Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, on Thursday said the Senate does not need to hear from witnesses before voting on President Donald Trump's impeachment.
"First of all, I don't think we need witnesses, but right now we ought to open it and hear the prosecution from the House of Representatives, we ought to hear the president's defense, and at that point, you would see about witnesses," Grassley told Fox Business Network's "Mornings With Maria," when asked about his reaction to Trump's impeachment.
When asked who he would want to hear from, Grassley said, "I don't want to hear from any of them. What I want to do is determine whether or not the two articles of impeachment that the House of Representatives sent over are a legitimate reason for putting our president out of office, and I'm going to measure it against the Constitution."
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., stated his opposition to hearing from witnesses during a long speech on the Senate floor Thursday morning, which prompted Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to ask if he was "afraid of witnesses and documents," according to The Hill.