I will not be watching, listening or reading any republican rebuttal to spare myself their predictable and endless vitriol.
16
The thing to remember is that Republicans don’t need a real argument, evidence, proof, or even reason.
They need excuses for what they want to do, and talking points for their voters.
See also Susan Collins, who makes noises from time to time so that she can go home to Maine and tell the suckers that she maintained an open mind.
13
If a Vice President were to leverage hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to get his incompetent son a million dollar job with a corrupt foreign company, could that be considered "Abuse of Power?"
What do you think, Chairperson Schiff?
4
Open hostilities, vengeance, and malice are not a very good looks for the party of love, free stuff, and secularism...just saying.
The irony, hypocrisy, and parallels of Bill Clinton’s impeachment are finally coming home. I fear Collins and the Senate in full-campaign mode already know what this is really about.
Besides, it was long overdue that the Bidens got caught with their fingers in the cookie jar.
3
Dems will lose in a landslide. Very upsetting.
3
2024 - Adam B. Schiff for President and Stacey Yvonne Abrams for Vice President.
8
Make trials “discovery” again.
Seemingly, the current Republican political class has devolved back to the political class of the Confederate States of America, in essence. And the democrat political class in the form of Pelosi and Schiff, as examples, reminds of the Secretary of State William H. Seward and his prodigious efforts in saving the Union, thank God!!
8
Interesting that the GOP Senators had very little reaction to anything until someone pointed out the obvious :
that Trump will have their heads on pikes if they do not follow his lead.
They are imagining that they are not cowards! Amazing.
15
America is not buying.
Adam Schiff is going to be unmasked for the many in the coming days as being the liar and the political hack that the few who have been paying attention have known him to be all along. He is not today's Joseph Welch; he is a liar and a hack. We NEED a Joseph Welch, but it is not Adam Schiff.
2
Outrage! The self righteous Republicans, led by Collins and Murkowski, are angered that Schiff referred to a CBS report alleging that a Trump minion threatened any Senator who defects with displaying his head on a spike.
Schiff could and maybe should have omitted reference to the unverified threat. Probably not a good instinct to troll the very jurors a prosecutor is trying to persuade. Clarence Darrow would not criticize the Scopes jury for “apeing the defendant.”
However, certain greater truths endure the test of time. As the Bard observed “The lady(ies) doth protest too much, methinks.”
Trump may not have actually threatened to decapitate Republican defectors. But he has placed a price on the heads of party members who have had the courage to challenge or criticize him. They have been tweeted into silence or retirement, or subjected to primary challenge and raucous rally threats.
Schiff struck a nerve...the truth hurts...every Republican Senator knows any vote or even equivocal statement against Trump’s perceived interest will be met with vicious, personal attacks. They can’t handle this truth: they have succumbed to a bully.
None of the Republican Senators have exhibited the courage and selflessness in the face of severe adversity that John McCain endured. None can match his bravery. All are afraid of the wrath unleashed by Trump for his principled defiant vote. Trump’s wrath has followed McCain into his grave; they fear he will bury them politically.
11
Anyone recall President Obama saying (in signaling his intent to bypass Congress to enact his agenda), 'I have a pen and a Phone and I will use them". Then, after reminding peoople that he had NO consititutional authority to enact DACA he went ahead and did it anyway? I don't recall the NYT readership getting a case of the vapors after that and callling Obama a dictator. And, no, this is not "whataboutism", it's simply pointing out the hypocrisy. For the record, I think Citizens United was the death knell for our democracy, witness Mike Bloomberg's attempt to buy the 2020 election. Trump is just a symptom of disease in the body politic and the inevitable blowback from the hinterland to the hollowing out of our middle class by the free traders and union busters of the Washington/Wall Street elite.
1
While Geo.W Bush became a national embarrassment Trump has proved to be an outright national disgrace.
To his supporters I say this: Trump has not and will not solve even a single one of your problems and grievances. Instead he just makes makes you feel better about being angry. That's all he ever offered.
62
I am watching the early stages of Republican defense-already devastating to Democrats-facts clobber fantasy.
