Tag: Trump impeachment

The Shame Of The Senate

Well before completing his first term, President Donald Trump firmly established himself as the worst president in American history, which should surprise nobody. What we have seen this week suggests that many of the senators now hearing his impeachment trial will join him in historic infamy.

From the very beginning of Trump’s impeachment, a majority of Republican senators have indicated that they would not dare to sanction his unmistakable wrongdoing.

The Republicans stood mutely as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) told the nation that he would manage the trial in lockstep with the president’s lawyers. They said nothing when the president brushed aside the constitutional separation of powers and the prerogatives of Congress by withholding all evidence and witnesses. They pretended to believe McConnell when he promised to conduct the trial fairly, and apply the same standards and procedures seen during the impeachment of former President Bill Clinton. Continue reading.

Democrats Seek to Pre-empt Trump’s Defense in Impeachment Trial

New York Times logoThe House impeachment managers sought to undercut the central elements of President Trump’s defense, wading into a detailed defense of former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.

WASHINGTON — House Democrats sought on Thursday to pre-emptively dismantle President Trump’s core defenses in his impeachment trial, invoking his own words to argue that his pressure campaign on Ukraine was an abuse of power that warranted his removal.

On the second day of arguments in the third presidential impeachment trial in American history, Democrats sought to make the case that Mr. Trump’s actions were an affront to the Constitution. And they worked to disprove his lawyers’ claims that he was acting only in the nation’s interests when he sought to enlist Ukraine to investigate political rivals.

In doing so, they took a calculated risk in talking at length about Mr. Trump’s targets — former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.and his son Hunter Biden — and underscored the political backdrop of a trial that is unfolding only 10 months before the election and is likely to reverberate long after the verdict. Continue reading.

Adam Schiff Chokes Up in Closing Argument: ‘If Right Doesn’t Matter, We’re Lost’

Lead House impeachment manager Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) ended Thursday night’s arguments in the Senate trial of Donald Trump by emotionally insisting that “right matters” and “we’re lost” if the truth is simply tossed aside.

“If right doesn’t matter—if right doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter how good the Constitution is. It doesn’t matter how brilliant the Framers were,” he proclaimed. “Doesn’t matter how good or bad our advocacy in this trial is. Doesn’t matter how well written the oath of impartiality is. If right doesn’t matter, we’re lost. If the truth doesn’t matter, we’re lost.” Continue reading (audio included).

Senate GOP uses Trump’s executive privilege threat as rallying cry against subpoenas

A growing number of Republicans are pointing to President Donald Trump’s threat to invoke executive privilege in order to make their case against subpoenas sought by Democrats for key witnesses and documents, a development that could bolster Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s goal of a swift end to the impeachment trial.

GOP senators are privately and publicly raising concerns that issuing subpoenas — to top officials like acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and former national security adviser John Bolton and for documents blocked by the White House — will only serve to drag out the proceedings. Plus, many say there’s little appetite for such a time-consuming fight, given that legal battles may ultimately not be successful and could force the courts to rule on hugely consequential constitutional issues about the separation of powers between the branches of government.

McConnell has little margin for error since it would take just four Republican defections to join with 47 Democrats in order to issue a subpoena. But his increased warnings that subpoenas could prompt an “indefinite” delay in the trial and get tied up in the courts have been gaining traction within his conference, GOP senators and aides told CNN. Continue reading.

Senate Republicans confident they’ll win fight on witnesses

The Hill logoSenate Republican leaders feel confident they will have the votes to block the Democrats’ attempt to subpoena additional witnesses and documents in President Trump’s impeachment trial, which could allow the proceeding to wrap up by the end of next week.

While the House impeachment managers have one more day to lay out their case against the president, GOP leaders don’t think there are four Republican votes to subpoena additional evidence to extend the trial, according to multiple Senate GOP sources.

Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer (N.Y.) at most can win three Republican votes to subpoena White House witnesses such as former National Security adviser John Bolton and acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and likely will not even get that. Continue reading.

