" a drawn out impeachment process but will do whatever his Republican allies want.

"I’ll do whatever they want to do. It doesn’t matter," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "I wouldn’t mind a long process because I’d like to see the whistleblower, who’s a fraud."

He added: "I’ll do whatever I want. Look, we did nothing wrong. So, I’ll do long or short."

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Original story

Senate Majority Mitch McConnell says it will be up to the White House to determine what type of trial President Donald Trump receives on impeachment charges.

McConnell, R-Ky., said there is “no chance” Trump will be convicted and removed from office.

The House Judiciary Committee voted 23-17 Friday along party lines to approve two articles of impeachment, accusing Trump of abusing the power of his office and blocking Congress from investigating his actions, neither of which is a statutory crime.

McConnell said the Senate has no choice but to take up the charges, and they will be dealt with expeditiously.

“Everything I do during this, I’m coordinating with the White House counsel,” McConnell said on Fox News. “There will be no difference between the president’s position and our position as to how to handle this to the extent that we can.”

Trump is accused of withholding military aid to pressure Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky into investigating former Vice President Joe Biden, Biden’s son, Hunter and Hunters relationship to the Ukraine energy company Burisma, and a debunked conspiracy theory pushed by Moscow that Ukraine, not Russia, was responsible for meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. He also is accused of trying to prevent the House from investigating his conduct by refusing to allow key administration officials to testify and blocking agencies from turning over documents.

House Democrats opted against waiting for court rulings that could have compelled the testimony and documents, deciding to move the process forward quickly. The full House is expected to vote on the articles of impeachment next week.

McConnell said impeachment is not a courtroom exercise but rather is a “political exercise,” even though Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts will preside over the proceedings.

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., last week floated the idea of not calling any witnesses for the trial to keep it from getting “messy.” At the same time, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said he would like to hear from Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who headed the House impeachment investigation, and Hunter Biden.

During Thursday’s House Judiciary Committee debate, Republicans repeatedly brought up the younger Biden, questioning his qualifications for serving on the Burisma Board of Directors, implying that the job was meant a way to influence the vice president and U.S. policy.

Trump has raged against the impeachment process, calling it illegal, a “witch hunt” and “scam,” and earlier this week tweeted it was wrong to impeach a president who presides over a strong economy. He was strangely quiet after Friday’s Judiciary Committee vote. His only reaction was to retweet Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz.