For Democrats, the case for calling new witnesses at the Senate impeachment trial seems to be deflating like a bad soufflé.

That's the news focus now, and even the New York Times and Reuters are reporting that the Democrats' quest for witnesses is falling apart fast.

Here's the Times:

Republican leaders signaled they were regaining confidence that they would be able to block new witnesses and documents and bring the trial to an acquittal verdict as soon as Friday. Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the minority leader, acknowledged that winning enough Republican votes was unlikely.

Here's Reuters:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — A Democratic push to force Republicans to accept witnesses at President Donald Trump's impeachment trial in the U.S. Senate appeared to be flagging on Wednesday, raising the possibility he could be acquitted as early as Friday.

...and...

Democratic Senator Chris Coons was asked during a break if the Democrats' fight for witnesses was lost.

"I don't know that for sure one way or the other," he said, but called the tone and questions of senators "not encouraging."

You know that if the left-biased press is reporting such news, there must be no way to spin it.

Meanwhile, The Hill reports that Republicans are ebullient:

It was clear to Senate Republicans on Wednesday after a morning meeting between Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) that the question of having additional witnesses is settled, and the Senate will vote Friday to wrap up the impeachment trial of President Trump.

There was no discussion of witnesses at a Senate GOP lunch meeting Wednesday, which was held a couple hours after McConnell and Murkowski met for about 20 to 30 minutes.

That was seen as a sign by several senators that Democrats will fail to convince four Republicans to join them in calling for witnesses. Without a vote to hear from witnesses, the trial could end as soon as Friday. 

"We're going to get it done by Friday, hopefully," Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) said following the meeting.

Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.), emerging from the lunch, said, "I think I can say the mood is good."

And this is far from the only pain for the Democrats.

It gets worse, way worse, with news that President Trump's inevitable acquittal, as soon as Friday if the witness hurdle is busted, is next up likely to lead to a bipartisan acquittal.

Several Democrats have signaled that they will be defecting to the acquittal side.

Here's the Washington Post:

Democrats are casting a nervous eye on a small group of publicly undecided senators in their ranks as Republicans target a coveted prize in the Senate impeachment trial — a bipartisan acquittal of President Trump.

Under the spotlight are two centrist mavericks who won election last year — Sens. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) — as well as Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.), who will face voters this year after a long-shot win in a special election in 2017.

"I talk to those three every day; I don't have a sense on where they're going to be in the end," said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), who described the coming verdict as a "conscience vote" in which senators are leaving colleagues to reach their own conclusions.

So it's not just Manchin who's wavering.  There are now two others: red-state Democrats who are unlikely to keep their seats if they vote otherwise.

It's now Democrats feeling the heat, not Republicans (except perhaps for Mitt Romney, who's feeling heat, too, reviled on the right for his egotistic call to want witnesses alongside the Democrats — amid inauspicious polls emerging from his home state of Utah).

Reuters made clear what the entire purpose of having witnesses was:

While the Senate is expected to acquit Trump and leave him in office no matter what happens, allowing witnesses could inflict political damage on the president as he seeks re-election on Nov. 3.

This pretty well exposes Romney as a complete jerk and explains why he's the lone Republican feeling the heat.

The Democrats are feeling it, too.  It's not just the call to witnesses that's falling apart; there seems to be a dam breaking upstream that might just mean complete exoneration and vindication of President Trump.  Not only would they not be able to oust President Trump, but they wouldn't even be able to weaken him.  And that which doesn't kill him is going to make him stronger.  There's the old saying about "if you strike the king" that they're going to learn about firsthand from voters.  What's going to be left is a humiliating defeat for rage-filled Democrats.  And it could hit them like a freight train as soon as Friday.