Let's get this shameful sham over with asap. The loony left has been crying for impeachment since before Trump took office. They have charged him with not a single crime, they don't have a compelling case nor bipartisan support. This is nothing but an attempt by the dems to undermine a legally elected president. They have no credibility.
The dems scream that Trump is a threat to our democracy. He's not. The real threats are Schiff, Pelosi, Nadler and their fellow travellers who have perverted a serious and solemn process that should only be undertaken in the gravest of circumstances and turned it into a political tool...essentially conducting opposition research on the tax payer's dime. And they didn't even have the decency to conduct a thorough and fair investigation.
Hate Trump all you want. But don't support destroying our institutions. That is directed at dems, the MSM and anyone else who supports this impeachment of Trump.
1
@Ralphie, You write well, but when you accuse me and my fellow dems of supporting the destruction of our institutions, you're "projecting." It's Trump and McConnell who are putting the republic (not the democracy) at stake; because in a republic the law is made by a plural legislature, not a single person. The President's duty is made clear in the Constitution--to obey the law and to execute it, not to make it. He has not done that and has said he plans to continue not doing that.
Good idea to keep the procedural debates off of TV. The Democratic clowns will have no ability to preen (and that's the only reason for this circus). And none of the Senators can talk at all during the prosecution and defense and questioning segments. Nor can they play with their smart phones so the whole thing will bore them to tears by end of day Friday. This whole thing could be over before Tiger Woods comes up the 18th fairway Saturday afternoon (which is what I'll be watching)
3
@Dennis Byron. Cape Cod's Demoocratic Senator Markey never preens, but he seems to be listening to the Managers, as you seem not to be. I think he'll vote to call witnesses and later to remove Trump from office. Sorry the deck's so stacked against him.
@JFR, Little noted (except in the case of the impeachment in 1876 of Secretary of War Belknap) is that (1) you can be impeached (though not convicted) more than once (2) you can be removed from office even if you have left the office before the Senate decides to remove you, and that (3) the Constitution's clause also acts to prevent you from "holding any office of trust or profit under the United States" again. Belknap resigned during his Senate trial, but the Senators voted anyway. A majority failed to remove him because it was less than 2/3, but it was said at the time that if Belknap came back into public service (he didn't), he could be impeached again. Which is why I continue to ask for the impeachment and conviction of Dick Cheney for violating the U.S. statute against torture. He must not come back.
Not really a Democrats versus Republican issue as much as it is a battle for the truth versus dishonesty.
The repetitious arguments by the Managers today have bored the Country to near-death. The same must be said of the repetitious and unnecessary separate submissions by Mr. Schumer of doomed, nearly identical amendments seeking subpoenas now. Democrats, having destroyed the reputation of the House, are doing their best to similarly tarnish the Senate. The People will not think well of them for doing this.
2
One side talked about the elements (evidence, witnesses) of a trial and the other about why there shouldn’t be one. So, what is the defense?
2
@J Perhaps you haven't read the defense's response to the Articles of Impeachment. The defense contends four things, three of which lead to what you suggest
I. Since there is no actual Federal crime (with which the prosecutors agree), there should be no trial because the constitution requires a crime for impeachment
II. The faux impeachment inquiry phase (prior to October 31, 2019) was unconstitutional and the items fed into the authorized impeachment investigation from the faux investigation are "fruit of the poison tree" so there should be no trial
III. If the "court" (the Senate) disagrees with I and II (and IV), which it cannot decide upon until the end of next week under the rules agreed to this morning, then the Articles should be rejected because they are untrue (this is what will be presented and rebutted in the next six days; why the House decided to irritate the "jurors" by presenting their case beforehand is beyond me)
IV. The Articles are structurally incoherent and and therefore unconstitutional so there should be no trial (why the President decided to number this IV and not III -- and number III IV -- is beyond me; must have been a late entry?)
Once the "court" (the Senate) closes the doors and discusses all of this and takes a straw vote in secret, if it decides that I, II or IV or all three are correct, what was presented as part of III is moot.
1
@Dennis Byron, I. the President violated the Impoundment Control Act (passed in 1974 to prevent a repeat of Nixon's refusal to spend Congress-appropriated funds) ...
I could go on, but your post suggests you won't pay attention.
To all Republican Senators:
If it is your intent as a party, to carry out the proceedings in the dark of night, without calling witnesses to reveal the truth of the issues, to vote on procedures in private, and to whitewash the crimes of Donald Trump, forget about the Constitution. It is meaningless to Trump, so you might just as well ignore it too. Dismiss the Chief Justice. Let Captain Kangaroo preside. Then when the sham is over, take off your clown shoes and just hop back to your offices. Many of you can pack and prepare to return to whatever it was you did prior to Washington.
3
After the refusal by the Republicans to allow documents and witnesses to be brought to the trial the Democrats should simply walk out of the chamber and let the Republicans sink in their own mud. After all they have mocked justice completely and lost any pretense of dignity they may have had. To continue under those circumstances would only give a semblance of validity to this farce.
2
It is time the electorate tables the Republican Party.
4
Look at where Ukraine is on the map. It’s right next door to Russia. Imagine if Russia started giving military aid to a close U.S. neighbor - but wait, that already happened during the Cuban missile crisis! This impeachment fool’s errand is the result of American arrogance! Even though most of the aid money rendered was literally created out of thin air, it could have been better used in this country! Citizens ought to be outraged!
1
I get that the media has to keep pretending that the outcome of the circus is somehow in question or convince some readers, perhaps the same folks that care about your presidential endorsement, that the process is just as important as the outcome, but otherwise I just don’t see why anyone is wasting time covering or watching this monumental waste of time. In six months, it won’t make page page 6, and come November, it will be a distant memory except perhaps if the Democrats are foolish enough to believe that talking about it will change anyone’s mind. The guy’s an imbecile, let’s just vote him out.
1
After hearing Trump's side introduce themselves and make a cursory statement about their case, and then hearing Representative Schiff rip them apart and set the record straight, I got a sense that what has been heretofore downplayed by Trump and associates as a "joke" or "hoax" just got very serious and very real.
Trump cannot laugh, con or misdirect his way out of this one.
4
This has devolved into abject politicization. The House D could have called witnesses and obtained documents-ultimately using the judicial branch to adjudicate-using subpoenas.
This would take time, it is processive.
NO ONE may assume that at the end of the process the D would have prevailed.
So the documents not gotten, the witnesses who didn’t testify under oath, TELL US NOTHING, and again, we may not ASSUME they bolster, if not make, the case for impeachment.
The House D went to a trial with hearsay testimony and innuendo.
It was timed as their last best shot at maximizing the political impact on voters in the upcoming November election.
Demanding the Senate produce witnesses and documents otherwise it’s a coverup is fallacious and political rhetoric.
Circumventing the the rightful constitutional authority of the judicial branch to decide a matter of vital importance to the very Constitution itself, in a checks-and-balances question between the other two branches of government, is unconstitutional. There is no remedy at law for this, but there IS a remedy at the ballot box.
The D have engaged in a shameful miscarriage of their sacred duty.
I hope the raw politics afoot is not lost on voters.
I hope they remember what the House did and vote such that it cannot be repeated.
1
God speed to the House impeachment managers. I don’t envy their burden.
10
When nearly every Republican politician acts and looks like a Saturday Night Live character, but you don't laugh, because it's not funny, you know that the good old USA has been taken hostage.
Thanks Evangelicals. I blame you. The USA government is currently in your image, hideous. Enjoy it while it lasts.
12
So in Adam Schiff's mind a suspect must provide evidence against themselves against all allegations...
Tyranny well defined...
Could the president’s attorneys possibly believe what they are saying? Not one word on the merits of the case only distorted attacks on the prosecution.
9
@Davarino The debate today is about procedures, not "the merits of the case."
1
Our Democracy is in deep trouble but majorities, even of two or three Senators, rule in democracies. Our Republic (which Senator Schumer never mentioned) is in deeper trouble. The Resolution introduced this afternoon by Senator McConnell could have the effect of bringing an end to an independent Senate. That's half of the First Branch of our government.
If the Senate votes itself unable to "try" judicially (or "remove") a potential dictator, or otherwise to legally stop a usurpation of the lawmaking power by the executive, only civil disobedience, or violence, is left to prevent dictatorship. The election, even if Trump loses it and agrees to leave office, does not overturn Moscow Mitch's precedent.
4
Some of the witnesses that need to be called to the stand for this fair trial aren't even from the United States. How is the US supposed to be responsible for an International trial within the limitations of our own borders, regulations, courts and representatives?
Either Trump stops disputing the facts underlying the charges against him, or the Senate must hear the conflicting evidence on these facts. Any first year law student knows this.
5
Aren't they being paid not to know this?
1
Congressmen Schiff made a huge mistake in
talking down to the Senators and telling them
what they must do, as if there were no need for
the Senate to hold a trial, just sign off on what
he says is the Absolute Truth.
1
January 21, 2020
America either has elite educated leaders that define their purpose inclusive of America's strengths in our republic or allows personal greed to define goals that translates into collective failure to guide the rules of the nation's operations to live by for now and the future.
2
Whoever can listen to Congressman's Schiff's presentation of the case and not agree, documents and witnesses are essential to any honest effort at getting at the truth without nodding unconsciously in agreement ought to check their American citizenship at the door and make all haste for the dark side where their rights will be nil, and their futures, and those of their children, decided according to the ever shifting dislikes of Donald Trump.
6
Boy is that rich, hearing those words “fairness” and “cover-up” coming from Mitch McConnell.
The impeachment inquiry was one battle and struggle and debate after another all the while witnesses testified, only to have Republicans attack their integrity, character, and public service records.
And then there was the resistance and stonewalling of not allowing other pertinent individuals to testifying.
7
Only 7.5% of Republican Senators to retain a vestige of reason on that side of the aisle! This is not a partisan issue. This is about our beloved democracy and the trust in which we are held by people around the world!
3
Schiff has been excellent today. He can hold his head high. GOP Senators on the other hand...
6
I am listening to Adam Schiff provide all the historical and constitutional reasons for the importance of providing witnesses. He is giving lucid, compelling arguments. How sad and tragic that all of his words are falling on Mitch McConnell's deaf ears. It will be difficult for many of us to ever, ever forgive the Republican party for this sham of a trial and disaster of a President.
7
The Republicans are responsible for selling our democracy down the river, if they deny witnesses and information that the Democrats request. Their dis-honesty and dis-respect for the oath of office, I find sickening, particularly Mitch McConnell. Our country will learn the truth, and the truth speaks volumes over the dishonest power-brokers and lying old men, that seem to inhabit much of the Republican side of the Senate. They will have the infamous honor of selling our country down the tubes, and Bennedict Arnold looks like a saint in comparison. If the Republicans stand up for truth, they have much more chance for longevity in their careers, and respect from the American people.
3
@K.M
If?
The Republicans will only speak "the truth" when it serves their own interests.
vote them all out permanently.
1
Keep in mind that the Red and Purple state Senators know that Trump has put together a fearsome coalition: one percenters with their Citizens United arsenal, whipsawed middle classers, Whites afraid of changing demographics, and a substantial fringe that feeds on his demagoguery with the help of Fox. Look at the map of the 2016 election and this could well be repeated in 2020 if the Democrats don't build some bridges soon.
1
@Bruce, Lets add elements to your coalition: Pro-Lifers, Anti-Immigrationists, anti-taxers, and climate change deniers. There is plenty of money among the the Business Right and the one-percenters, but not enough actual voters with votes so they have to buy the others. Of those they prefer to endow the anti-taxers and climate change deniers, and they try to avoid the Anti-immigrationists because they want cheap labor. Adds up to about 30% of voters, all total zealots for their cause; and maybe more.
Merrick Garland.
What we know about Leader McConnell's methods is that he has long realized that his position permits him to thwart processes that are so fundamental that it was never conceived that it would be necessary to codify them.
Simply refuse to hold a hearing for the President's Supreme Court nominee? Unthinkable.
Simply refuse to permit witnesses in a Senate impeachment trial? Unthinkable.
Leader McConnell doesn't care, and this - not whether the President is convicted or not - is the real peril of this situation.
28
Careful... You know Executive Orders aren't in the Constitution either.
1
@quidproquo_clarise
Neither are Political Parties.
2
@John Brown, Absence of parties is a mixed blessing, and the same for "slave." But I'd say the absence of "God," "executive order," and "national security" was an unmixed good.
Ultimately, this will not be a trial of Trump (no matter the outcome) but a trial of the senators themselves. McConnell is already weakened in Kentucky. How will his state take his perjury and avoidance of real justice? Likewise, Graham and others of his ilk are facing tough elections. I've lived in Michigan, Ohio, Virginia, South Carolina, and Maryland. I've worked in and gotten to know the people of almost every other U.S. state (43 to be exact). I know how they think. If Republicans continue on the paths they have taken, look for Americans to judge them harshly and elect Democrats to the Senate and Presidency. There will be even more Democrats in the House. Republicans, your day of judgement is upon you. Become real Americans or face the consequences of becoming an irrelevant party just as the Whig and Bull parties did.
4
@Angelsea, Hope so.
Mr Schiff Goes to Washington
Stream it
Best Viewing in Town!
3
@That's What She Said
I would rather watch paint dry or reruns of Captain Kangaroo...
@That's What She Said
He is very well spoken. It is a relief from the nastiness of the other side.
1
Coming up -- Food Fight!
What can we expect from Republicans today, lies, obstruction, dishonor, lack of integrity, violation of their sworn oath.
4
Schiff made an excellent analogy:
What if you were on jury duty and no witnesses or documents were allowed?
The GOP seek to smash every single thing all Americans have ever learned about the Constitution.
The GOP seek to crush and kill the separation of powers, and checks and balances;ances.
6
@SCZ
What if Schiff, the former federal prosecutor, went before an Article III judge and jury and gave that opening and said, all I need is more evidence and witnesses to make the that case.
I didn’t get them BEFORE the trial.
Can you get them for me?
1
@WorkingGuy
And what if the reason for that were - IS - that President Trump blocked all witnesses and documents being provided to the House?
3
Hard to even listen to Mitch talk about fairness. What a sham. Tried to call Mitch. Not able to get through. The divider in chief and Putin must be happy that the Republicans are in lock step behind him. What a disgrace.
1
Particularly, McConnell's personal interest is conflicted with his role as Senate Majority Leader in this trial.
McConnell's wife, Elaine Chao is Secretary of Transportation in President Trump's Cabinet, and in other words, President Trump is the boss of McConnell's wife. Thus, McConnell's wife's job security is at stake here.
It would be good for McConnell to recuse himself in this case, which would be good for the Senate, the Country and the American people.
9
There is really very little chance that the Senate will vote to impeach. Barr believes Nixon should not have been prosecuted! He is controlling access to evidence.
McConnell seems to have decided that Red state votes will depend on Trump staying in office, and that is all important.
