At Thursday's Senate Democrats' press conference, Chuck Schumer was asked if he was considering a "trade" of Hunter or Joe Biden as a witness in exchange for the witnesses Democrats have demanded testify in Trump's impeachment trial. Roll Call:
“We don’t need to have witnesses that have nothing to do with this,” he said at a Senate Democrats news conference, calling those suggestions “a distraction.”
Pressed on whether he’s at all open to cutting a witness deal with Republicans, Schumer said, “Right now we haven’t heard them wanting any witnesses at all.”
Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy, speaking with reporters after the news conference, said talk of a witness deal is being overblown by the media.
“That’s not a conversation that’s happening between Republicans and Democrats,” he said. “We’re not in the business of trading away relevant witnesses for, you know, reelection gambits of the president. We should be talking about witnesses that have direct knowledge of the events at the foundation of the case by the House.”