Republicans overseeing impeachment trial got campaign cash from DT legal team.

https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2020/01/senators-overseeing-impeachment-got-campaign-cash-from-trump-team/?fbclid=IwAR2n4xICAG0Ji0k9BSKHfBPTPrqd6BT044iOElqieFNbvJ4Xb4dP8xA1WnI#utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=r%2F_senators-overseeing-impeachment-01%2F27%2F20

Former independent counsels Ken Starr and Robert Ray, who investigated then-President Bill Clinton around the time of his impeachment, each made large campaign contributions to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) last year before joining Trump’s legal team.

Starr, who on Monday lambasted what he called the “age of impeachment” before the Senate, gave $2,800 to McConnell in July 2019. Just after House Democrats launched an impeachment inquiry in September, Ray gave McConnell $5,600, the maximum allowed for the primary and general elections. OpenSecrets couldn’t identify any other federal contributions from the two during the 2020 cycle.

Before the impeachment trial started, McConnell said he would work in “total coordination” with the White House on impeachment tactics, prompting backlash from Senate Democrats and one crucial Republican. The Republican-led Senate is expected to acquit Trump on charges that he abused the presidency by withholding aid from Ukraine in exchange for an investigation into his political opponents. Following revelations reportedly uncovered in a manuscript written by former national security adviser John Bolton, some Republicans may join Democrats in calling for witnesses to testify.

Among Starr’s other political contributions, he gave $2,700 to Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) in 2017. Graham has emerged as one of Trump’s staunchest allies in the Senate, but he indicated Monday he’s interested in seeing what Bolton wrote in the manuscript.