In the face of this I am so proud of MY representatives who are taking this on.
It is a good time to continue reflecting on MLK and the relentless struggle he faced, and died for.
6
If it was a legitimate trial with honest participants and with new information, I'd watch it. Since none of those items are present, and there is no sense watching people who lie, I won't watch it.
2
Sure looks like a Coup d'état to me - never, ever did I believe I'd see something like this in America. No witnesses - no release of relevant documentation - not much hope.
7
@James, Trump has already called it a "coup" by the Democrats. That's Freudian projection in a nutshell.
Perhaps the Democrats should pull a Republican stunt and just as the “deliberations” begin get up en masse and walk out of the chamber. And when the Press asks why the Democrats should say: What’s the point it’s not about the truth anyway? And we’re not going to give the appearance of legitimacy to a trial that’s fixed.
6
Republican Senators may behave themselves and sit in silence while the House Managers present the case against Donald Trump but if, as expected, they remain silent when it comes time to doing anything about Trump's inexcusable and improper behavior, it will speak volumes about the utter corruption and moral bankruptcy of the Republican party. Hopefully, the voters will hear them loud and clear.
5
The funny part is that not one Senator expects a fair hearing.
The Dems cannot force one, and the GOP has no interest in having one.
5
If Democrats want more control over future senate rules then win elections. It’s as simple as that.
2
I am so discouraged by the proceedings. I am also discouraged by media coverage. Too much 24/7. Where is reporting responsibility? Why the rehash repeatedly?
Republicans have generally shown they are incapable of independent thought. Having written several senators, I want to be hopeful that witnesses will inform the record, no matter how the senators vote. I continue to be amazed how our system has been corrupted by Trump and his allies; how our system is threatened now. The absurdity of this entire process and media coverage makes me weep with sadness for our country.
6
I would like to hear from Bolton and Giuliani. It would be interesting to know how brazen Trump was.
But in a sense McConnell is right.
The facts have been established during the House investigation and it is unlikely any additional witnesses will add anything to either exonerate Trump or change the charges as written in the articles of impeachment.
So the question as Dershowitz is saying, is Trump's conduct worthy of removal from office?
The country and the Senate seem pretty evenly divided on this question. I think he should be removed but clearly that is just my opinion, which is worth about as much as the pixels it took to communicate it.
2
@gpickard, The country may be evenly divided, but the issue requires a 2/3 majority of Senators. Perhaps we need to change the Constitution, but that requires 3/4 of the states. Meanwhile the legal community seems to me more like 70% against the Dershowitz Doctrine that "abuse of power" is not a "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors."
Democracy and proper governance used to be an American export. Today, more than any other time, I am ashamed of our product.
2
What I expect today is a yawn fest and over the top fake drama. None of it will make a difference. When the final vote comes today McConnell rules take over. Now it’s time for Democrats to get a taste of their own medicine. We were railroaded in the House, now you will be by the Senate. Them the Supreme Court. Game, set, and match. And Trump will still be your president.
1
Wake me when it's over.
So glad to see Adam getting some time with the camera.
2
It is unacceptable that CSpan is not allowed in the Senate chamber, as I'm sure Republicans would agree. Please call Senator McConnell and demand that we can see whatever is going on in there. Let CSpan in.
Subverting the rule of law is nothing more than the tyranny of the powerful--that's what this Senate has become, a mouthpiece for unchecked power.
3
At least McConnell is consistent. He stole a Supreme Court nomination and now he is trying to complete an Impeachment heist.
4
So, Mitch McConnell is using his old WMD tactics again? The man who justified an invasion based on fictional evidence now wants to be a proponent of fair play?
That is rich.
I am sure that Mitch McConnell is just as dedicated to Fairness now as he was then.
2
And no matter how this plays out over the next few days, the president must know that but for a very slight GOP majority in the Senate he would be the one and only impeached and convicted US president.
Trump had better hope that he does NOT win re-election given his obvious inability to control his more base and criminal instincts for he will certainly commit more impeachable acts and he will, as the Senate will rest in the DEMs hands, be most certainly and deservedly impeached and convicted and summarily removed from the White House and public life.
4
@JFR
great point
gives me hope
@JFR, Little noted (except in the case of the impeachment in 1876 of Secretary of War Belknap) is that (1) you can be removed from office even if you have left the office before the Senate decides to remove you, and that (2) the Constitution's clause also acts to prevent you from "holding any office of trust or profit under the United States" again. Which is why I continue to ask for the impeachment and conviction of Dick Cheney.
One is innocent until proven guilty, right? If no proof is presented, whatsoever, then guilt cannot be proven.
Simple.
Disgraceful.
Unjust.
3
McConnell is no patriot. A feckless shill of big business (oil and coal), he needs to be shoved out of the Senate. Sen. Schatz of Hawaii has urged citizens to call the Senate switchboard and express their outrage over the rules that McConnell has set for the impeachment trial. That's a start. But we should do more. Amy McGrath stands a decent chance of beating McConnell in Kentucky. Let's all support her by contributing to her campaign.
5
McConnell gameplan: set the bar so very low that any concession feels like a victory for the Dems. He has Senate Democrats arguing for what is normal, accepted, traditional procedure: Witnesses and documents in a trial.
Dems should take McConnell's blockade as obstruction, and draw up plans to impeach him.
5
@PE, One indication that Congress is the first branch of government is that only the House and the Senate can expel a member. Only one Senator has ever been threatened with impeachment by the House (Blount of Tennessee in 1797), and fortunately that precedent was never set, because the Senate expelled him before the House could pass the resolution. Congresspeople really can't be impeached. Fortunately they can be convicted of crimes committed outside of Congress. Are you listening Senator McConnell?
I am not watching. The fix is in.
Defend the Rule of Law or Not.
Red States holds the Electoral Majority, and they vote a resounding, "NOT!"
After all, it is the Dems fault for not forcing the POTUS and GOP to follow the Rule of Law.
1
@gratis, OK, but what "force" do they have, now that the executive commands a standing army and several other armed organizations including the FBI and the Secret Service? Can the Sergeant at Arms and the Capitol Police succeed in "forcing POTUS and GOP (and the Department of Justice) to follow the rule of law"? I fear we are much closer to the edge of one-man rule than many realize.
Walter Lippmann, a brilliant journalist, awarded the Pulitzer prize twice, in his article, "The Phantom Public" (1925) clearly shows that in a democracy, we, its citizen, are exactly "the Phantom public". As he says. "only the insider can make decision.... The outsider is necessarily ignorant, usually irrelevant and often meddle-some." And, of course, he cleverly observes that to be part of the few, the Insiders, doesn't imply they are better. So, what's the difference with a monarchy? Trump and his servants behave as a monarchy, yes, a totally mediocre one but with the power to do whatever it wishes. And we, still in 2020, are being treated as the "ignorant herd." HOW do we get out of this nightmare?
4
@Maita Moto, Monarchy would be rule by Trump, legis absolutus. What you describe here is a kakistocracy--rule by the few and worst--rather than aristocracy, rule by the few and best. Both those are republics, but rule by the many--democracy, is also republican as long as the many don't vote for a despot--rule by one person. Of course, the many have done that in the past. Napoleon comes to mind.
So how do we get out? I think the solution is realizing once again that the things some of us want to "get done" so badly that we are willing to give the executive absolute lawmaking power to get them done, are not necessarily things that a majority of a legislature can be assembled to "get done." From immigration control to environmental regulation, they are currently intractable. Debate constantly and try to convince a majority. That, and a veteran legislator like Johnson in the presidency, is how we got the Civil Rights Acts of '64 and '65.
Since 1994 when House Speaker Republican Newt Gingrich declared "The Republican Revolution" long believed to be inspired by the Waco massacre, and not a revolution of all the people, they have sought to divide the nation and spark violence which has been occurring. Even yesterdays gun rally in Virginia was a Republican coached threat. After so many years of treason by Republicans, it is justice that the Congress that started it is now gripped by chaos. When they can't function, we can. Look at your atlases. Besides Richmond Virginia, there is a Richmond, near "Lexington", in McConnell's state of Kentucky. The Republican Revolution is a false one of which they are not just nor worthy.
1
The Republicans obviously do not care what Trump does so let's get this over and go to the polls in November.
1
It is vitally important that the Senate proceeds as did the House, namely, only witnesses called by the majority party may testify and such witnesses may be examined only by the President’s representatives with the opposition being permitted the right to examine subject to the right of Mr. McConnell to instruct the witness not to answer. The ONLY difference between procedures?: if a witness the president calls fails to respond to a subpoena, the President’s counsel must litigate to compel compliance to demonstrate that he’s not as stupid as Shiffry Schiff and Stretch Pelosi.
It is surreal that the likely result of this sham of a trial will be the vindication of Trump in the eyes of tens of millions of Americans reinforced by the likes of Fox News.
It almost seems like mass hysteria and it’s going to take a significant effort to get enough voters to the polls to out vote his rabid supporters.
6
Why in the world Pelosi didn’t list “Bribery “as one of the Articles of Impeachment is beyond me . It WAS bribery .Bribery is defined as
“ The offering , soliciting ,or receiving any item of value as a means of influencing the actions of someone holding a public or legal duty “
It couldn’t be clearer . Trump was looking to “receive “ dirt on Biden for his personal gain to “influence the actions “ of Zelensky to announce an investigation . And it was extortion which involves trying to get something of value predicated on a
“ threat . The “ threat “ was Ukraine would not get the military funds that were Congressionally approved unless Zelensky ordered an investigation.
Pelosi blew it . Abuse of power is too esoteric . They could have used BRIBERY as it is specifically listed in the Constitution which would negate Dershowitz’s argument.
Very very disappointing and a lost opportunity . I’m not happy about that .
@Karen E, But I think that what the Framers meant by "bribery" was that an official might be bribed to pervert his office, not the other way around. In any case, there being no judicial review of impeachment, Senator Moynihan concluded that "high crimes and misdemeanors" are essentially what the impeachers say they are.
No matter what happens with this trial, it will further divide politics and our country.
What an embarrassment this president has turned our country in to.
2
One Roman emperor appointed his horse to the Senate to show his contempt for that body. A horse might do better than this Republican-controlled Senate.
2
@Fred Kuttner, That Senate had been purged of its would-be impeachers by Caligula's great-uncle, Senator Julius Caesar, after he broke the law, defeated objecting Senators in battle and accepted the office of dictator for life that the remainder voted him. Caesar's nephew Augustus completed the job of turning the Senate into a ceremonial office for supporters of the dynasty. They still thought the horse was an insult, but it was too late in the game for them to do anything about it. This Senate could still save itself but I think you're right, it won't; and I'm not looking for another Democrat vs Republican Civil War.
Why is Chief Justice John Roberts even there if not to show the GOP the blatant error of its ways?
3
Refer to your atlases to observe there are two Richmond's, one in Virginia where 22,000 gunmen met I view as a threat, and Kentucky, near Lexington. Tomorrow, the 22nd, the McConnell led Senate will begin arguments.
The tyranny of an utterly corrupt, criminal regime is to become law of the USA. With the Senate all but ensuring no witnesses and no evidence will be allowed, and with the press all but shut out of the sham proceedings, that is the only thing that can be expected today.
What was it all those 2nd Amendment folks were rallying about yesterday, anyway? There is a full blown fascist dictatorship now in power, and they seem to ardently support it!
2
expect a republican cover up in a reality show that looks a lot like the apprentice, and equally scripted and predetermined like a TV sticom.
4
Add deciding on the rules for presenting the case in a trial just hours before the trial is scheduled to start and imposing limits on how much time each side has to present its case, as further proof that the Senate impeachment "trial" is as much a real "trial" as is the 30-day "trial" period to try out Amazon Prime (but not as honest).
7
I relize this is trivial and not going to change, but I rather resented the opening prayer and a chanting of a Pledge altered under Joe McCarthy.
Among other things, I always worry I’ll spontaneously combust.
12
@Robert With you 1000%!
3
I grew up on the west coast and as an adult lived for 35 years in Austin, Texas. I think that Americans from other regions of the country don't understand southerners. I can explain it best with the words from a John Prine song about his love for his grandfather. "My grandpa was a carpenter, built houses stores and things, chain smoked camel cigarettes and hammered nails and things. He was level on the level, he shaved each and every door, and he voted for Eisenhower because Lincoln won the war." Lots of southerners are from families that have voted conservative for 150 years, first as blue dog democrats and then as republicans since the civil rights act of 1968. They will never vote for a liberal. They might consider Trump the devil, but they will vote republican. But the south is changing and the same as all over, it's now urban versus rural. Californians and Yankees invaded Austin and it's now the most liberal city in the south. This nightmare of Trump supporters will fade into history.
3
A big problem is that the Senate Minority Leader has no persona. It is painful and really uninteresting to watch him read a scripted message verbatim over his glasses time and again. Though he has serious issues to raise, there is no life or imagination in what is said, and being lectured will not pique the interest of people in general. The same can be said more or less for the entire Democratic side of the aisle. Deadpan pronouncements and dry technocratic verbage is not going to win anyone over.
2
You mean - like the passionate oratory of Mitch McConnell?
3
This proceeding is a win-win for the Democrats.
If the American people get to have an actual trial with witnesses and relevant testimony, the Democrats win. If Mitch and the other Trump cultist senators turn the trial into a sham, they give their constituencies still more reason to vote them out of office in November and the Democrats also win.
6
The House meets behind closed doors to hear witnesses to impeach Trump, they wouldnt allow Republican witnesses, were not willling to wait for the courts to decide if executive priveldge was correctly invoked, nor did they subpeona witnesses they now want to hear from in the Senate and they are calling the Republican rules unfair? They rushed through the Articles of Impeachment and now want a do over in the Senate. That is upsurd.
2
It is perfectly, perfectly wonderful that the Senate leadership is refusing to let witnesses be heard and evidence debated. It was widely expected that the Senate would acquit. So they are changing nothing, except for providing a spectacle that is angering thoughtful Americans. Facts (sorry, Rudy) already in evidence will ensure that they will be like".. a fall's bumper crop" at the polls in November. A painful defeat for Republican candidates will send the message that this charade does not represent this country. #NovemberIsOurTime
2
This is not an impeachment trial this is the final coronation of Donald J. Trump and authoritarian fascism. Mitch is about to go into full reaper mode. This is not about law, justice, or democracy. This is about power.
7
This will be such a farce. Having added Jordan & others, Ken Starr (disgraced Baylor associate), Alan Dershowitz (no crime need be committed in Clinton impeachment to you need a crime to impeach trump) the White House has created the circus trump wanted for his made for TV trial. We all know the outcome because the republican senators perjured themselves when they took the oath to be impartial. trump will take his next few months from Putin's playbook. Becoming president for life. The republicans are unleashing a phase of American History from which we may never recover. I can no longer believe that the country will be saved by the people who were elected to serve & protect the country. Has anyone seen the fawning faces of the republican senators & representative & VP who are looking on so lovingly at trump? Yes our country is in trouble unless voters get out and vote all of these people out of office in 2020.
