Rick Santorum smacked down by CNN panel for trying to suggest McConnell's rigged impeachment rules are Pelosi's fault

On CNN Monday, former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) tried to change the subject from the rigged impeachment rules package introduced by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and the rest of the panel had none of it.

"I think it's a perversion of the process used with Bill Clinton," said analyst Gloria Borger. "It's a joke. You want people to sit there 12 hours a day and listen to this rather than splitting it up, as was with Clinton, to six or so hours a day? Just because the president of the United States would like to have this done conveniently by the State of the Union."

"Do you think there might have been some motive that Nancy Pelosi held this for a month to be approximate to the State of the Union?" suggested Santorum.

"Nancy Pelosi was trying to find out what the rules were going to be," snapped back Borger. "Mitch McConnell was going to keep them in his back pocket until the final day anyway."

"Rick, even if she turned over the articles earlier, they couldn't have started the trial before now," pointed out chief legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin. "They were on Christmas vacation."

"Oh, look. They would have started it earlier. This could have been done in an orderly way," whined Santorum. "Nancy Pelosi forced a shortened process."

"We're already down in the weeds. Let's look at the big picture," said Watergate reporter Carl Bernstein."This is most important moment for the Republican Party since the censure of Joe McCarthy and the impeachment and resignation of Richard Nixon, in which Republicans became great heroes and patriots. Now we're looking at Midnight Mitch and the so-called world's greatest deliberative body, really embracing a cover-up that is there for all to see. That's what this is about, it's about preventing information from becoming known and seen by the American public. Other impeachments, including Andrew Johnson, including Clinton, there has been no problem about knowing the truth of the facts. We still have a factual problem here, because the president and those who work for him, and Mitch McConnell, have impeded the facts from the beginning."

"There are facts that could be known, I agree," said Santorum. "Whose responsibility is that? It is up to the House of Representatives to present the case."

"Who wouldn't let the documents or witnesses come before the House?" snapped Bernstein.

"This is a way to deal with the problem. You work the courts to get that information," said Santorum. "They chose not to do that."

"A president who doesn't cover up and lie all the time says, all right. we'll give you the evidence!" replied Woodward.

Watch below: