Do we need witnesses or good questions?

Chuck Schumer is trying one of his usual stunts.  We need results, not attempts at electoral grandstanding by Democratic leadership. This tactic is why it took two extra years to raise taxes on the rich. They saved the vote until October 2010 for maximum impact. It never happened. It should have been job one in 2009, forcing money from savings to consumption.  This is also why Kavanaugh is on the Court. Trying to get an FBI investigation rather than having minority staff join with the majority questioning.  We need to get the President out, not oust Moscow Mitch at all cost - he is gone anyway. Trust the voters.

We have heard from the essential witnesses already. We can have them testify again on camera, giving the Trump side their turn to ask questions. Bolton could be added, but his comments related by Fiona Hill calling the Ukraine affair a drug deal are adequate. He can saved for the Trump criminal trial.

Ambassador Gary Sondland, Dr. Hill and Mark Sandy are the obvious first witnesses. Even better would be someone from SDNY to testify about the Firtash-Parnas-Giuliani money trail and whether Rudy was Trump's lawyer or his handler. The question of funding Trump's Super PAC (and who was funded) should also be part of the record. The Intelligence Committee needs to cancel Christmas and hear these folks (this is likely the plan already).

The Senate need not hear from Mulvaney. He is a target, not a witness. So are Blair and Duffy.

We need more on why Trump may have thought that he had done a "perfect" phone call. The truth is, it was perfect. Trump was looking for an excuse to not fund Ukraine at all. As it was, it took until the last day to free the aid. Without the whistleblower, Putin would have gotten the result Russia really wanted. Trump did not count on being impeached for the cover story.

That is the question for impeachment. As President, Trump has latitude to base U.S. foreign policy on what Putin wants. The question for Republican Senators and voters is whether having a President who has those allegiances (and likely still wants his Trump Moscow Tower) is working for himself or the nation.

If the GOP Senators likes Putin more than the Deep State (the House GOP seems to), they can certainly give Trump a pass. But it needs to be made clear that this is the question that is at stake, not whether Trump wanted Zelensky to validate his views for Fox News.