Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, a member of the GOP leadership, has been making a novel argument that has surely never been tested before -- that the four Democratic senators running for president have a conflict of interest in judging the impeachment of President Trump.
"You have on the other side of the aisle, you have Elizabeth Warren who's running for president, Bernie Sanders is running for president, Amy Klobuchar, Michael Bennet -- all of them running for president," Barrasso told reporters.
"They're going to be asked to vote to remove from the ballot the person who is the most likely and most formidable and most well-funded opponent," Barrasso said. "So to me, there is this inherent conflict of interest."
He hasn't said what he would do about it, and Trump's legal team has not brought it up.
It's not clear that they could do anything about it, since the candidacy of senators weighing an impeachment is not something spelled out in rules.
There will be a chance for senators to make motions, and Barrasso could conceivably craft something to offer up then, but he has not suggested he will.
Other Republicans have seemed more interested in moving things along, and have resisted attempts to curtail Democratic rights. The caucus forced Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to back down from plans to exclude the impeachment evidence House Democrats generated and to give the Democrats just two days to make their case.
Still, the Wyomingite has raised the issue several times, so it's clearly on his mind.
UPDATE:
Asked specifically about making a motion related to the candidate senators, Barrasso said Friday night that he had not actually looked into it.
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