Senator's mismatched shoes reflect a chaotic day in Trump impeachment trial
Sen. Tina Smith, a Democrat from Minnesota, shared Saturday that she wore a pair of mismatching shoes to the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump – seeming to match the tone of the day’s trial proceedings.
“Think I had a lot on my mind this morning,” Smith tweeted Saturday morning along with a picture of her shoes, where she wore black flats on her left foot and a gold flat on her right. Smith shared this picture just before day four of the impeachment trial began.
Smith’s mismatched shoes seems to be reflective of the chaos of the latest day of the trial as several senators erupted in laughter in response to Michael van der Veen, one of Trump’s defense attorneys, after he insisted that the witness depositions be done in his office in Philadelphia.
Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the presiding officer of the impeachment trial, scolded the chamber for their outburst and used Chief Justice Robert’s words reminding the senators to “refrain from using language that is not conducive to civil discourse.”
To further reflect Smith’s unintended statement of the day, the Senate voted 55-45 to call witnesses during the trial, a decision that shocked senators of both parties after lawmakers expected no witnesses.
Day four: Senate votes 55-45 to subpoena witnesses in Trump trial, likely extending proceedings
The vote on witnesses took place after lead House manager Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., asked to call Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Wash., as a witness, calling her conversation with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy “an additional critical piece of evidence.”
Lawmakers and Trump's lawyers later reached a deal to instead enter a statement from Herrera Beutler into the record.
After weeks of criticizing the trial and his Democrat colleagues, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a close ally to the former president, surprised many with his vote with Democrats to approve calling witnesses in the trial.
“It is my firm belief that the House Managers are trying to investigate the case AFTER it was brought to the Senate. It is better for the country to go to a final vote. However, if the body wants witnesses, I am going to insist we have multiple witnesses,” Graham said Saturday in a series of tweets.