Boozman, Cotton present questions

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. John Boozman of Rogers and Tom Cotton of Dardanelle teamed up to ask questions last week during the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump.

On Wednesday afternoon, Cotton submitted a question on behalf of himself, Boozman and others.

“Did the House bother to seek testimony or litigate executive privilege issues during the month … it held up the impeachment articles before sending them to the Senate?” it stated.

One of the president’s attorneys Patrick Philbin answered. “No, the House did not seek to litigate any of the privilege issues during that time.”

In fact, the House sought to prevent litigation that had already been filed from going forward, he said.

On Thursday afternoon, it was Boozman who submitted a question on behalf of Cotton and several other colleagues.

It asked: “How would acquitting the president prevent voters from making an informed decision in the 2020 presidential election?”

White House counsel Pat Cipollone argued that acquittal wouldn’t be a hindrance.

When it comes to picking a president, he said, “let’s leave it to the people of the United States. Let’s trust them.”

House Manager Adam Schiff, D-Calif., disagreed, telling senators that Trump had sought foreign interference in the 2020 election. “President Trump must be removed from office because of his ongoing abuse of power. It threatens the integrity of the next election,” Schiff said.

U.S. Rep. French Hill, a Republican from Little Rock, sat in on two portions of last week’s question-and-answer sessions. He made a third trip to the chamber so that he could hear arguments presented by retired Harvard Law School professor Alan Dershowitz.