Americans expect and deserve a fair and transparent impeachment trial. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is attempting to deny the country even the pretense of a fair trial. The Senate owes the nation a legitimate trial of President Trump who was impeached by the House of Representatives for abusing the power of his office to deny critical military aid to an U.S. ally in an attempt to coerce them into launching an unwarranted investigation of his political rival Joe Biden. The trial proposal floated by Sen. McConnell would amount to nothing more than a fact-free sham trial perpetrated in the dead of night.

Americans expect and deserve federal agencies that are able to do their jobs free of White House intimidation. Today’s Government Accountability Office (GAO) report is a simple interpretation of the law, stating that the White House broke the law by withholding congressionally mandated military aid for Ukraine. But it took courage to issue that report in the face of a disturbing pattern of intimidation and retribution that the Trump Administration has unleashed against any and all critics.

Keeping reporters in pens and severely restricting their access to Senators comes across as nothing more than a blatant attempt to limit transparency and Member accountability in what Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has billed as a show trial to ostensibly “clear” President Trump of any wrongdoing. The American people deserve a transparent impeachment trial, but this is one more attempt to deny that to them. These are reporters who interact with Members of Congress every day in the halls of Congress and penning reporters looks like a dog-and-pony show to allow Senators to dodge tough questions.

Former Trump Administration national security advisor John Bolton’s willingness to testify highlights the need for witness testimony if the Senate is to hold a fair impeachment trial of Donald Trump. In the face of threats by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to move forward with the trial without Democratic support, Common Cause today urged every member of the Senate to commit to a fair and unbiased trial of President Trump – including calling witnesses and returning campaign funds raised for them by the President who will be the defendant on trial. The letter emphasizes that Senators who do not return those campaign contributions should recuse themselves from the trial.

At a time of deep partisan divide in Washington, Congress deserves credit for allocating significant additional resources for election security in the face of ongoing attacks on our election infrastructure by hostile foreign governments. This $425 million can be put to good use toward critical contingency plans for the 2020 elections should election systems fail due to foreign interference. As national intelligence agencies have warned the attacks on our election infrastructure are ongoing.

The American people deserve a fair trial of the impeached and disgraced President in the United States Senate – not a show trial to attempt to excuse the abuses of office which led to President Trump’s impeachment. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his GOP colleagues must put the interests of the nation before the interests of their political party. If Senator McConnell honestly believes that President Trump is innocent of the high crimes for which he was impeached by the House then he should agree a fair trial.