After a last-minute decision calling for witnesses, House Democrats ultimately decided to cut a deal because of the unpredictability of how that would turn out and fears that doing so could backfire and undermine their case, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the discussions.
Democrats didn't make a decision to call Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler to testify until shortly before the proceedings began Saturday morning, sources said. They ultimately settled on submitting her statement to the record as long as former President Trump's attorney made a public statement agreeing to submit it as evidence.
The reason: They believed that pushing forward with her testimony would add little beyond her statement and could potentially cost them GOP support, while dragging out the proceedings further.
The sources told CNN that Democrats were uncertain how Herrera Beutler's testimony would come across after she was subject to cross examination, with some concerns that she could potentially undercut their case if there were holes in her account.
Moreover, if they called other witnesses, it could also backfire. For instance, House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy could provide testimony that defended Trump, undermining what they believe is a rock-solid case that Trump incited the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol, the sources said.
Plus witnesses would not ultimately change GOP senators' minds, they concluded, while hearing from witnesses could bog down the Senate for weeks and imperil President Joe Biden's agenda.
With Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Angus King of Maine, who are two centrist members of the Senate Democratic caucus, telling CNN that there needed to be an equal number of witnesses on both sides, that meant that the trial could be delayed for an indefinite period, perhaps weeks.
And with a weeks-long delay, it could threaten Democrats' ability to advance Biden's agenda since they need consent from Republicans to schedule votes on nominees and other matters. With no consent, the Senate could be in a state of gridlock because Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer would be forced to take procedural steps to overcome an objection, a process that takes days for each objection.
Moreover, Democrats are pushing hard to get a massive Covid-19 relief package done within weeks, and a trial could distract from that effort.
Ultimately, the team decided that if they went forward with witnesses, it could potentially alienate Senate Republicans, causing them to shed some support, rather than gain any more supporters for conviction.
