impeachment

Callers Leave Sen. Collins Profane Voicemails Over Pending Impeachment Vote

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Sen. Susan Collin, R-Maine, is receiving borderline threatening calls and voicemails ahead of an impeachment vote, according to NBC affiliate News Center Maine, which obtained several of the voicemails.

The callers accuse Collins of protecting President Donald Trump and say the senator is a traitor. A spokesperson for Collins told News Center Maine that one in every 25 calls her office received was targeted, profanity-laced and verges on threatening.

"You're gonna lose, Susan Collins. You're gonna lose. You're just a little b---- for Donald Trump. F--- you," one caller said in a voicemail obtained by News Center Maine. "We want to see the witnesses. We want a fair trial."

The Senate impeachment trial entered the questioning phase on Wednesday. A vote on whether to allow new witnesses to testify in the impeachment trial of Trump is expected later this week.

Collins, New England's sole Republican member of Congress, has taken the stance that she is "likely" to vote in favor of hearing new witnesses like former National Security Advisor John Bolton.

"Certainly, John Bolton is a key figure, and it may well be that he is who I decide needs to be called," Collins said earlier this week.

Fellow Republican Sens. Mitt Romney of Utah and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska have also expressed, to varying degrees, a desire to hear new witnesses testify.

The impeachment trial of President Donald Trump enters a new, two-day phase today: questions and answers. Focus is on the vote that may or may not allow former National Security Advisor John Bolton to testify in light of his explosive new claims outlined in an upcoming book. Only four Republican senators are needed to allow his testimony.

A moderate Republican finishing her fourth term in the Senate, Collins is seen as particularly vulnerable to losing in the 2020 election. Her state is balanced between the two parties, and Democrats have been pushing to oust her since she voted to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Maine's other senator — Angus King, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats — has said he would like to hear from Bolton.

"I can't imagine anyone voting not to after what we heard," he said.

Even so, King doubted pressure of any kind would factor into Collins' decision-making.

"I don't believe Susan Collins reacts to pressure," he said.

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