3
Still waiting for the republican response: Would you have accepted Obama withholding funds from Ukraine unless Ukraine announced an investigation into Mitt Romney? Just asking.
4
With this display of cover up and manipulation by Republicans, never before have I been more ashamed to be an American.
5
We really need to take a step back and understand what’s going on here. Trump is an abusive person, a narcissist, probably the biggest narcissist the world has ever known, and as such, he’s trained the people around him to enable him and protect him.
It’s like an alcoholic family system, where the dad is the alcoholic, the mom is the doormat, and the kids are doing everything they can to convince the world they’re a nice normal family. When push comes to shove, the doormat (co-dependent) mom is going to protect the abusive alcoholic, gums blazing, even if that means destroying the lives of her children. The kids, meanwhile, are either falling in line or playing the black sheep role, and the black sheep is always the one who gets blamed for the family’s problems even though he’s usually the only one willing to face reality.
The underlying issue in abusive families is that they are delusional. They don’t see that other people outside the family, unless they’re utterly ignorant, realize that the dad’s an alcoholic. He may be a Southern Baptist deacon and a pillar of the community, but you cannot hide the truth very long. As Rep. Schiff said, the truth is indeed inescapable. That’s why the children of alcoholics grow up to have so many unresolved problems.
Here’s the thing: abusers cannot thrive without enablers. What’s it going to take for the alcoholic’s wife to pack up the kids and leave? A black eye? A cracked spine? Will a black sheep GOP senator demand truth? Well?
5
I think the democrats should block the charade the republicans are trying to sell off as a trial. If you take part in a sham like this, you legitimize it.
3
@Wally Wolfd :
Chief Justice Roberts gladly participates in the sham.
This sham has the blessings of the SCOTUS, highest court in the land.
1
@Wally Wolfd - good point!!!
1
I'm quite serious when I ask; Is McConnell a military robot? Check for subaudible frequency radiation in the Capitol. It's all over the Northeast up here.
1
I expect nothing of the awful republicans in the Senate. If they cannot see what is right under their noses, there is no hope of conviction. McConnell is a disgrace to the Senate as is Lindsey Graham and the rest of the toadies. I expect the democrats to carry on as nobly as they can under the horrible rules McConnell has set forth. They are in the right and I am proud of how the democrats are handling the mess we are in.
4
I just finished calling (202-224-3121) the D.C. office of my U.S. Senator. His receptionist (a woman, of course) answered. She asked for my zip code. After telling her, I requested that the senator please do the following 2 things: (1) Allow new evidence to be brought into the Presidential impeachment hearings, and (2) Allow additional known witnesses to be called in for their testimony. Please know all circuits were busy on my first try; however, I got through on only the second call. Everyone should do the same.
5
@Easy Goer, Won't do much in New York, but you go, Goer.
Senator Gardner your opportunity to save our democracy.
Senator Alexander and Senator Burr will lead when the trial begins because there is no need to upset the Criminal Con Man in Chief earlier than necessary.
Republican Senators it is definitely time to bail.
Trump has zero chance of winning in the election. Lame duck Donald is not funny but darn scary.
We can't have a mad dog holding the nuclear codes.
The Criminal Con Man in Chief will drag the R party right off the cliff and D's will take the Senate.
The R's best chance is to dump him now before he does more damage to the party and they certainly don't want a lame duck lunatic in charge between Nov and Jan.
Can you imagine the damage and corruption he will cause after his "landslide defeat" while awaiting criminal proceedings? Senators must worry about horrible vengeance Trump will expend on our nation from Nov landslide defeat) thru Jan 2021 swearing in of Biden.
67 votes Poof Trump(insanity) is gone.
1
@libel : Sen Cory Gardner is my Senator. He has not been seen in about 2 years, as a recent NYTimes article points out. He is as spineless as they come, therefore a hero to the Colorado GOP, as the NYTimes article points out.
4
The Best Outcome will be if Public sees this as Unfair Trial-which it is--and Vote in Numbers. MCConnell rubbing his Palpatine Hands may block fairness again with Merrick Garland Redux but The Public has Final Say..........Vote Democrat
3
I call on all of Congress to do the job they swore they would do; to protective American Citizens and the Constitution of the United States. They have to remove this Cancerous Tumor of Trump from the heart and soul of America. If Congress does not do their duty, I call on all Americans to vote the cowards and crooks out of office and take your Country back.
2
@Lynette, That's assuming that the elections are not computer-hacked and that the states' voting laws provide for storable paper ballots, and are as generous as possible with the franchise. Remember, the Supreme Court ended the reporting provisions of the Voting Rights Act.
Impeachment is a political action and in this case the Democrats went full-partisan in the House, holding testimony behind closed doors, withholding transcripts, blocking questions and not allowing witnesses they didn't like. And NOW the democrats insist on a fully transparent process, lots of new witnesses, new documents, etc... ? No one takes them seriously and most of America wants to move on - if you want to remove Trump, win the election in November.
2
Certainly McConnell is the GOP master of zero sum politics. The House Democrats have placed their investigation in the hands of McConnell. They had ample ability to do a complete investigation. They chose to rush their proceedings to pass impeachment articles that are obviously not going to impress most of the GOP senators and a couple of Democrats. So this seems like an effort to put pressure on the Senate to make complete the work the House should have done.
1
So, Pelosi and the Democrats made the rules for the impeachment process against objections by the Republicans. They dismissed all of the Republican requested amendments without discussion. I read many of the NYT articles and many of the comments concerning the impeachment process. Not one comment I read criticized the partisan process developed by Pelosi and the Democrats. The resulting impeachment was completely partisan including the final vote for impeachment which received not one Republican vote. So, now the Republicans in the Senate get to make the rules. All of a sudden the same people who were silent about the partisan House rules are writing comments criticizing the partisan development of the Senate rules. What were they expecting? Not one Republican in the House thought Trump's actions warranted impeachment. Why would the Republicans in the Senate think the trial should even be held? It's small wonder that they are streamlining the trial to be expeditious. If the Democrats wanted otherwise, they should have taken the time in the House to gather all of the facts, have all necessary witnesses testify and should have gone to the courts to force witnesses suppressed by the Administration to testify. Instead, they muscled through a 100% partisan impeachment and wonder why the Senate trial is also going to be a partisan affair. Welcome to partisan politics.
2
@B. T. : Well, no. Pelosi followed the same rules as the Clinton impeachment, somewhat. Pelosi was hampered by the fact that the GOP had Starr question all the witnesses before a Grand Jury, and the GOP refused to go along with any of that. Or turn over any documents.
But, I get your point. It was all Pelosi's fault for not forcing the POTUS and GOP to follow the Rule of Law.
All on the Dems.
3
Since John Bolton agreed to testify under subpoena, why doesn't the House (under a separate committe hearing) subpoena him now and have him testify publicly regardless of what the Senate does? if the Senate won't let him testify, at least it will become public record.
7
Attention Mike Bloomberg campaign! This should be the script for your Super Bowl ad:
The Referees Have Taken Trump’s Side
If Mitch McConnell ran the Super Bowl like he’s running the impeachment trial, the game wouldn’t even have to happen.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/01/if-mitch-mcconnell-ran-super-bowl/605233/
7
How do you say “Mitch” in Russian?
12
Let us not forget what the real issue is here.
The primary reason to impeach and convict Trump is that he endangers our National Security by repeatedly and consistently aiding a foreign power, Russia.
Secretary Clinton pointed out that Trump is Putin’s puppet. Speaker Pelosi told Trump that all roads lead to Putin with him. They are both entirely correct.
Convicted felons Roger Stone and Paul Manafort know the details of this, but they will not talk because Trump promised to pardon them if they keep quiet.
Trump’s tax returns would also show that he is in hock to Putin-connected Russian oligarchs, which is why Trump is so desperate to hide his financial records.
Mueller was prevented from investigating Trump’s finances by Rod Rosenstein, and William Barr terminated the investigation prematurely.
For further information on the Russian conspiracy, see The Moscow Project https://themoscowproject.org/ and The Asset Podcast https://theassetpodcast.org.
Remarkably, virtually the entire Republican delegation in Congress is in complete denial of all of this.
The GOP has become the Gang of Putin!
23
I couldn't ahgree more. There is no way Truymp will survive this massive coverup. Someone with (both) an honest conscience and real courage is bound to come forward and "spill the beans". I am referring to a person like John Dean, and what he did to Nixon: He told the truth. Everyone involved toppled like dominos. They were all charged with felonies, convicted and sentenced to prison. Even Mr. Dean did 6 months in federal prison (located in Pleasanton, CA).
7
What Mitch McConnell and Trump’s lawyers and the entire Republican Party are doing is even more brazenly criminal and amoral than anything they are accusing the House Democrats of. It is a slap in the face of the Constitution. It is shameful and shameless and should make every American cringe at the idea that they are living in the America they were born in. It is the entire Republican Party who should be impeached along with Trump. The flagrant disregard of what the people want is a flagrant disregard of democracy. The slime that is at the heart of the Trump era seems to have spread throughout the Party. It is they who are living in a horror of their own making. And we seem totally helpless in the face of it. How stupid do they think we are? How stupid will they make us? If someone, anyone, doesn’t stand up to this chicanery, we are doomed. If this sham leads to a kangaroo court and we do subsequently don’t vote them all out, we will be living, as I think we already are, in their alternate reality, and in a country we might as well call The United States of Russia.
12
@Harvey Perr, Yes, except that only 51% of the people want Trump impeached and removed. The rest seem to want him to _make_ the laws--and be above them. Catch Hannity on the radio once or twice. It's a different world all right.
This appears to be a trial where a slight majority takes a position to oppose a just, true and fair trial of the president.
I call on Chief Justice John Roberts to stand watch over this trial on behalf of the American people.
In the letter and spirit of a fair justice system, I call on him to mandate all votes in the senate to be by secret ballot.
We are not a nation of organized crime.
9
“In earnest”
That was a joke?
We are all watching you, McConnell and Republicans. Time to back off your conspiracy while you still can.
13
Since when does an indicted individual not have to either 1) testify at their OWN trial or 2) plead the 5th?? #MakeTrumpTestify just like Clinton #CorruptSenateRules
10
Thinking this is a waste oftime and money voteTrump out this wont work
"Trumps Impeachment: What to Expect as the Senate Trial Begins Today".
The out come of the Impeachment trial of Donald John Trump, whether acquitted or dismissed, has already been decided.
But the fallout will be far, far, worse. Americans will have ten months of debates before they can pass judgment, and for four of those months, those debates will be on the hot summer streets of America.
2
Thw American people do not care about this! This is just another scheme to continue the Deep State agenda but it will not work because it is failing and no one can do anything about it.
Stop the drama and use this time to serve your people.
2
All Americans who love the country and the constitution care about this.
2
@layla, The "Deep State" is James Comey, Fiona Hill, Lt. Vindman, Intelligence Chief Coats, Ambassadors Yovanovitch and Taylor and all those public servants who called out Trump when he broke the law and risked their careers to do it. Once they are all gone, the next dictator will make what's left of the "Deep State" risk their lives to oppose him.
And here...we...go!
The GOP is on trial with trump. Do they realize that or are they just to stupid to see it?
10
I'm getting a bit confused. Is the evidence that the House uncovered going to be admissible or are they going to say you can't refer to evidence that isn't on the record?
3
@Andrew Roberts
You are not alone in your confusion. I am also confused. But I think that's the point of the Republican strategy like it's been all along: don't pay attention to the substance, but rather muddy the process.
4
The Senates refusal to allow evidence to be entered into the (Senate) records should be answered by entering it onto the house website. Every time they normally would have said "...is entered into the Senate record" they should instead say "... is now available on the house website".
21
It means,Trump has been charged with Impeachment, based on the grounds of "High Crimes and Misdemeanors committed against the United States of America". This is a "stain that can never be removed" from Trump's history as president; regardless of what occurs next in the U.S. Senate.
2
@Ivan It's already there
There is truly no one more evil, more bereft of decency, more contemptible than Addison Mitchell McConnell, Jr.
43
@Greenfish
How about the people of Kentucky that overwhelmingly will reelect him?
1
@gratis Not necessarily. He has more than one opponent at this point.
Your democracy is in its final death throes. This Senate coverup is the first step. Trump, McConnell et al will then stage a rigged election that will seal the fate of your democracy next November.
I have no more illusions on wether or not your democracy can survive. It will not. You had a good run. In the end... the American Dream was, of course, but a dream. The nightmare now begins.
25
Productive positive Americans have had quite enough.. while
Democrats spin wheels -- time to get on with the doings of the country
6
What, you mean like avoiding any of 400 or so bills the House has sent to the Senate has refused to even look at?
15
@SMPH
Thinking Americans know that what you refer to is actually the undoing of the country. There's plenty of spinning going on, but it's not of wheels & not by Dems. Try doing some long term, big picture thinking that doesn't involve what you hear on fox news. Believe it or not, it's not all about you, although that is classic gop thinking.
14
1. mcconnell is as shameless as trump and giuliani. (And he has so much more company among Republicans in both the Senate and the House who are as feckless as they are shameless.)
2. 'Threatening' to call either Hunter or Joseph Biden as a witness in the trial of the impeachment of trump is as reasonable as would be the 'calling' of Shoeless Joe Jackson as a witness for Pete Rose were Major League Baseball to hold a trial to determine if Mr. Rose should be made eligible for MLB's Hall of Fame.*
*Hint: Even if Hunter Biden -- abetted by his father -- stole all the tea in China and all the natural gas revenues due Ukraine, their crimes (high or low), and misdemeanors (however many) would be utterly irrelevant to the determination of trump-impeachment issues and allegations.
14
60 million Americans voted for Mr. Trump not caring about his racist, bigoted and sexist behavior as a candidate for presidency. I wonder if they care about this ?
The real question is do Americans care enough about decent and integrity to vote this man and his party out of office ?
17
@Alan F Sadly, I fear the answer is no. And by the way the same should be said of all of his Republican supporters. They should all be voted out. But Republican control of state media (Fox), and years of focusing on gerrymandering and voter suppression, unfortunately have left the decks stacked against decency.
2
@Alan F
Yes, they care. They want more Trump and his policies.
1
"O, what a fall was there, my countrymen!
Then I, and you, and all of us fell down,
Whilst bloody treason flourished over us."
-Wiliam Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, Act 3 Scene 2.
The US Congress was considered a model of integrity. Now it epitomizes its lack thereof.
17
The Real Trial: Nov 3, 2020 ....hope the DEMs don't hose it up by nominating the wrong candidate....
9
@Marco Then vote for whomever they nominate.
4
@Rick oh, I am voting ALL BLUE NO MATTER WHO in Nov: ward, municipal, county, state, federal ....the GOP can never be forgiven for Trump, I'll never vote for any GOP ever for the remainder of my life.
