That many Republicans — in and out of Congress — continue to insist that Trump did nothing wrong, or at least that nothing wrong has been proved beyond a reasonable doubt, or that some of the testimony about Trump’s actions is “hearsay” should surprise nobody. While they accuse Democrats of pursuing a predetermined objective to impeach this president, the reality is precisely the opposite. Quite typically, their accusation would more accurately be directed at them, since it has been clear all along that they will ignore, discount or simply lie about anything that indicates Trump’s guilty malfeasance. That much has been obvious ever since Republican congressional leaders looked at the July 25 transcript and declared they saw no quid pro quo.
When the Republicans aren’t pretending not to see what is plainly before their eyes, they point toward any bright, shiny object that can distract from the real evidence. Their persistent obsession with the whistleblower — the White House staffer who first called attention to this scandal — is a perfect example. They want to name the whistleblower; they want to send Twitter trolls after the whistleblower; they might even like to have the whistleblower publicly tortured or hanged, as urged by Trump himself. Their fury doesn’t alter basic facts, however: Trump’s own appointed inspector general confirmed the validity and urgency of the whistleblower’s original complaint, and all the evidence has done likewise.
View the complete November 22 article by Joe Conason on the National Memo website here.