Trevor Noah Calls BS On Trump’s Threat To Show Up At His Impeachment Trial

He’s like that guy who “tells you what he’d do in a fight” but is too “busy” to actually fight, scoffs “The Daily Show” host.

Trevor Noah mocked President Donald Trump on “The Daily Show” on Thursday over his boast that he was considering showing up at his own impeachment trial in the Senate.

Trump said at a news conference in Davos, Switzerland, that it would be “great” to attend his trial. “I’d love to go. Wouldn’t that be great? Wouldn’t that be beautiful?” Trump said. “I’d sort of love to sit in the front row and stare in their corrupt faces. I’d love to do it.”

When a reporter asked: “So why don’t you go?” Trump said his lawyers might have a problem with it.

But Noah said he knows better. Continue reading.

Schiff tells Senate Ukraine interference conspiracy was ‘brought to you by the Kremlin’

The Hill logoHouse impeachment managers on Thursday zeroed in on President Trump‘s mention of a debunked theory on his call with Ukraine, alleging during the second day of their opening arguments that the president stood to benefit in his reelection campaign from the idea that Kyiv interfered in the 2016 election. 

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) spent several minutes Thursday afternoon focusing on the theory that Ukraine was involved in the 2016 hack of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), one that Trump has continued to mention despite his own advisers repeatedly pushing back on it as debunked.

Mentioning statements from Trump’s former aides, including impeachment witness and former White House Russia expert Fiona Hill, Schiff described the theory as “brought to you by the Kremlin” and alleged Trump was motivated by his own political ambitions in raising it with Ukraine.  Continue reading.

Democrats sharpen case on second day of arguments

The Hill logoDemocrats on Thursday sharpened their case for removing President Trumpfrom office, kicking off the second day of opening arguments in the Senate impeachment trial by zeroing in on the first of the House’s two charges: abuse of power. 

The proceedings come on the heels of Wednesday’s arguments, in which Democrats laid out a broad, if detailed, chronology of Trump’s pressure campaign on Ukrainian leaders last year.

Led by Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the lead impeachment manager, the Democrats say they’ll use Thursday’s stage to build on that broader base — to “apply the facts to the law as it pertains to the president’s abuse of power,” in Schiff’s words — as they press for Trump’s conviction and removal.

Wednesday’s arguments mark the second of what are expected to be three eight-hour days of opening statements by the Democrats. Trump’s legal team will then have the same window to present his defense. Continue reading.

Trump’s second-heaviest Twitter day mirrored the heaviest: Lots of feedback about things on TV

Washington Post logoDonald Trump, then just a billionaire New Yorker, tried something unusual on Jan. 4, 2015. His TV show, “The Apprentice,” was premiering its 14th season, and a new cast of celebrities — a term used somewhat loosely here — would be going head to head that evening. As the season wound on, Leeza Gibbons would edge out Geraldo Rivera for the title, but that night, anything was possible.

Donald J. Trump

✔@realDonaldTrump

Everyone is asking me to cover The Apprentice LIVE on twitter. I will do so. Tonight 9 to 11. IT WILL BE A GREAT EVENING OF TELEVISION!

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Over the course of that day, and particularly once the show began, Trump tweeted nearly 150 times. Most of the tweets were what counted as retweets at the time, quotes of tweets sent to Trump that he then shared with his not-quite 3 million followers.

His last tweet came 12 minutes before midnight. Continue reading.

What happened in Wednesday’s Senate trial, in 5 minutes

Washington Post logoThe first day of opening arguments in President Trump’s Senate impeachment trial can be divided into two consequential parts: what happened on the Senate floor and what happened off it.

Let’s start with what happened in the official trial. The clock started Wednesday on Democrats’ allotted 24 hours to argue that the Senate should convict Trump of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

Lead impeachment manager Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.) spent two of those hours laying out the broad outlines of their argument. Here’s what he said: Continue reading.