2
The only effective counter to the McConnell planned sham trial will be a presentation of the facts by parallel means. It is plain that the GOP is complicit in the undermining of the American democracy. It is well past time for the insiders to be brave enough to come forward. John Bolton can "testify" on any news channel and the Senate will hear the facts whether they want to or not. More importantly, so will the people.
11
So, today's proceedings are merely a continuing assault by House Democrats against the election of a president they despise. Unfortunately for them, their new playground is the Senate over which their House majority carries no weight.
As far as I'm concerned, to be a historically valid impeachment the House vote needed a bipartisan vote to impeach. That did not happen.
Now, we're about to be entertained by a theatrical spectacle of no lasting import. Just get it over with and then vote the guy out of office. Or, not.
2
Nothing less than the US Constitution itself hangs in the balance in the election in November. McConnell, who’s own wife is under investigation for using her position as transportation secretary to self deal, is about to lead an acquittal of a man who attempted to bribe a foreign official to rig an election and paid off an adult film star using campaign funds to cover up an affair, and then lied about it.
If Trump “wins” re-election, then that’s a wrap on the Constitution. If Trump “wins” re-election, it will signify that Americans do not desire to live in a country bound by any kind of laws or morality. It will signify that Americans desire to live in a country where literally anything is permitted if you can act the “right” way and say the “right” things. Really it’s always been that way. But things at least were getting better. Watching this societal level regression is just so devastating.
13
If there be a Supreme Being, and if the General Welfare of the Human Race be of concern to Him/Her, let us ALL — Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Greens, et al. — hope that ALL 100 Senators take more than a moment to reflect upon the oath they took, to sit as impartial jurors in the upcoming trial... AND the ramifications of NOT doing so, should they deem loyalty to Party... or their desire to preserve the perquisites they currently enjoy... more compelling than that oath. Optimist that I am, I truly believe that NOT everyone can be bought (through money, fame, “power”); PLEASE, Senators: PROVE to your constituents, and to the world, that I am not a naïve Pollyanna. Much more than your popularity, and your reëlection, is at stake; the very foundations of American democracy, imperfect though it is, is at stake. We are at an existential crossroad; don’t lose your bearings.
5
When the world watches these proceedings this will include as viewers America's enemies and adversaries. If Mitch McConnell and the Republican senators are successful in keeping out witnesses and evidence and give Donald Trump a free pass to remain in office, in what will be the grossest spectacle in the history of the United States Senate, then a signal will have been given to our enemies and adversaries that our pillars of democracy are meaningless. And that will continue to invite further dangerous actions against America and its interests. Think about that the next time King Donald Trump crows about how safe and secure our country is under his watch.
4
The wrecking ball that is Trump has already made the House Republican caucus look like a bunch of wild-eyed cultists. Will the contagion spread to the Senate and the Supreme Court?
Voting to acquit Donald Trump without seeking any witness testimony or new evidence is going to be a majority-ender for McConnell. Ernst, Gardner, Collins and McSally will spend the remainder of 2020 explaining their decisions. Pat Robert’s open seat in KS will be a horse race and that may spread to Ben Sasse...plenty of weak spots will open up as a result of this. It will be up to the Democratic Party to find candidates to capitalize on the grievous injury that Senate Republicans are about to inflict on themselves.
7
Ironic if the Republican party are the ones that are instrumental in the downfall of our Republic, but if they acquit Trump I fear that is where we are headed. This is the most corrupt leader this country and ever seen and it beyond astounding how the Republican party are lining up to support them.
If they acquit Trump, we must vote every one of them out of office in November !!! We are not off to a good start here with this sham trial with no witness or documents. I am shocked it has come to this. Just appalling and I blame McConnell more than anyone for allowing us to get to this point. He will go down in infamy for all the wrong reasons.
9
And from this day forth, every president shall be impeached when the opposing party controls the house.
4
From this day forward, the president will be able to stop witnesses and documents from going to the House, effectively ending the ability of the House to impeach.
4
@Craig
Thanks Craig for your well-fitting comment: I had no more space left on my post.
Good luck America!
Referring to the 1998 Clinton's affair, today's looming unethical "tit for tat" approach chosen by Republicans could reveal itself harmful, first for the USA, and then for the more attentive audiences of this "now" interconnected and plagued Planet: anyone will assume that ethics and intellectual honesty aren't anymore values to respect.
The ground on which Republicans base this swift acquittal impeachment procedure may then be traced back (Kenneth Starr is on board, being a clear litmus test) to the one chosen by Democrats on Mr. Clinton’s 1998 affair.
Notwithstanding the convoluted words used by Mr. Clinton and his lawyers, it had indeed been a secret, reprehensible, and blatant affair for a President of the United States of America.
That Senate’s same decision – although Mr. Trump’s easy, erratic and twittery way to conduct his forays into foreign countries for his, supposedly, personal interests, may result far more dangerous to the USA than Clinton’s sexy infatuation - could be repeated on these very days.
And will demonstrate that any power, whatever power, tends to exculpate itself in order to live on: leaving “naked” the King to all Planet Earth’s inhabitants.
That said, it’s now up to the upright consciences of the Republican Lawmakers to mull over before casting their vote for not choosing this “Tit for Tat” approach, because, Mr. Trump’s acquittal will afterwards confirm that democracy in USA – despite some optimistic parameters – has really vanished.
4
I am more concerned about an unfettered tech industry who refuses to take doing political ads even when they are clearly lies.
Fake news modeled on Russian talking points influencing a clearly ignorant US populace is the end of democracy. We have an Oligarchy led by a despot and his name is Mitch McConnell.
5
The results of this ''trial'' have never been in doubt, because of the republican senate majority leader acting as judge, jury and scale tipper.
However, YOU can be the judge and jury in November <
14
Mitch McConnell's proposal reminds me of the apocryphal tale of the Wild West. The posse brought in a suspected cattle rustler and wanted to string him up.
"Now boys," the sheriff said, "that's not the right way to do things. We have law and order out here. The County Judge will be here tomorrow. We will give him a fair trial and then hang him."
Hopefully the voters (other than those whose sole source is Fox) will see this for what it is and respond appropriately in November.
8
Nothing screams "I'm guilty" more than blocking testimony from witnesses who could clear you if you weren't.
15
McConnell is the shrewdest , crudest crook politician ever born in America . I guess even McCarthy did not want to destroy our constitution and democracy. He has no shame and decency. Under his extreme partisan leadership, fair trial can not be expected. Even Russia and China have better democracy and fairness in trial. Why the Chief Justice of SC is doing in this trial. Will he be seating like a statue or look after for fairness?
7
As several commenters note, these "rules" are an obvious sham,
designed to expedite a heavy-handed cover-up of blatant high crimes & misdemeanors
That McConnell had this in mind from the start has been apparent for months
What's ridiculous is that anyone should have anticipated any other outcome
Given this, one has to question why Pelosi foolishly gave away, for nothing, the one advantage Dems have had in this farce:
Delay submission to the Senate until she could get a clear / detailed / specific statement from McConnell about what the rules were going to be,
not just about witnesses / documents / admission of the House materials as evidence,
but also the rules by which the media would be "allowed" to cover this pathetic imitation of a Stalin-style show trial
What's happening now is not just completely predictable -- IT WAS PREDICTED
There was absolutely ZERO reason for the Dems to submit articles UNTIL they had secured this from McConnell,
whose contempt for them and any notion of democratic process has been blatantly clear since even before the Merrick Garland fiasco
Instead, in their usual Stockholm Syndrome way, Dems acted as if none of these prior outrages had ever occurred,
and are now "shocked, shocked" at what is happening
When this travesty finally results in Trump's acquittal,
which he & his minions will call "exoneration",
Pelosi, Schumer & the entire DC Dem "leadership" should be FORCED TO RESIGN,
in the shame they have brought on themselves
3
@Dr Dave
While I agree that they should not have delivered the impeachment to the Senate without getting proof that they would be able to have witnesses and evidence, and clear rules,
I wish you would stop before blaming the Pelosi for bringing it upon themselves.
While I think they made a dumb mistake, they are not responsible for the behavior of the GOP.
I understand you are disappointed, as am I.
I wish they would have done as the movie character in "braveheart" did and "Hold, hold, hold... hold...".
too bad they didn't. Instead they played Charlie brown and the football.
sigh.
1
Amazing that Mitch has calculated that having his party vote to have no evidence or witnesses would be less damaging than his party conducting an investigation into the truth of the matter and bringing the matter to a fair trial.
Here comes the facism.
13
"First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me"
You'd think that defending the simple merits of our Constitution, and defending our delicate Federal balance of powers, and defending our institutions and traditions would be a no-brainer, wouldn't you?
You know the Biblical parable about Lucifer's greatest achievement being convincing so many people that he did not really exist, has a lot of applicability these days.
Up is down.
"Two plus two is five, or three, or sometimes even four", whatever suits our President-du-jour.
-C
5
@Charley — “They” also came for any reason under the sun: In Heidelberg, Germany the castle has a portion of a very thick turret on the ground after it was blown off in 1693 by the French. “WHAT” and “WHEN” is described above—“WHY” is because it was there and the French King wanted it!
Note: Stalin killed millions under communist rule, so the concept above held true there too and it held true still until the 1960s flower power movement where people (all kinds of people) dared to question the status quo.
1
We should stop this focus on just needing 4 republicans to vote for a "Fair & open" trial. Every republican should demand the same. If in fact they do not, then they are complicit with the Cover up.
Remind your own Senators -that they just took an oath to be a juror & this is a test of their own integrity. Did they commit perjury ?
I am holding Ga. Senators Perdue & Loefler accountable.
9
Meanwhile a “horde” is coming to our southern border, and the most insightful comment on that forthcoming crisis is from a Republican friend, who thinks we ought to set up something like Ellis Island, and deal with these migrants humanely.
Let us have this discussion.
The results of this ''trial'' have never been in doubt, because of the republican senate majority leader acting as judge, jury and scale tipper.
However, YOU can be the judge and jury in November.
6
They think they'll win in November. The frightening thing is ....they may already know it.
2
Impeachment trial? .... this is no trial! Where’s the long traditionally accepted notion of “legal due-process” here? Clearly it’s a brazen cover-up charade being recklessly rammed through the senate, ordered and directed by trump, deliberately engineered and executed by McConnell, and brazenly foisted on a unwitting and bewildered public. The United States is on a fast track to becoming a corrupt banana republic. A shift to a truly authoritative regime in the WH is in the making, no question.
6
Republican Senators have two decisions to defend and protect our constitution and save our country or to lie and protect the criminal con man in chief. Please Senator Burr and other honest true patriots please think about our children and the future of this great democracy.
Moscow Mitch and the rest of the Senate enablers will be the minority very soon and that's if they are even in the Senate.
7
Reality Check ya would think they take problems like jobs for us deplorables as serous as trump job as president. Mean while our government spends trillions on imports for government use with tax money collected from us deplorable.
2
looks like there is a rule change and a 2/3rd majority is needed ...
2
For those living in the reality community the outcome is clear, all the rest is 'sound and fury signifying nothing.'
2
The so-called Republicans are co-conspirators in the Trump/Ukraine scandal cover-up. Just because Trump is angry that he's been caught in the act doesn't mean that the whole party should circle the wagons and put up a shield around him by shutting down justice. If Trump's power-hungry sycophants won't allow a fair trial and "exonerate" him, the Democrats must pursue all those who were part of the president's abuse of power and cover-up and prosecute them. They aren't untouchable. Cut off Trump's enablers, co-conspirators, and make them face justice. Maybe others will think twice before they get involved with this president's corruption.
10
This is one big charade on both sides wasting time on something that is going to end with Trump going nowhere! They could be working on policy and campaigns and let the people decide in November who they want. This political mess is just a difference of opinions!
3
@Max de Winter
How do you let people decide who they want when Trump is actively rigging the election?
7
You obviously haven't been keeping up.
4
@Max de Winter If you don't think the Dems in the House are putting forth bills despite this "distraction", your chosen news sources are not doing you any favors.
2
It's amazing that Ken Starr of the false "impartial" investigation of Bill Clinton is now a defender of Trump. It highlights what a farce America's policy of self-policing is. The Republicans are a venomous cult, tasking with defending the status quo which is plutocracy inside a sheath of Trump's intolerance, bigotry, and ignorance. Right now we could be leading the fight for climate change and building a new infrastructure with green energy, shoring up Medicare and Social Security, investing in STEM and making higher education accessible, rebuilding infrastructure, strengthening bonds with our allies... Instead we are penning shame into the historical record.
14
"The trial starts in the earnest..."
Earnest attempt by Republican senators to bury the charges, I guess.
4
I am hard pressed to recognize the US as a democracy. I think it pretty clearly isn’t. The Senate has proved that.
15
@Bert Gold..... your right, the United States is a republic not a democracy.
@Tom, It will continue to be a republic, a.k.a. a non-monarchy, only if Trump is brought to justice. But it will remain the democracy it became in the 1830s as long as everyone votes, and perhaps a democratic dictatorship if the majority of the voters approve of his one-man rule.
The time is rapidly approaching when Donald J Trump will have proven what he’s claimed all along; he can say or do anything he wants and get away with it. What spineless, unprincipled Republican politicians should remember is that precedent is everything in politics and what’s good for the goose is good for the gander. Sooner or later a Democrat will be running the show. He or she will have the freedom to govern just like Mr. Trump. Every word you utter in defence of this monster will come back to haunt you and you’re not going to like it.
12
And so begins the new republic...which pledges allegiance to the dollar bill of the United States of America, and to the Corruption for which it stands, one Nation under Trump, divisible between have and have not, with liberty and justice for none.
14
Don't think there's much suspense on this one.
3
Republicans in Congress have completely succumbed to what Friedrich Nietzsche said about those who purport to fight corruption: “Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
97
@judgeroybea
If only the Republicans had even an ounce of awareness that they have become those "monsters.," so aptly illuminated by Nietzsche. They have lost their souls under the leadership of the most depraved among them, Mitch McConnell. There cannot be any sort of a 'come to Jesus' moment because without a soul 'they' cannot acknowledge their own depravity.
6
@judgeroybean
Oh please. Is it not conceivable that House investigators failed to investigate properly because they were in a rush to finish up by Christmas, and now the Senate must deal with a shoddy, incomplete, and politically motivated set of impeachment articles??
1
@judgeroybean,
Again, this is such a powerful comment. Your message has affected me deeply because I have been in the abyss called Trump. I was able to escape because of Nancy Pelosi's example of courage and prayer. I am not one for prayer (or mindfulness or meditation), but prayer (Buddhist Metta prayer to be exact) has helped me in dealing with the abyss and the tragedies we are facing.
May we all find peace.
6
More than Trump, the GOP Senators are on trial. November will come the verdicts.
6
The more Moscow Mitch turns this into a farce, the more he hurts the vulnerable GOP senators up for reelection. He can shoot himself in the right foot or the left foot but either way he gets hurt. I love you Nancy - will you be my granny?
