WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senator Martha McSally can be heard calling a CNN reporter a "liberal hack" after he asked her a question about considering new evidence in the impeachment trial, according to a video tweetedout by CNN's Senior Congressional Correspondent, Manu Raju.
In the video, Raju can be seen approaching Senator McSally, asking, "Senator McSally, should the Senate consider new evidence as part of the impeachment trial?"
"Manu, you're a liberal hack," Senator McSally replied directly into the reporter's microphone. "I'm not talking to you."
Raju followed up with the Senator, asking again, "You're not going to comment about this?"
Senator McSally replied, "You're a liberal hack."
Q: Senator McSally, should the Senate consider new evidence as part of the impeachment trial?
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) January 16, 2020
McSally: You’re a liberal hack I’m not talking to you
Manu- You’re not going to comment about this?
McSally: You're a liberal hack. pic.twitter.com/IW5pCfZ6Oa
In response to Raju's video, Senator McSally posted a separate video of the same incident on Twitter with the caption, "A) You are. B) Here's the video."
A) you are.
— Martha McSally (@SenMcSallyAZ) January 16, 2020
B) here’s the video. https://t.co/zVgk9pBhdf pic.twitter.com/cfFdotLjFK
As of December 16, 2019, Senator McSally has not been convinced that President Trump should be removed from office, according to a statement from her campaign manager.
"Senator McSally takes her role as a juror seriously but hasn't heard anything so far that would lead her to believe impeachment of the president is warranted, let alone removing him from office," campaign manager Dylan Lefler said in a statement to The Associated Press.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi signed off on sending the articles across the U.S. Capitol to the Senate for only the third such trial in American history.
The move to the Senate takes the case from Pelosi's Democratic-majority House to the Republican-controlled Senate, where the president's team is mounting a defense aiming for swift acquittal.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that the Senate will accept the articles at noon Thursday. At 2 p.m., Chief Justice John Roberts will be seated in the Senate. McConnell said the formal trial will begin on Tuesday.
We've has reached out to Senator McSally's office for comment and have not received a response
