Durbin: Democrats and Republicans have ‘gone too far’ saying how they’ll vote before impeachment trial

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said on Sunday that senators on both sides of the aisle should not be commenting on how they’ll vote at the end of the looming Senate impeachment trial before the process concludes. 

“I’m going to take an oath of office when it comes to this impeachment on the floor of the Senate,” Durbin said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

“In that, I promise impartial justice, so help me God, and I want to stick by that,” he added. “I basically want to hear the evidence, read the documents, make a decision that’s right for America.” 

{mosads}CNN’s Dana Bash asked Durbin if “it is a mistake” for his colleagues to come out in support of President Trump’s removal before the trial, referencing a handful of senators, mainly Democrats running for president, who have said they will vote in favor of the president’s removal. 

“I really think it is,” Durbin responded. “I think they’ve gone too far.”

“How can they hold their hands up and say, ‘I swear impartial justice?'” he said. “They should not have done that.”

“As far as I’m concerned, they can tell which way they’re leaning or how they feel in terms of the probability, but when it comes to saying, ‘I’ve made up my mind. It’s all over’ … that’s not what the Constitution envisioned,” Durbin said. 

He also called out Republicans who have suggested they will not be impartial jurors in the process. 

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said he will be in “total coordination” with the White House, and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said he is ready to vote against Trump’s removal before the process even enters the upper chamber.