The actual case is fairly simple and you don't need more than 1 hour to explain each of the articles. So a good fast summary with about 6-10 "highlights" would take no more than 1 hour. Then an additional 6-8 hours going back to each of those 6-10 points with additional details. The intro & summary would be on the internet for citizens who have limited time available - the whole thing for those who want to gain a deeper understanding of the evidence.
7
I'm sure that many republicans support Trump and hate him at the same time.
Here is the chance to be rid of him, and save the country.
Remember that Trump energized the worst among us.
This worked for the short term, but is a disaster waiting to happen as time will tell.
Trump is leading us into a civil war, a race war, a holy war, a gender war, or even a nuclear war.
What he'll get is a cyber war in return, and he'll be completely powerless to stop it.
This is how a society collapses.
13
If the jury foreman (McConnell) is collaborating with the accused (Trump) on his preordained acquittal, why even go through the pretense? The Republicans have turned our Constitutional form of government into a bad joke.
12
There is nothing “earnest” about the impeachment in the senate, its just mcconnell ensuring the support for “trump wrong , or wrong, or even worse.”
Another trump reality show, a trivial comedy for trivial people.
4
This really is a joke.
Two disgraced attorneys leading the team;
Likely no witnesses will be called;
Trump, who claimed he needed to face his accusers during an indictment is now letting this proceed without them;
The defendant is on his way out of the country as the trial starts;
Counsel has two days of 12 hours to set their case beginning at 1 PM;
Why isn't the judge setting the rules?
6
Trump isn't on trial the Senate is. The republicans are going to make a mockery of the system. Broken government will be the final verdict.
11
"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." Trump deserves a fair trial. Americans deserve the truth!! So how do we accomplish both; relevant witnesses need to testify under oath, and physical evidence needs to be allowed. Americans, putting party affiliations aside understand better than some in Government want to give us credit for; a real trial is about getting to the truth, its that simple or it should be. The Senate trial begins today, are we one nation under God, or are we two nations lost!
4
This is a huge tragedy for this country. Mitch McConnell's outsized power has been absolutely terrible for democracy, from the time Obama was inaugurated until now. Everyone needs to be on the phone to their senators, insisting on a real trial. EVERYONE. TODAY.
I never thought I'd see us fall so far in my lifetime. Whatever happened to our democratic ideals? McConnell and Trump and the complicit members of the GOP are beneath contempt. And yet they are in power. Makes me sick, and I feel worse every day it continues.
16
There must be a concerted effort on all fronts to defeat Moscow/Midnight Mitch at the polls in November.
He has made the Senate his own playground to the detriment of the nation with his obstruction of everything President Obama tried to achieve, culminating with the Merrick Garland debacle. Now with his obstruction of everything the House has passed that he refuses to bring to the floor, and the sham impeachment trial that is looming, it is imperative that the Democrats take control of the House, and ensure that McConnell's days of destruction are over.
7
If McConnell has his way to push through this "trial" with long after- midnight sessions and keeping witnesses away and not opening any evidence (especially the old evidence of the House, let alone new evidence since)---then the Democrats should not vote in this SHAM. Just walk away, so the Republicans and Trump could not crow that total exoneration was bipartisan.
5
Technically and legally, shouldn't Enabler in Chief Mitch McConnell recuse himself as his wife, a cabinet member, receives direct benefit from the Trump administration?
12
That there is a real chance the "world's greatest deliberative body" will rubber stamp the President's choice to use our taxpayer dollars to cheat us of a free and fair election--how on earth are we supposed to wrap our minds around this? And the evidence of corruption just spreads and spreads, from the VP to Ranking Member Nunes, to the Attorney General. If the GOP refuses to even look at it, much less stop it, where are we going to end up? I've never in my life as a citizen been this frightened.
12
What the article doesn't speak to, and I hope another one will, is how the media will cover the trial in light of the limitations that McConnell is imposing.
3
No secret the Dems have been a consistent letdown but if you can watch this unfold and not see the complete sell-out the Republican party has become, you're watching a different show.
The cult of personality surrounding the president and the Rs devotion to political and judicial control over the basic tenets of our Constitution is our undoing.
Coupled with the deep and furthering agitated divide among Americans, and the abdication of sincerity, it's hard to envision momentum swinging back.
For certain, the politicians have no problem running all of us off a cliff.
2
The entire premise of Democrats' impeachment argument rest on the contention that Trump should not have asked for an enquiry against Biden's corruption as he is a political candidate in 2020 election. Since the dealings happened in Ukraine, its president has a responsibility to find out the truth. An American President has a responsibility to find out whether any American is engaged in corrupt practices in a foreign country, especially when that person is the vice president and a political opponent. Impeaching a president for trying to expose corruption of the opposing party's candidate is an extreme measure. That is why it is a political and partisan exercise and abuse of power by Democrats. They are impeaching to shield corruption.
3
@Alex K This is pretty good story that apparently must be accepted on face value without investigation -- right? Being such a good story it seems doubtful that it will fall apart under greater scrutiny. IF this story is true it will only be strengthened by the witness testimony in an open and fair trial. Unfortunately the greatest effort of Republicans is to bury and omit the facts and evidence supporting the fact that this indeed is only a story and not the truth.
2
@John Lewis: Hunter and Joe must be scrutinized to find the truth. Others like Bolton will only confirm what Trump tried to do, if they know the facts, which Trump's lawyers do not dispute.
I plan not to watch these proceedings too closely as its conflict without real resolution or a resolution that mocks justice is extremely upsetting to me.
Trump's justification for doing what he did, not really a defense, if ratified by his GOP enablers in the Senate will open the door to the whole sale legal meddling in our elections by a foreign power. It seems that the President would be able to investigate anyone with the power of the
presidency while denying any access to his actions by anyone, a sure path to a dictatorship.
6
If Carl Bernstein's moniker for McConnell, "MIdnight McConnell," has a basis in reality (that is, that the speaker plans to hold the hearings at 1 a.m., un-televised, to shield Trump and the proceedings from the American people, then the Democrats need to engage in civil disobedience in the hearings. First, they should remain standing at all times. They should not be seated when the speaker says to sit. Second, they should smuggle in iphones or some kind of recording device, and take videos of the proceedings that they then make available on the internet for all Americans to see.
If the Democrats lie down and accept McConnell's rules, they will allow us all to become toast.
12
Pelosi surprisingly folded and failed the voters. Big mistake or calculated move for self interests of entrenched congress without equality.
1
So let me get this straight. McConnell apparently is angling for having no witnesses. And at the same time he is proposing that the evidence compiled by the House won't be automatically introduced in the Senate.
So he really wants an impeachment trial with no evidence and no witnesses?
It's so blatantly absurd it would be rejected as a SNL skit.
205
@pmbrig
And don't forget, besides wanting no new evidence, no old evidence and no witnesses, he wants alot of it to take place after midnight. The sham trial being carried out by the GOP will prove to the world that Trump has no real defense against the charges.
26
@pmbrig No, it would make a funny SNL skit because it is so absurd
6
@Alexander Harrison why is Speaker Pelosi’s age an issue and Trump’s isn’t? Because when I watch them each speak, I worry more about Trump’s incoherent rambling and mispronunciations. By the way, do you know how many GOP senators are tottering on the edge of 80? And how many have passed it?
12
I hope Chief Justice John Roberts will step up and tell the Senate Republicans that he will not preside over a sham trial that allows no evidence--even that already collected by the House, and no witnesses. If he allows this charade to go on, it will further degrade and diminish the public's perception of the high court over which he presides and the very notion that there is "Equal Justice Under Law." He also should insist that scheduling most of the trial to run past midnight when no one is watching is unacceptable and insist on normal hours of 1:00-5:00 pm. The attempt by Mitch McConnell to ram through a sham trial on such an important issue is in itself committing an abuse of power that undermines our Constitution and its rule of law. Such a trial will not only render an acquittal meaningless, but also grievously wound our democracy.
21
@Paul Wortman , and Mitch McConnell has already compromised the integrity of the Supreme Court by his refusal to honor President Obama's final nomination; Chief Justice Roberts must surely be concerned by a legitimate impression that his court is controlled by the Senate Majority leader. He must intervene to keep the process honest.
6
@Paul Wortman
The trial will tell if our democracy is only a fair-weather democracy. The Republicans in charge may just collapse the house of cards.
2
The democrats ignored all precedent and made up the rules in the House as they went along. The republicans should now do the same thing in the Senate. I think that's the fair approach. The party in power of the chamber makes up the rules. We knew what the House was going to do before they did anything...everyone called it. I think the same thing is happening in the Senate. When this political show is over can we pass an infrastructure bill?
3
@Tom
Nothing will be passed, the chaos needs to be attended to and there may be no functioning government left when it is over. Republicans play for keeps, take no prisoners.
1
@ARL And the democrats are what...people of integrity? They own this impeachment and any/all fallout from it. Damage to our Constitution is unprecedented.
1
@Tom, Spoken like some members of the Democratic minority in the House in 1868 about the Republican majority that impeached Andrew Johnson for breaking a law it had just passed over his veto. We survived, even without removing Johnson.
In a parliamentary democracy, a simple vote of no confidence by the MP's could have cleaned the deck a long time ago.
11
I am not so worried.
I believe a majority of Senators will vote to introduce the House material into the record, and then to call for witnesses and evidence. The majority ( a slim one, no doubt), will then vote to hear from Bolton, Mulvaney and others, and even receive some documents.
Then, the President will be acquitted along a party line vote, but not until after his offenses have been cemented in the public mind
5
This is not a trial. This is cover-up that will have the silent support of all GOP senators and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. In a few short days, Trump will walk away from all of this able to claim that he is exonerated at his rallies during the campaign. And he will be able to smear Democrats for falsely accusing him. Experts were correct. As soon as Pelosi turned over the Articles of Impeachment to McConnell without a deal on the parameters of the trial, she and the House lost any say in the process. I find that I don't want to watch it or dignify this dangerous farce that is about to happen with my presence even if it is only on a television screen.
5
McConnell has already delivered the Senate verdict. The only point of the trial is to put Trump and the Republican senators on record, which is reason to proceed. The so-called moderate Republican senators will also have to chose between their oath to defend the constitution and their fealty to the Republican leadership and Trump. I don't think there is much mystery in how they will choose.
28
It’s the trial of the decade and no matter how it goes, we all know what the outcome will be.
7
The Senators have access to thousands of pages of witness testimony. The Democrats’ problem is that the testimony provided by directly involved witnesses is exculpable rather than culpable.
The U.S. diplomats who interacted with President Zelensky aides all testified that no quid pro quo was attached to military aid. Ambassador Gordon Sondland testified he presumed a quid pro quo was attached to the offer of a presidential meeting, but when he asked President Trump directly, the president told him there was no quid pro quo. When Ambassador Kurt Volker, who handled negotiating with the Ukrainians, was asked if the president used a presidential meeting to pressure the Ukrainians, he said: “The answer to the question is no.”
The Democrats are desperate for a witness who will testify that Trump used security aid and a presidential meeting to pressure Ukraine, but there doesn’t seem to be any. They could ask Zelensky and his aides to testified, but they have repeated and publicly said there was no pressure or blackmail.
7
@William Case Released email..."Based on guidance I have received and in light of the administration's plan to review assistance to Ukraine, including the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, please hold off on any additional (add:Dept of Defence) obligations of these funds, pending direction from that process," wrote Mike Duffy, a White House official in the OMB whose job involved dispersing national security funding. Duffy added, "Given the sensitive nature of the request, I appreciate your keeping that information closely held to those who need to know to execute (the) direction." This message was sent 90 minutes after the phone call, on July 25th, with Ukrainian President Zelensky. That was then followed up by another message two hours later. To expect Zelensky to admit he was pressured is absurd given Trump's actions in office to date. His country is at war and it needs any and all assistance to resist the Russian backed forces. Trump broke the Impoundment Act which is a crime.
5
@BeachGoer
Zelensky readily, even enthusiastically, agreed to Trump requests during rho July 25 phone call. Trump ordered the hold before the Zelensky phone call, but OMB communicated it to DoD after the call. But it doesn’t not matter. The White House acknowledges it odered the hold. The defense team’s memorandum shows Trump ordered the freeze because he was concerned American was saying more than its fair share share. This is consistent with his past objections to foreign aid.
1
Has anyone else noticed this -- even if witnesses are allowed, McConnell's proposed rules appear to allow no time for debate or argument between the appearance of witnesses and the final vote on removal?
12
What is John Roberts' role if not to ensure a fair trial? Could he allows Republicans to deny evidence they fear illustrates the president's malfeasance, and not destroy his reputation?
16
@Jim
When it is all over and done we will have seen a great show trial, as fake as our fake government is. The Justice has no power to do anything, so what is he there for?
Maybe I am wrong, but it does not look good.
1
What is John Roberts' role if not to ensure a fair trial? Could he allows Republicans to deny evidence they fear illustrates the president's malfeasance, and not destroy his reputation?
3
So when it comes to Supreme Court nominees McConnell thinks it's best to defer and delay for an entire year, ostensibly so the American public can "choose" the nominee. When it comes to the impeachment of a president, McConnell is in a terrific hurry and proposes rules to make it impossible for the American public to see the proceedings and refuses to allow us to learn all the evidence. Remember this in November, vote him out of office along with all of his complicit senators.
25
Not since the OJ trial will someone get off who is so clearly guilty, because of the jury.
Not since 9-11 is our country being attacked by the protect trump at all cost senators fueled by the propaganda of foxnews.
What a mess.
I hope our constitution survives.
I fear it will not.
420
@Jane
FoxNews, former foreign billionaire owner laughs at US democracy.
It is far easier to buy a media owner (or blackmail him) than to invade a powerful country.
Through years a lot of American got used to foreign, lying propaganda and we have a peak now. In my opinion Mr Trump is only a symptom, not a cause, real engine of attack on US democracy might be abroad - usual suspects, one with the best foreigh intelligence today.
42
@Jane
FoxNews former foreign billionaire owner laughs at US democracy.
It is far easier to buy a media owner (or blackmail him) than to invade a powerful country.
Through years a lot of American got used to foreign, lying propaganda and we have a peak now. Low quailty GOP members - are a by-product of it too, almost none of them is qualified to represent the country (we see this almost every day)
In my opinion Mr Trump is only a symptom, not a cause, real engine of attack on US democracy might be abroad - usual suspects, one with the best foreign intelligence today.
14
@Ron
Fox News is part of the Fox Corporation which is owned (39% interest) by the Murdoch family through a trust. For obvious reasons it is the one part of 21st Century Fox, sold in 2019 to Walt Disney Company, that Murdoch did not relinquish.
Media owners such as Rupert Murdoch are never bought or blackmailed; the buying and blackmailing is done by them. Murdoch is undoubtedly one of the most powerful men in the Western world and I imagine that even Trump pays fealty to him.
