Senator Joe Manchin, a Democrat from West Virginia, has voted with Trump more than once including voting to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Now, the Senator has stated that he is open to Trump’s defense arguments signaling he could vote against removing President Trump.
According to Fox News:
Moderate Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., indicated to CNN on Saturday that he is open to the arguments from President Trump’s defense team in the impeachment trial.
After an abbreviated session Saturday in which Trump’s defense lawyers essentially presented a preview of their case, which they are expected to resume Monday, Manchin told CNN’s Manu Raju he thought the lawyers did a “good job.”
“One thing that stuck in my mind is they said there isn’t a witness they have had so far that had direct contact with the president,” Manchin told Raju.
Asked if he’s thinking about acquittal, Manchin said: “I’ll be very impartial til the end.”
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) January 25, 2020
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The day before, the notoriously unreliable voter for Democrats told Fox News that he would not make a decision on whether he will vote to convict and remove Trump until after both sides have made their cases and senators have had a chance to ask questions.
Manchin has stated that he wants to hear from Mulvaney and Bolton and is troubled by President Trump withholding aid to Ukraine, an ally.
