A CNN political analyst scoffed at the idea that Republicans could call on Hunter Biden to testify in the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump.

Foreign policy columnist Josh Rogin pushed back on the idea presented in a recent Washington Post op-ed which argued that Democrats should accept the idea of Republicans calling in anyone they wish to testify in a potential Senate trial.

(Video: CNN)

The opinion piece argued that “Democrats should welcome everyone, from Hunter Biden, to former Democratic National Committee staffer Alexandra Chalupa, who Trump and the White House claim was central to a conspiracy around Ukraine and the 2016 elections.”

CNN anchor Kate Bolduan, who was sitting in for Brooke Baldwin on “CNN Newsroom,” asked panelists about “the chess game of strategy” that is unfolding with the process after House Democrats voted, nearly unanimously, to impeach the president on charges of obstruction of Congress and abuse of power.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been sitting on the articles of impeachment since the vote by the House on Dec. 19. She has been criticized for trying to manipulate the process by not sending the articles to the Senate as expected in an attempt to affect how the trial will be conducted.

RNC communications director Doug Heye countered Bolduan’s characterization of the “chess game” strategy as Republicans weigh whether or not to call in witnesses in Trump’s impeachment trial in the Senate.

“Donald Trump doesn’t play chess, he plays checkers,” Heye said, contending Trump can secure an advantage through his simple and straightforward approach. “He’s making very simple moves, very simple decisions.”

Bolduan then asked Rogin about his thoughts on whether the Democrats think they have “nothing to lose” with a move to bring in any witnesses.

“Do you think — from what you hear from Democrats, do you think Democrats think they have nothing to lose with a move like that? What does it mean for Joe Biden?” she asked.

“Listen, I don’t think Trump is playing chess or checkers, I think he’s playing Hungry Hungry Hippos,” Rogin replied.

“I get why the President wants a circus, right? A circus is a circus. It’s good for him, everyone gets confused, we end up talking about Hunter Biden,” he added.

“That’s not good for the Democrats. There’s no way that’s good for the Democrats. They should not want that,” Rogin continued. “They’re calling for real witnesses, right. We’re going to have a trial of the president where the five people who actually know what happened will never be hard from? Does that make any sense?”

“Once we start going off to Hunter Biden, what’s next? The Crowd Strike guy, Diamond and Silk?” he asked.

“Of course that’s good for the president and bad for Democrats. I think McConnell thinks it’s bad for Republicans, too,” Rogin asserted.  “Like we said before, I guess Trump will have his way as long at Republicans refuse to stand up to this.”

As for Diamond and Silk? It looks like they had a very Merry Christmas indeed.

Merry Christmas! pic.twitter.com/reev5MHwrF

— Diamond and Silk® (@DiamondandSilk) December 25, 2019

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Frieda Powers

Senior Staff Writer
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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.

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