19
Along with John Quincy Adams and Senator Robert Taft among others, which senators will be listed in the "next" edition of the John Kennedy's 1957 book "Profiles in Courage?"
6
Well, hopefully every Democrat. At the very least.
However, if “trump” pulls this off then there very likely will be no book written. At least not concerning “The United States of America”, for that will be long gone.
1
@Pattpie, Maybe they'll leave out Senator Ross of Tennessee who voted against removing President Andrew Johnson of Tennessee for breaking a law, and caused a 2/3 majority in the Senate to fail by one vote. I'm not so sure that was unadulterated courage.
This isn't the real trial- this is a sham and a cover up. The real trial will be on Tuesday, November 3, 2020.
38
@Edie Clark But even then there's no guarantee that any justice will prevail--with hacking, gerrymandering and no proper paper ballot mandate in place. It is appalling, and terrifying to consider how poorly our elections are being (mis)managed, corrupted and bought, and will continue on such a path until true election reforms are implemented. Not to mention the horrible irony of the electoral college in and of itself and how it does not reflect a true democracy to begin with!
14
@Edie Clark
Between foreign interference and voter purges and suppression, the election won’t even be a fair “trial”.
3
If “trump” pulls off this ultimate crime you can pretty much kiss free and fair elections goodbye.
If “trump” renders himself above the law in the next few days, then he will only be leaving feet first when he goes. The real trail will be what happens about a decade from now, when he is dead. Power vacuum. None of his kids seem to be made of the same cloth. Power scramble.
3
Can you impeach one chamber of Congress for obstructing Congress? That's a ludicrous question to a ludicrous situation.
10
@David, The answer is that members of Congress can't be impeached. The precedent was not set in the case of Senator Blount in 1797. This is one of the important reason why Congress is constitutionally the First branch of government—the maker of federal law—and not a "coequal" one. (Or at least it has been up to now.)
Ladies and Gentlemen, this is a Coronation not an Impeachment.
19
The Senate trial is a sham, and the country knows it.
As of yesterday, it is exactly one year until a Democrat is sworn in as the next President of the United States of America.
All we have to do is show up in November and do our part and vote.
21
@rslay As I mentioned in another post, the November election is also rife with potential problems, as there's no guarantee that any justice will prevail, or that the outcome will reflect the truth of the majority--with hacking, gerrymandering and no proper paper ballot mandate in place. It is appalling, and terrifying to consider how poorly our elections are being (mis)managed, corrupted and bought, and it seems things will continue on such a path until true election reforms are implemented. (Not to mention the horrible irony of the electoral college in and of itself and how it does not reflect a true democracy to begin with!)
4
We will watch Moscow Mitch, who should be on trial himself, destroy the constitution of the United States.
42
Republican Senators and Trump’s TV lawyers want to prove that Americans are clueless or complicit. They will present the Constitution as a document that confirms the notion of an all-powerful president who can do whatever, except commit an impeachable offense. They figure, as any grifter does, people are fools who are easily distracted by shiny objects. They know 40% will believe anything they say, more concerned about getting two-day free shipping than having a dictatorial government.
17
Mitch McConnell is the most unfit and malfeasant politician I have ever seen and I am including those on both sides of the border. How he can look at himself in the mirror in the morning.
The poster boy for all that is wrong with our democracies.
64
I'll be very, very surprised if anything changes from the original plan by McConnell. He knows he has many scared cowards within the corral.
11
Democrats know that this whole impeachment process has been a partisan sham from the beginning. They also know that the republicans will win the vote on the rules, and will ultimately acquit Trump, so why go through their charade? - to grovel to the Trump-Hating TV audience for political points. I hope the advertisers sell plenty of laxatives, toilet paper, and depends.
6
Are senators obliged to stay seated during all hours of the trial?
2
No offense but your country looks increasingly like a bandanna republic. This is a problem for the rest of us who want & support a powerful USA to offset China and Russia.
At some point we're going to have to ally with them instead. You choose when.
16
*banana
I like the sound of bandanna republic too though.
3
What is amazing to me is that Trump has gotten away with things his entire life. Bailed out by his father numerous times, not having to admit wrong doing when charged with housing discrimination, not having his casino license taken away , NBC not taking his TV show away when he accused President Obama of being born in Kenya. And, now the Senate is going to let him get away with a crime against our democracy. What awaits us after this is rushed through? Can’t be anything good.
18
@Suzanne Victor in addition to Fox, the MSM and late night shows love him. Trump makes their work so easy. Just watch daily headlines. Hey Chief what do we run with today?
2
Wow, I guess Cons really can *say* and make it so: they've been saying all along that this is a hoax, a scam, a charade, and here we are at "trial": a hoax, a scam, a charade. They have made it so!
12
@Gustav Aschenbach, More projection. My Trump Algorithm is: If Trump says A is doing a bad thing B, then it is almost certain that Trump is doing bad thing B.
And what's true for Trump is true for Trumpers.
My gosh this is a hot mess! I'm not a legal expert or anything, but I think it's basic knowledge that there's not a fair trial without witnesses? They are really showing their true colors. I can not believe they have the nerve to even debate that in front of the entire world. Also it's very shady that no media will be allowed when senators debate. This is our country and president. We deserve to know what the people who may or may not remove him think about this. Very interested to see how this peculiar trial plays out.
22
Just the fact that Trump lies constantly should be enough to impeach and remove him from office.
I'm starting to think that the GOP leadership wants to keep him in office only because it keeps the investigation on him and away from them.
I'm so glad that my beloved father who fought in WWII and was so proud to be an American is not alive today. And I miss him terribly.
26
This is the savviest comment so far, and I think it rings true for the past 25-30 years at least. Our local reps are not reps at all, and they sleaze things by under the radar with far more dexterity than anyone gives them credit for. Gerrymandering is just the tip of the iceberg, and Trump is the most distracting beard for congress ever thrown into office.
2
Living in Washington, DC, this whole thing is a spectacle.
We have a twitter president who broadcasts every dirty deed and obstruction in real time.
Our government is only partially headed by confirmed department heads.
The senate is run by a man who shamelessly tells the opposite of every truth all the while funneling money into his state and into his pockets.
And a public who lights up social media instead of phone lines to their senators.
American, we can make our democracy work if everyone takes a moment to call or write their senators. If you don't, you are part of the problem.
As for me, give me two senators and a representative and they would be hearing from me every day.
What a luxury.
#CallYourSenators
21
I called my Republican senator, here the answer
Dear Mrs.
Thank you for taking the time to express your thoughts regarding the impeachment process. Understanding your views helps me to better represent Florida in the United States Senate, and I appreciate the opportunity to respond.
Article I, Section 2 of the United States Constitution states, “[t]he House of Representatives…shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.” Article I, Section 3 states, “[t]he Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments.” On September 24, 2019, Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that the House of Representatives would open a formal impeachment inquiry against President Trump.
If a president is impeached by the House of Representatives, it is the Senate’s role to conduct a trial, presided by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. This will either convict the president and remove him from office based on the charges passed by the House, or acquit him. Conviction of the president requires two thirds of the senators present to vote in favor.
Impeaching a president is an extremely divisive and consequential decision. If this process moves forward to the Senate for a trial and vote, I will continue to approach it thoughtfully. I commit to only act on the basis of facts and in the best interests of the nation.
“BASIS OF FACTS” I an only waiting to see how he proceed. I am very upset with what is going on.
3
@OnlyinAmerica, You live in DC and may not have a Senator to call. I live in New York where both Senators are Democrats. If you try to contact a Senator from another state, as I have, you will quickly see that they do not think themselves obliged to answer a non-constituent. This strategy will only work if there is a deluge of constituent messages to incumbent Republican Senators, a deluge large enough to convince them that they might be vulnerable in a future election.
Why bother watching. The Fix is In. GOP has already move to quash evidence and witnesses, and have this travesty, sham, and mockery (a travishamockery) of a “trial” wrapped up by next week. We already know how this will play out. A mock trial coordinated by Moscow Mitch and DJT, Putin style, with acquittal pre-determined. Because of whatever dirt DJT has on certain Senators, and their need to not offend the big GOP donors who are all in for DJT while he fleeces the country for their benefit. If you aren’t voting against every GOP candidate in November, you are complicit in the destruction of our Constitution. Whether you agree with Democrats on any policies or not is irrelevant.
12
@Tex Murphy You are absolutely, correct!
1
What to expect from the Senate Trial beginning today? Americans who yearn to see Mr. Trump removed from office can only hope that his Senate Impeachment Trial will reach out into the malign spider web of our president's corruption. Donald John Trump is in Davos, Switzerland with his cadre at the World Economic Forum as his trial begins. Senate Majority Leader McConnell has promised a quick trial in time for Trump to be acquitted before his State of the Union address 4 February. Promises, promises don't fit in with the unintended consequences we've seen in the past 3 years of President Trump's chaotic administration. We Americans know well that "The best laid schemes o' Mice an' Men Gang aft agley" Robert Burns, 1785.
8
This is all about preserving and defending the Constitution. We have a president who is not only totally unfamiliar with that document but worse, demonstrates disdain for it, and what's most troubling is Trump's ignorance of and disdain for the Constitution is applauded by millions of his supporters and condoned by the vast majority of congressional Republicans.
12
The Republicans are living in a very isolated dark bubble of greed and lies, without any contact with the world around them.
Hopefully the bubble will be shattered and the light of truth will overwhelm them and force them back underground, where they will, as always, survive, but with severely diminished capacity to pursue their evil agenda.
I feel like I'm watching, metaphorically, a real world version of "the night of the living dead".
10
These rules are a sham and blatantly designed to cover up facts from the public. There is absolutely no reason for the 24 hours of arguments to be split into just two days other than the fact that Mitch does not want America watching when the Dems make their case. Hopefully America can see this for what it is: a cover up, and vote the whole GOP lot out in 2020.
11
If the Republicans rig the trial allowing no evidence in the public record or witnesses, then the Democrats should protest the trial by not showing up, giving the farce of a trial no cover. Then, they should impeach Trump again for bribery and obstruction of Justice, and subpoena Bolton to provide evidence. There is no way Trump and his ilk should get away with breaking the law with no consequence. Justice will be served. The day of reckoning will come. We don’t want our president making deals with foreign leaders for him simply to remain in power and gain wealth. He is unAmerican. He doesn’t even like most Americans and doesn’t care to learn about the challenges we face but only what profits him personally, and we are beginning to see the the Republicans in leadership are more concerned about the same versus climate change, healthcare, infrastructure, public education, etc. etc. They will ALL be voted out of office! We are done with this charade if governing. They had two years with majorities in the House and did nothing but give themselves a tax break that triple the deficit. What profit to a man if he gain the whole world but lose his own soul? Woe to those who ignore justice and righteousness, when it’s within their power to do the right thing.
7
@GraceNeeded yes, you provide an excellent tactic here, one that the Republican state senators in Oregon deployed when they wanted to defeat an environmental initiative- don’t show, thus no quorum, no process moving forward. If all Dem senators were to leave DC for their home states, the majority leader has no power to extradite them from their respective states. Thus, with no quorum, no Senate dismissal of the charges.
4
The preferred approach for Republicans is always unfair. We all saw them crying about how unfair the House was behaving when they were yet following the rules Republicans created for impeachment.
2
Biden got a pass from the US House of Reps and the while Biden is not ready to pass the torch to a new generation the partisan impeachment trial torch has been passed to the senate. Will the BURISMA investigation central to the Ukraine corruption receive a pass or will be fair game?
3
@Girish Kotwal are you commenting on another article? This is about Trump’s trial, not about Biden. Making it about Biden is a distraction, what about? But what about...?
2
Beginning "in earnest" is an interesting choice of words. Webster's defines that as; not fooling, serious and sincere. Considering Mitch McConnell stated he wants to get this over with quickly and is working with the White House, there are obvious doubts concerning his sincerity acting as an impartial juror.
We The People are watching closely to see if Senate Republicans choose to ignore the evidence. They do so at peril of being unseated in the upcoming 2020 election. The House created 600+ pages of information through the course of the impeachment hearing. Sadly some Senators like Lindsay Graham have stated they will not read that report, demonstrating their partisan sycophant devotion to Trump. Congressional Republicans need to protect America and our Constitution from "domestic and foreign threats", not blindly ignore threats from Putin and Trump's abuse of power.
Especially concerning is recent information released by Lev Parnas, Giuliani's right-hand associate who along with Rudy worked in direct capacity for President Trump in the Ukrainian Scandal. While the MAGA may discount the Senate Impeachment Trail, patriotic Americans distrust Putin and expect Republicans to function in the best interests of the United States of America regardless of politics.
We The People may well need to vote out Senate Republicans for failing to conduct a fair and just impeachment trial. Time will tell and the GOP is on notice.
11
We will have the usual rules as Republicans, who hold a senate "majority" only because unpopulated rural states get 2 senators, will tell the majority of Americans to go take a hike.
10
Given the nature of these rules - now drafted eith the clear intent of hiding Donald Trump’s acts from a clear understanding by the American people, with debates continuing until 1:00 AM for the sole purpose of precluding the American citizenry of full knowledge of the proceedings at the end of each day, Democrats should simply refuse to participate until this is made right. They should not now, by their participation, lend the slightest whiff of legitimacy to Trump’s acquittal.
3
"Republicans' preferred approach" at this point is to immediately ignore and acquit. Trump said it himself: he could shoot someone in the middle of Times Square and he'd get away with it.
19
The “witnesses” are not the Holy Grail Democrat’s hope. All the witnesses will do is confirm the plain facts of what is already known. And Trump supporters (and by extension GOP Senators) have already made clear they don’t care about what is already known. The facts of abuse of power simply don’t matter to them.
11
The Trump trolls are out in force in this comment section.
Has anyone noticed that there's been a steady increase here over the past year? Go back to the beginning of Trump's term, and you'll see how much the proportion has changed.
Meanwhile, there's been a noticeable increase of anti-Trump commenters on Fox News and The Hill. The shifts there are smallker than the shift here; but still noticeable.
My theory: These "disrupters" are either Russian trollbots and/or Rightwing operatives. They've shifted to a new target.
It's the converse of the strategy of lies and divisiveness that Russia promulgated during the 2016 election. In 2016, most of this strategy was aimed at low-info voters in Red and swing states, because they were more impressionable, and because the Russians knew that because the country and our leaders hadn't yet understood what they were, their efforts would fly under the radar.
But now that the strategy is understood more, they (Russians and/or Rightwingers) know that it won't be as effective in Rightwing media, because that audience is completely brainwashed.
Plus, the dynamic of the impact of the impeachment is controlled more by informed voters. Thus, they're now targeting places like the NYTimes. Sow divisiveness among the informed Left; divide and conquer. Make knowledgeable voters so sick of political games that they won't bother to vote. Stoke anger, so that we attack each other.
This is not paranoia; this is our Brave New World.
