Tina Smith: “Thank you. Mr. Chief Justice, I send a question to the desk. The CHIEF JUSTICE. Thank you. The question from Senator…”

“Thank you. Mr. Chief Justice, I send a question to the desk. The CHIEF JUSTICE. Thank you. The question from Senator Smith is to the House managers: The President has stated multiple times in public that his actions were perfect--yet he refuses to allow Bolton, Mulvaney, and others to testify under oath. If the President's actions are so perfect, why wouldn't he allow fact witnesses to testify under oath about what he has said publicly? Mr. Manager SCHIFF. Well, the short answer is, if the President were so confident that this was a perfect call and that those around him would agree that there was nothing nefarious going on, he would want witnesses to come and testify. But, of course, he doesn't. He doesn't want his former National Security Advisor to testify. He doesn't want his current Chief of Staff to testify. He doesn't want those that were heading OMB to testify. He doesn't want you to hear from any of them. Now, I think that is pretty indicative that he knows what they have to say and he doesn't want you to hear what they have to say. He doesn't want you to see any of the myriad of documents that he has been withholding from this body as he did from the House. But I also want to address the last question, if I could. Is the Chief Justice empowered under the Senate rules to adjudicate questions of witnesses and privilege? And the answer is yes. Can the Chief Justice make those determinations quickly? The answer is yes.…”