Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) pressured Republicans to name the specific crime they are accusing President Biden of as they proceed with their impeachment inquiry.
Ocasio-Cortez noted the recent arrest of a former FBI informant for lying to the agency, fabricating the claim that Biden accepted a bribe while vice president to take actions to benefit the Ukrainian energy company his son served on the board of.
“At this point, the story isn’t the fact that the basis of this impeachment inquiry is wrong. The story is, ‘Why it is proceeding anyway?’” she asked, saying Republicans have “no charges.”
“I have yet to hear in the chairman’s opening the allegation that they are specifically charging the president of the United States with. I am hearing about the ‘Biden family.’ I am hearing about this and that. I am not hearing the specific allegation by this committee. What is it? It is not here. And that is the problem,” she said.
It has to do with the traditional rules of how the Senate operates. Senators only get so much time to both ask and receive answers to questions. It’s just too easy for a witness to burn up that time with long winded non-answers. That’s why Senators are quick to grab control back.
That’s why I said, each reply and response should be automatically timed and microphone switched.
Again, witnesses would then be able to spew bullshit non-answers until their allotted time is up. If Senators don’t shut them down, they might as well never have hearings at all - especially with hostile witnesses. Time is also not allotted to the witnesses, it’s allotted to the Senators.
then why have witnesses at all? if the senators are just going to interrupt them and talk over them, why even allow them in the hearing? what’s the point? everyone should be given time to speak.
That’s why Senators from both parties get time to ask questions. The witnesses do get time to say what they want to say but, when they are being evasive, Senators aren’t going to let them burn up valuable time.
There is a ton of actual dysfunction in the Senate, but there are very good reasons why these hearings function as they do. It’s not going to be a pleasant conversation when witnesses are subpoenaed to testify on subjects they would rather avoid. That’s especially true when one side of the isle is completely unconcerned with truth.