13
@Paul-A
Absolutely right. Many voices speaking as if on behalf of Putin himself. Not paranoia at all. Fairly easy to recognize actually and fair play to you for pointing this out.
Frustrating to say the least. Nothing new when it comes to discussions of fact. The mob always seeks to distract.
-Real American
3
@Paul-A I would recommend simply ignoring the "disrupters". Nothing you type will change their views. Responding to them adds fuel to the fire, and often validates them. Some may be "trollbots" or "rightwing operatives", but most are guys/gals like me and you, here to express ourselves, right or wrong.
1
Message to the American people from Republican Senators:
He didn't do it.
He didn't do it.
He didn't do it.
He didn't do it and it's not illegal anyway.
He didn't do it and so what if he did?
He didn't do it and it's not impeachable.
He did it and it's not impeachable.
We know he did it and we don't care.
71
Since the Trump defense team’s strategy is to say that “of course he did all of these things but they’re legal”, why haggle over witnesses? The defendant is saying he’s guilty but you can’t remove him - that’s not an argument that requires John Bolton’s testimony at all costs. Isn’t this a constitutional argument rather than an argument over actions? If the Democrats want to gain sympathetic voices for removal among Republicans, maybe they need to pose some theoreticals: suppose Trump wanted to have Russia investigate a fellow Republican like Mitt Romney or Jeff Flake or their children? Suppose he held up aid to a country and the country experienced a pronounced military defeat during that time period? And suppose he said he actually did know about, and encouraged, the email release by Wiki Leaks? Is the law of this country only about what HE thinks is legal? He is setting his own legal trap. Democrats, don’t create a diversion by haggling over witnesses. Expound on his logic to show Republicans just how unacceptable his behavior is.
4
Of course the question that everyone should be asking is ... why argue about trial rules and whether witnesses can or cannot be called when the outcome of these debates and of the trial itself is a forgone conclusion?
I am sure that I cannot be alone in wondering what is supposed to be achieved by the impeachment of a President when the verdict has been decided before the trial begins.
When Trump is acquitted by the Senate it will result in him claiming, as he did after the Mueller report, that he has never done anything wrong ever in his Presidency and that he is innocent of all charges ever laid against him. Thus he will become stronger and more popular.
1
@RHR
"Thus he will become stronger and more popular." He will become more unpopular to the majority, and a bigger threat to America and the world.
1
@RHR Apparently, it's all about that 43% and their undying, blind adoration. The plan is that 43% of entitled white people continue to dictate to the rest of us "elites."
2
The so-called most powerful “democracy” at work? A country where in fact the rich-and-powerful, and multinationals with special interests govern. The impeachment seems just to show that the “system” works. As America continue on the road of moral decay, and division between factions, the gap between the super rich and the working men and women gets wider, where money talks louder than anything else, where the right wingers vehemently support invasions and destruction of countries, where pedophiles are immune, etc. What a sad country America has become, diametrically oppose to Christian values. Although vehemently screaming “we are a Christian nation, founded on Christian values”
10
I think the Republicans will come through for the country’s President. I have no idea if what the President did was wrong.
I do not know exactly what he did – was he serving himself, or that nation Ukraine and not yours – the great federation, the US?
1
@M. C. Major
No one really knows what Mr. Trump did except Mr. Trump and a few of his aides.
The Democrats in the House did not take the time to investigate fully. They were worried that a proper investigation would take too long.
That is the foundational problem that the Senate must now grapple with.
4
I've been wondering if this trial doesn't revolve around Republican efforts to excuse Trump's crimes, but rather to obscure crimes that McConnell, and likely his wife, have committed and wish to keep under wraps. What could be better than sanctions from the very top, or at worst, pardons? He has to keep Trump in office, and clearly won't settle for Pence.
"Midnight" Moscow Mitch. He and Donald are perfect partner's in crime. Steal from the poor and give to the rich.
9
@KJ
What crimes did Mr. McConnell and "likely his wife" commit?
1
Politics is the art of survival, a maxim which will invariably apply to Trump’s trial. Nobody with political longevity will ever take a controversial position sure to hurt them at the polls. The rule applies to Democrats as well. For example, in 2012, when Democrats controlled the Executive Branch and Senate, with meaningful gun control legislation attainable, the massacre of twenty 6 and 7 year olds at Sandy Hook was considered politically acceptable collateral damage to avoiding primary fights by roiling the NRA. Editorials and articles exhorting Republicans to put country above party are pipe dreams. No Senator will “vote his/her conscience” so long as Trump polls strongly in their state. Save that “duty, honor, country” talk for the Marines, where it actually has meaning. Sadly, it has no application to many elected officials.
4
As exhausted as I have been since Trump assumed office, I will be watching or listening to every minute of these historic proceedings. It's desperately important for Americans not to disengage during these next few days. No outcome is assured, and citizens have the ability to call their senators if they don't like what's unfolding in front of them. Though Trump may disagree, his impeachment trial is not a big reality show. It is reality.
231
My question is how much real time will we be able to hear or see? The rules have reporters contained to 2 pens before Senators enter the chamber. Within the chamber are no electronics and for the first time ever, there are metal detectors at the doors. The pols are doing everything they can to keep the American people from knowing what is going on. Funny how everyone screams about 2nd Amendment but are okay trampling on the first.
82
@Amy D.
I would not be too concerned. Audio recording always seem to have a way of surfacing.
8
All eyes on McConnell and Republicans.
We need to hold their feet to the fire.
We should be protesting in the millions in DC surrounding the capitol for as long as it takes. But we are lazy as the republic hangs in the balance. Sad to see.
10
If he has any sense of duty to his country, if the Senate votes against witnesses, Bolton should just come forward and make a statement to the press with his hand on the bible before it’s too late.
123
@LauraExpat I'm old enough to remember when liberals called Bolton a dangerous warmongering neocon.
13
@Benjamin He was and likely remains so. So when even Bolton can't stand or sanction the acts committed by Trump, Giuliani and the rest of his crew, we know we're in trouble.
30
@Benjamin 'Interesting times' indeed. I ask myself, my wife, and the anchors on TV what shoals of confusion have we as a society have foundered upon that we're relying on a certain dangerous warmongering neocon to set the ship of state aright.
11
As it stands, the rules dictate a farce, not a trial. A cheap and tawdry coverup.
Chief Justice Roberts should think long and hard before giving this charade his rubber stamp.
Of what value is the Supreme Court of the United States when the balance of power established by the Constitution fails? With Congress down, the Supreme Court is next on the menu.
What will it be, Judge? Trump, or the checks and balances in Constitution you claim to protect?
You, Mr Roberts, may be our country’s last hope.
470
@Chickpea
CJ Roberts always has the nuclear option of announcing during the trial that he will resign rather than participate in a fraudulent coverup. McConnell knows this.
49
@Chickpea
It's a little precious to complain considering what the House rules were during the inquiry.
5
@John Brown The rules that the house used were drafted by the republicans and the same as the republicans used during the Benguzi. Clinton testified for 11 hours in front of a Republican controlled committee so what is your point?
74
The personal hatred of Trump as demonstrated by every single one of these comments (28 so far) is precisely what drives normal people into his arms. One would think you would get this by now. Americans stand up for the unfairly oppressed.
3
@Susan You are right--it's traditional for normal Americans to fall into the arms of charming entertainers, the rich and powerful, those who promise the status quo and the gilded era--the unfairly oppressed oppressors, the snake oil salesmen.
3
@Susan Not according to the pols.
1
@Susan
Fascinating . . .
Whom are the oppressed, in the America of which you speak?
Please expand upon that.
-C
1
Simply horrifying that potentially a Senate majority may not be achieved to compel evidence from witnesses and requested documents. The Senate is not standing up for justice or America. Shame on them!
10
The founders of this nation were very aware of how intrigues work and they were especially aware of how power tends to morph into an animal of its own, no matter from which political party.
In the back of everyone’s mind is this question: was President Trump somehow justified in withholding funds to Ukraine based on his belief of faul
play stemming from Democrats? We know the answer in our individual personal belief systems, but we also know that he will not be found guilty by the Senate. That’s how the system works!
Political posturing around the issue is another matter. Democrats will benefit from a long, drawn-out process and Republicans will benefit by keeping the process short. If you’ve never watched the World Federation of Wrestling there’s no need to do it now because this is the same thing!
This’ll be over pretty soon, perhaps beginning of March, where we then can enjoy the next phase of the System: Steak University Man vs. Power-Fork Lady in the battle of the next Presidency! (using wrestling tag lines. you gotta see some fun in this because it’s 24/7)
I will admit that I was against Power-Fork Lady (Amy Klobuchar) but things change. Maybe she’ll have the zingers necessary to Bar-B-Q Steak University Man (President Trump). We’ll see. The New York Times seems to think so.
2
@William Perrigo
Hence the beauty of our system is revealed: our experiment is free to not only soar and to seek the broadest and the highest of aspirations; but just as free also to burrow and to rake into the muck and the mire, oh yes revel in the stinking mire.
Dredge-forth, the lowest and the worst angels of our Nature, oh purple mountain majesties!
Mire-on, Sea to Shining Sea!
Muck-on, 'Murica!
Muck-on!
-C
Strict Constructionists, until they're not.
Fiscal Conservatives and deficit hawks, until they're not.
Champions of morality, until they're not.
Defenders of Law and Order, until they're not.
Americans, until they're not.
11
Who really believed that Mitt Romney had the right stuff to stand up to Trump/McConnell? My beloved state of Georgia has sent the newest member of the Senate-a genuine rookie- who, before a line of testimony or documentary evidence has been revealed, pledged to dismiss the charges against her beloved leader.
The Senate Republicans are not Orwellians, they are Strangelovians.
9
@Doc As resident of GA you are correct. We have two senators that need to be replaced.
2
Debate over what rules?
Who gets to buy the next election?
Start uniting citizens to end citizens united or the establishment and the Congressional-Military-Industrial-Complex will continue to buy all of our Democratic Republic.
Bernie/Tulsi 2020
3
Here we go again... another nail in the coffin of the “checks and balances” to prevent despots taking over. Trump has become king and has broken the constitution ... shown it to be no longer fit for purpose.
10
Those who prefer a war with Iran also would enjoy their now successfully stacked courts deciding their wars, their polluting, their employment gender rules and their ideas on health and human services.
They've forgotten how unfair capitalism is. A lesson learned after the Dust Bowl migrations. They feast on the living Teapot Dome and depend on pollution to win antiquated values of ground wars because they believe it makes them look strong.
The stink is what is strong.
5
Senator McConnell is correct that no additional evidence is needed to determine the guilt or innocence of Donald Trump. The existing evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates his guilt.
The only question remaining for McConnell and Republicans is whether the President is above the law.
13
This entire process has been along party lines. Expectations of kumbaya unity are magical thinking.
4
Sham or not, I guess we should be grateful that there wasn’t a Republican majority in the House as well so that we couldn’t have a trial at all.
9
I've never felt as abandoned by our system of government as I do today.
Never in my lifetime have I witnessed a more openly corrupt Executive and complicit Congress. I've lived long enough to know that corruption in government has always existed but once exposed is usually ended and those involved prosecuted or at the very least publicly shamed out of office.
Not for one minute do I believe that these Republican Senators who tow this line are thinking about their oath to our country, their constituencies, their legacies or even their own families. If they were, then the vote would be 100-0 in favor of removal of this president from office and all future offices. No, their only concern is maintaining power at any cost.
To the Senators who are "holding their noses," until this is over- is losing your soul worth maintaining your office?
730 million eyes are on you today. Do the right thing.
293
@JSB
The "right thing" is most assuredly in the eye of the beholder. As is "corrupt government."
2
@David H
To a certain extent, yes. However, "corrupt government" has a falsifiable definition because "corrupt" has a specific meaning (while "right" does not). It means to use one's office to benefit one's self personally. If the President used his office (which he did) to benefit himself (which he did) and not the public (he doesn't care about corruption), then the President is corrupt.
Don't hide behind words. They're not good cover.
20
@David H withholding taxpayer dollars to ask for a personal favor, and demanding that this personal favor be witnessed by some announcement on national tv, and using his own personal attorney to do so is the very definition of corrupt. If you don't agree, you might want to question your own morality and its derivation.
1
Are all of the managers required to take an oath to tell the
truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? That rule, too, might save some time and would certainly better serve
the nation than partisan insinuations.
We will only know if Republicans get away with not having witnesses testify, not allowing new evidence to be presented, hamstringing the House's ability to put on its case, and/or acquitting Trump after the 2020 election. If they do it will be because the voters let them.
3
@Jay Orchard at least we don't have the "electoral college" conspire when we vote for congress people.
1
It would seem that Republicans would want witnesses that were directly involved in the Ukraine issues that could provide exculpatory evidence for President Trump. Seeing that there are none, the Trump defense team is free to call Mr. Hunter Biden who is not being investigated or charged with a crime, who has no direct knowledge of Trump's conversations with Ukrainian officials.
3
"But even if senators do vote to call witnesses, the president could try to use his executive power or the courts to stop their testimony, delaying the trial indefinitely."
Concern about judicial entanglement was *precisely* what Adam Schiff cited recently when he explained to reporters why the House investigators rushed to get the impeachment articles passed by Christmas.
My question is: who is the genius on the Democratic side who failed to game out all the various permutations here, and was ANY consideration given -- by Speaker Pelosi, for example -- to whether it might well have been a better idea politically to challenge Mr. Trump at the ballot box rather than engage in politically risky gambit too impeach him?
4
President Trump is guilty without a doubt and needs to be out of office, so sayeth Pelosi, Schumer, Schiff and Nadler. Let the Republicans prove he is innocent. We now have a justice system whereby some senior members of Congress believe you are guilty and then have to prove you are innocent. Imagine being tried for a speeding ticket with a judge having this belief? Worse, how about a crime of manslaughter? Back in the 1950's, there was Joe McCarthy and his relentless underhanded efforts dubbed McCarthyism. Same attitude as what's going on in Congress today.
11
@Boat52
Except Trump released the draft of the phone call...so he has already admitted that everything said about what he did is true.
It's a confession that Republicans are treating as though it has no weight at all.
You're saying that laws are not laws and bribes are not bribes.
He broke the law and he offered a bribe--with taxpayer money--to undermine an election. And he tried to overturn our laws against bribery.
He CAN'T prove he's innocent, because the information is already out there.
6
Imagine not showing up or cooperating at all with your trials. That is the more accurate scenario here.
3
@Boat52 You seem to be misinformed, or you just don't understand how impeachment works. It's not a criminal proceeding. The constitution provided a very vague set of guidelines for the process, so Congress has established a set of more detailed rules. In fact, if Congress decided to remove the President without presenting any evidence, that would still be constitutional.
