#TBT: Collins Wrote Senate Must “Hear the Evidence” But Now She’s Toeing McConnell Line to Move Forward Without Witnesses – What Changed?

Op-Ed with Former Senator Olympia Snowe Pledged to “Review the Facts” — A Standard She Is Not Meeting Now By Backing McConnell Rules

On this day in 1999, Senator Susan Collins published an op-ed with then-Senator Olympia Snowe demanding the Senate “hear the evidence” and pledging to “review the facts” — a standard Senator Collins now falls short of meeting as she sides with Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to move forward without hearing from witnesses. 

Today, WhatChangedSusan.com features excerpts of that op-ed and the DSCC mailed a copy of the op-ed to Senator Collins’ office to give her an opportunity to reread her statements from the time when she advocated for “judicious deliberation and tempered debate” — not “grousing,” “fence-straddling,” and “just vote the way Mitch McConnell and the Republicans in the Senate vote.”

• “Now the Senate must study the Constitution, hear the evidence, apply its measured consideration and make its most informed decision…”

• “If the ultimate outcome is to be credible and justice, it must be the product of judicious deliberation…”

• “We are committed to doing everything we can to review the facts…”

At the time, Senator Collins demanded “‘more evidence’ and ‘witnesses’” to provide “direct testimony” to help Senators get to the truth — but now the Republican process makes no guarantee “the facts” she once called for will be heard. 

“Twenty-one years after urging her colleagues to review the facts, Senator Collins is aligning with Mitch McConnell to back a sham process that could exclude critical evidence and prevent key witnesses with firsthand knowledge from being heard,” said DSCC spokesperson Stewart Boss. “Senator Collins must explain why she’s changed her mind and now refuses to meet the same standards she set for this process in 1999.”

The DSCC launched WhatChangedSusan.com to highlight Senator Collins’ alignment with Mitch McConnell and refusal to set the same standards for a fair impeachment process that she did in 1999. WhatChangedSusan.com will be updated regularly as the impeachment process unfolds. 

Read this release at WhatChangedSusan.com

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