WASHINGTON _ Despite President Donald Trump calling for public witnesses in an expected Senate impeachment trial, White House officials are privately conceding that will be unlikely given signals from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
One White House official told McClatchy that McConnell's calls to avoid a "spectacle" on the Senate floor were an indication that a show trial with public witnesses is not a likely option.
Avoiding witness testimony would also expedite the trial process and provide Republicans with the argument that the Democrats' case supporting articles of impeachment proved thin.