1
For those who don’t know, this is what it is like to live in Russia. There is a leader who can do anything he wants to do, because he is the leader. He has his figurehead Duma/Senate who follow his lead, if they don’t they are attacked and fired, replaced by yes people. Voters like him because he made “Russia Great Again”. The difference is that Americans actually voted for this guy and 40% of Americans don’t mind such an effective dictator.
174
@DO5
Agreed. Difference being Russia has been the same for a millennium, not used ri denocracy or individual responsibility. We, the US, were sort of a democracy as of 20 years ago, with some limitations of archaic rules to give power to economically failing undereducated small states
12
@DO5 One of the most chilling account of the current situation in America that I've come to read. And to follow with the bitter irony of your post, I first wanted to write "our country" instead of "America" but at this point, that expression is too ambiguous to use.
11
@DO5 I think you are giving Americans more credit than is deserved. On the whole not that bright at all. More like "follow the bouncing ball" types.
8
Hopefully the Republicans will be exposed as the corrupt partisan hacks that they are, and enough voters will be disturbed by the tactics to vote enough of them out of office in November to reset Congress. Evidence should be presented fairly, with witness testimony, over a reasonable amount of time. The American Constitution does say Congress represents The People. But it doesn’t represent us. It only represents the power players. I expect a sham, and I won’t be disappointed. Or I will be disappointed but energized.
31
McConnell’s wife is Secretary of Labor. Her family I believe has strong economic ties to her ancestral land, China. Could all of this be any more corrupt than it is? Only if Trump shoots John Bolton in the middle of Fifth Avenue.
But he doesn’t need to. We passed that stage long ago.
45
If truth survives us Mitch McConnell will be referenced historically in the same manner as Benedict Arnold. No single individual has single handily turned our country into the kind of place that we would derisively refer to as a "banana republic" or as we thought of elected bodies of Russia, China, or North Korea which did nothing more than rubber stamp the supreme leader's wishes. For me McConnell is a traitor to the Constitution which he ignores at will for his own purposes.
We saw the beginnings in his pledge as a US Senator to work against the President. We saw it come to flower in Supreme Court nominations of two presidents. We see it come to full fruition in the fake trial of an impeached President:
"Everything I do during this, I'm coordinating with White House counsel"
"Exactly how we go forward, I'm going to coordinate with the president's lawyers,"
"There is zero chance the president obviously will be removed from office and I'm hoping we'll have no defections at all,"
That last one: Defections? That's defections from the party. That's right, McConnell sees votes on the articles of impeachment not as an obligation to the Constitution and to the oath they have taken but to party and party power they serve.
154
@Marie Exactly! Well said. His tone and demeanor is 100% clear - party over country.
What a sad day for America.
1
Trump has one thing right: this is a show trial. For even if he is convicted and removed from office (unlikely), it will do nothing to change America's fundamental political landscape, and Trump I will simply be replaced by Trump II.
The reason? The real political divide does not lie between left and right, between Democrats and Republicans, nor between the college-educated and the non-college educated, nor even between rural and small-town America v. the big cities.
No, the deepest gulf separates the 60% of Americans who have seen almost no economic progress over the past 45-50 years, on the one hand, and, on the other, the corporate elite, Wall Street and the wealthy, of which just the latest poster child is Boeing, its Board and Muilenburg with his $80 million+ payoff.
The hard truth is that the latter, no matter what happens in the Senate, will still control the vast preponderance of wealth - and POWER - in this nation.
This is the legacy of past Democratic administrations as much as Republican. Neither Clinton nor Obama nor Hilary truly understood the depth of most Americans' sense of frustration, disappointment, and betrayal, their ever firmer conviction that the system is rigged against them and that no one in Washington cares about them.
Sadly, then, unless Democrats can unite behind a program of correcting the mistakes of the past, we're doomed to an endless repeating of this trial.
20
@VCR I think everyone gets the grievance of the 'left-behind', what we don't get is why the charlatan Trump is their hero; the most oligarchy of all oligarchs.
9
@Michael Powell It's simple: if there is only one politician connecting with you, 'telling it like it is,' who are you going to follow?
Trump is the only one showing any concern, saying to his base, mostly white, mostly older, mostly rural, who have not got to where they expected they would economically, given what their parents had, "You know why? It's because of 'them.' And I'm not on 'their' side, I'm on your side."
"The elites," like the New York Times and the rest of the main stream media, "are on 'their' side.They [the elites] have given 'them' an unfair break. I'm on your side."
Call Hunter Biden.
Put ‘the whistleblower’ on the witness stand.
Blow the lid off Democrat and ‘progressive’ malfeasance.
10
@EGD Hunter isn't an elected official sir.
However, trump* has been officially impeached, therefore anything he says or does going forward has an asterisk next to his name. FOREVER.
Have a great day.
50
@EGD Not only would doing so risk the whistleblower's safety and career, it would jeopardize the entire concept of and laws and rules governing whistleblowing, thereby sending a dangerous message to all who would draw attention to government and corporate wrongdoing. Moreover, it is unnecessary, as witnesses and documents have established the facts to which the whistleblower drew attention in the first place.
And you want the intended victim of a smear campaign to testify to what exactly?
You're either not paying attention, or you have learned from poor example how to misdirect attention in order to deceive.
49
@EGD What are they going to "blow the lid off"? Beating a confession out of someone is illegal regardless of whether or not the person committed the crime.
Putting the whistleblower on the stand is not going to suddenly make the call transcript and hundreds of hours of sworn testimony disappear.
30
It would be good if the Chief Justice refused to preside over a charade. He should not lend himself to such a blatant cover up.
Come on John—you don’t have to prejudge matters, nor ever enter a judgment. As presiding officer and the ultimate guardian of the Constitution you do need to see that justice is done and the case is heard.
Save us from this dangerous attack on the Constitution, the separation of powers and the electoral process.
92
@Tony C
I doubt that Chief Justice Roberts has the inner integrity to do that.
2
@Tony C
Sorry, he's already pledged allegiance to the Republican party.
1
@Tony C
The Republicans like MCConnell and the Koch Brothers have bought the soul of the country. They have piece by piece destroyed every branch and thought ahead and loaded all the courts up to the Supreme Court. They won and the country lost.
1
The Republicans will do everything in their power to undermine a democratic and uncorrupted trial process. Donald Trump will surely also deeply involve himself in obstructing justice. The amount of partisanship and partiality in a trial that is supposed to be neutral and based upon facts is unprecedented. The Republicans are simply refusing to hear the facts and are lying to themselves and the public. This is shameful.
42
@Bethany
There will be no more suspense as to the outcome of this Impeachment as there was when Clinton was Impeached. I remember when Clinton was Impeached. I knew he would be acquitted before the trial started. Know how? Everyone knew he was going to be acquitted, that's how. And, no one said the Sky would Fall when it happened.
1
@SportsMedicine
Uh, totally wrong. The House invited Trump's defense lawyers in. They refused. Get it?
11
@SportsMedicine You definitely saw a different hearing than the rest of us...those fox talking points you are spreading are definitely false. If TRUMP is indeed so innocent and wants to be exonerated it's very simple let Bolton and the other witnesses testify, unblock all the documents that exonerate him, why Republicans are trying to cover, block and distract so fiercely any efforts to hear the truth? Truth is simple and can set you free if you don't hide anything, is that Trump's case? I don't think so.
2
This is a sham trial because Republicans rule the Senate, and McConnell has as much, if not more power than POTUS. None of this would be happening had the Dems focused on winning the Senate. This must be a strategy each and every election. As important, if not more, than President. Be flexible. Open the tent. Would Trump be in this mess had the Dems taken control of the Senate? Nope. No Gorsuch, no Kavanaugh, no Tax Bill for the Rich, etc., etc. What will it take to shake Dem leadership? How bad will it be after Trump is acquitted and McConnell & Co. really feel their oats? How much of a farce will this trial be?
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@et.al.nyc The math in 2018 did not allow for turning the Senate blue: not enough R seats were contested. 2020 is another story.
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@et.al.nyc
The senate trial could be no more of a farce than the congressional inquiry and investigation.
4
If Bolton is willing to rspond to a senare subpoena, would he respond to a house subpoena and testify in the house concurrent with the senate trial?
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It’s never going to happen - they’ll need at least 20 Republican Senators to vote for impeachment- none have signaled they would -none.
It’s partisan - period.
Why would Democrats expect Republicans to agree when no Republican Congressmen agreed.
Two thirds majority is a joke.
Trump’s going to be on the ballot in November - if the Democrats don’t stop this nonsense, he’s going to win again.
The Times endorsed the 2 weakest candidates- it’s almost as if this newspaper wants Trump to win.
Either Biden or Bloomberg - those two unquestionably are the best choices and have the broadest support.
The impeachment will fail and only strengthen the Republican advantage.
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@JMS
"Trump’s going to be on the ballot in November - if the Democrats don’t stop this nonsense, he’s going to win again."
Schiff, Nadler and Pelosi deserve all the credit for what happens to the democrat party.
1
@99percent Biden, owned by oligarchs and Bloomberg, an oligarch; is that what this country needs?
I'll be watching out for GOP Senators remembering they are Americans before they are Republicans. I suspect I'll be disappointed.
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@Nomad
Dont they get primaried out once trump turns on them in revenge?
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I’m sitting on my campaign donations to the democrats running against McConnell and “moderate Republicans like Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Cory Gardner and others,” holding the winning cards. That’s the least I can do, give them one more chance to do the right thing. Bluffing isn’t going to change the ultimate outcome. If Trump is acquitted, the Senate will flip to Democratic control after the 2020 election. If Trump is reelected, he will be re-impeached and removed from office. That’s what my cards are showing, and I’m ready to up my campaign anti as soon as this charade is over.
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What made Mitch McConnell such a craven politician? In his subservience to Donald Trump he makes Lindsey Graham look like a statesman of the highest order. The Russians don't need to hack our elections and our government, the Republican Party is light-years ahead of them in destroying "the more perfect Union" envisioned by our founders.
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@Joan1009 Mitch McConnell has accepted money from Russian oligarchs, as have many others, including Trump and their fellow Republicans. I also suspect that McConnell and the others have been 'leveraged.' Putin's gang has a lot of information and is applying pressure, no doubt.
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@Joan1009
He survived childhood polio. He's always been frail and bitter, and politics was the perfect vehicle to extract his revenge.
10
He has no children, so it’s all fun and games for him. He’s only got a few years left and so none of this makes any difference to him. He has no skin in the game. All of which means he is as equally sociopathic as “trump”, who does have kids.
11
This is totally and only about power, corruption and greed.
McConnell and Trump, would do well to remember the world precedent is round, including their precedent.
12
Sixty percent of this country want to see more witnesses and a fair trial and I believe near to that think Trump abused his office. A majority want him impeached and removed. McConnell employing the strong arm tactics he did with Merrick Garland to suppress the will of the majority of American people is not going to go so well.
66
It's not going to go well for our country's future, but it sure will go well with Trump's supporters! And that is all that matters to Trump and the party of Trump.
6
Mitch McConnell is one of the reasons why the Senate and the House NEED term limits.
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@MTorres One term should be sufficient. Mere mortals are lucky if they get three months to prove themselves on the job.
1
@MTorres
NO!!!
Both chambers, and the presidency need AGE limits.
Term limits won't work.
With upper age limits in place (they already exist on the lower end, or else Trump would have appointed his teenage son Baron to the senate by now) we'd be rid of McConnell and Trump and Biden and Warren.......already.
Everyone knows Trump is going to win the Senate trial because Republicans rigged it.
The question is, will they be able to rig the election too? I have no doubt Trump will try.
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@JimmySerious I think *is* trying is more apt here!
22
Him trying is why he was impeached.
13
@JimmySerious Trump already tried to rig the election by shaking down a foreign leader to get dirt on Biden. That's why he was impeached.
13
The Republican Senators actions to quash witnesses and suppress documents will live in infamy as an attack on the very foundation of our democracy. Donald Trump and the Republican Senators than engage in this cover-up need to be voted out of office and forever shamed for their actions. I truly hope that the third branch of government, the Judiciary, joins with the senators loyal to the Constitution and quashes any attempt at a cover-up.
73
The Republican Senators actions to quash witnesses and suppress documents will live in infamy as an attack on the very foundation of our democracy. Donald Trump and the Republican Senators than engage in this cover-up need to be voted out of office and forever shamed for their actions. I truly hope that the third branch of government, the Judiciary, joins with the senators loyal to the Constitution and quashes any attempt at a cover-up.
18
@JWalfish Too many of them have gotten their appointments from Mitch for me to have any faith in the judiciary branch. If you read some of their testimony, they are just as partisan in their decisions as the Republican Senators will be in the impeachment trial.
Moscow Mitch is doing his best to ensure that the "trial" is the sham and coverup everyone expected it to be. The GOP has zero interest in the truth. Sad days for the nation.
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@Steve
GOP knows they cannot win by any other means. It's simple arithmetics at the level that they can trust their learned advisors
4
End days for our republic.
And every republican knows it.
And every republican apparently craves it. They simply do not like this nation and its constitution, and it’s clear they mean to destroy it. They are handing it over to a mad man.
10
What I expect to see today, after the unpatriotic maneuvers of Moscow Mitch and his band of "We don't need no stinkin' Constitution" posse, is a version of the shootout at the "America's not OK Coral". Democrats will take careful aim and fire, while the Republicans will spray the field until the Constitution is no longer standing.
79
Let’s face it - it’s about pleasing the likes of Mitch McConnell, not the Constitution or democracy.
41
It's sad that so many people do not see the threat the party of Trump poses to our democracy. The irrational support of Trump and his policies and its obvious appeal to hate and prejudice will destroy this country and all it stands for unless he and his legislative supporters are defeated, and defeated soundly, in 2020. If that happens, the country could be saved; if not.......
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@Sledge
Are you sure that trumpists would not prefer a monarchy of like-minded autocrats? In a democracy, new ideas win on occasion.
2
If the GOP Senators shirk their duty to defend the constitution, than the House should begin impeachment a new. We know that Trump is guilty of much much more.
78
@Carroll .... IF?
4
Mr. Dershowitz says the President is guilty. Hence witnesses can add nothing of substance. The only decision left is whether it is an impeachable offense. That issue is the only one remaining worth spending time on. The discussion in the house with the four legal scholars did not seem to move Republicans. So what are we to do to reach a cogent decision on that matter?
18
Everyone knows what Trump did and that it was wrong. No further evidence is required. It is not Trump who is on trial It is the senate.
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@ndbza Yep, he probably did what you say. Yet, it does not warrant impeachment. Go vote, that’s how we decide on our leadership. Leave the circus to the clowns.
@T Smith How does cheating in an election, and then obstructing the investigation into that cheating, not warrant impeachment?
4
@T Smith The Republicans are doing their best to make sure the 2020 election is not rigged in their favor. I'm not sure if they're doing the American Oligarch's bidding or Putin's. Is this about simple and obvious grifting or undermining our faith in Democracy?
1
Perfect call? Then call the witnesses and prove it!
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