(HorizonPost.com) – Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz blasted Senate Democrats last week after they dismissed the two articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas without holding a trial, accusing them of throwing out 225 years of precedent, The Hill reported.
The House managers delivered the articles of impeachment to the Senate last Tuesday and read them aloud from the Senate chamber.
Just hours after the Senate was sworn in as jurors in Mayorkas’ impeachment trial, the Democrats last Wednesday voted to reject the two articles along party lines 51-48 and 51-49.
Majority Leader Chuck Schumer urged dismissal, arguing that the Republican-led House did not meet “the high standard of high crimes and misdemeanors,” and claiming that holding a trial would set a dangerous precedent.
In an interview with Newsmax’s Greta Van Susteren last Thursday, Senator Cruz said the majority leader was the one who “tossed” over two centuries of precedent by dismissing the impeachment charges without first holding a trial.
Cruz accused Senate Democrats of having no regard for the Constitution or the rule of law.
The Texas Senator noted that the US Senate conducted a trial for each of the 22 times the House voted on articles of impeachment, except in the cases where the individual charged either left office or died.
He explained that the “continuous” 200-year precedent held until last Wednesday when the Senate Democrats chose not to do “their constitutional duty” and permit the trial to move forward.
Cruz suggested that the Democrats dismissed the charges rather than holding a trial because they did not want the American people to hear the evidence laid out by the House managers.
During last week’s vote, the Texas Republican attempted to block Schumer’s dismissal vote by offering a motion to debate the constitutionality of the impeachment articles in a private session. However, the Democrats rejected his motion.
Republicans charged Mayorkas with “breach of public trust” for violating his oath of office and refusing to comply with immigration laws.
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