3
The people will decide in November and the hope is that truth will win. Democrats have tried to make the case but Republicans are afraid to break ranks with the Executive branch. (If roles were reversed, the Republican leaders would have conducted a witch hunt). Grow up and govern ethically. History will show many Senators to be true cowards. Grow up, Senators!
8
Assuming the Constitution and the world survive this administration, the coming decades will be full of Republicans trying to explain away their past support and defense of a criminal draft dodger who deserved impeachment and execution for treason.
Make the congressional GOP members go on the record as defending Trump and endorsing this behavior, and they can spend the rest of their lives trying to wash away that shame. And as the years go by, they will see with growing dismay how history views their conduct today.
12
Follow the money. Something else is going on that is causing the republicans to lose their integrity, values, and conscience.
Look for the corruption.
47
What's the deal the House case is fully open to us to read and comment on but the defense case is hidden behind java scripts that did not block the House case?!
1
Very proud to call Schiff, Demings and the other House impeachment managers my compatriots. They are standing up to a despicable bully, showing true American character. The GOP senators who are orchestrating a cover-up are nauseating. Every fibre in our American hearts should prompt us to rise up against them.
10
Trump is not a dictator. He is the elected President of the US. There is a big difference, and I have a strong distaste for inflammatory, absurd language of this nature even though I am not a fan of President Trump.
2
"The Senate was presented with three days of often an vivid narrative and painstaking legal arguments that Mr. Trump sought foreign interference in the 2020 election on his own behalf, by using vital military aid and a White House meeting as leverage to pressure Ukraine to investigate his political rivals."
"painstaking legal arguments" won't and should not win the day. Two other words that applies to the Democrat's logic are "contorted" and "spohistic".
FACTS, DIRECTLY supported by direct eyewitness testimony and accurate transcripts should be used to explain what was done. The Republican retort this proning had those, most tellingly the direct words of Zelensky.
Those alone should have stopped this whole sordid affair (sordid actions by Democrats) before it started.
Two other things should be noted ... the "pike" comment, which was, as usual not supported.
Second, the fact, surely to be explained simply in coming days by Republicans, is that asiking for help ferreting oout corruption in a country we propose to help .... is EXACTLY what our President is supposed to do.
1
I do not recommend watching or covering the president's lawyers and their defense. They are ready to lie and their case is propaganda. None of us has the means to fact check everything they say, so lies are going to affect us. The NYT has already started its mostly uncritical coverage of their "arguments" and that is how this goes. The case of the House managers will die in this unfair environment.
3
Comment translation:
We know Trump is going to be reelected and we can't stop it. Democracy is dead because we don't want Trump to be reelected and it's going to happen anyway.
7
“Get rid of her,” Mr. Trump can be heard to say, according to ABC. “Get her out tomorrow. I don’t care.”
Don't water this down. According to reports, what he said was, "Get rid of her! Get her out tomorrow. I don't care. Get her out tomorrow. Take her out. OK? Do it."
There's a not-so-subtle difference here. The "take her out" is clearly an allusion to a forceful removal. I think that somewhere in the back of Pompeo's mind he recognized that, and thus the directive for her to leave immediately.
7
I'm still waiting to be told how holding up some Ukraine aid for a week endangered our national security. Maybe I should ask Obama why he held up military aid.
Given how the House democrats managed the impeachment hearings, if I ever have to hear Schiff or Nadler's voices again it will be too soon. The claim that Trump will "steal" the 2020 election is as weak as the claim that he stole 2016.
3
A lot of these comments give me some hope. If Trump is not removed we must get out and vote. Vote like our lives depend on it. Because they do.
8
I am just heartsick and demoralized at the lack of spine the GOP has, willing to trash our country in their greed for power. Schiff is correct and his remarks are corroborated by those who have worked closely with Trump and have spoken out. Trump is in it for himself, pure and simple. This is the time for Anonymous and others who have been mute to speak out for once and for all; otherwise they are enablers in the free-fall of the U.S. People think it can't happen, but it can. And when we face another crisis and Trump handles it badly, who will pay? We have been living on borrowed time and are fortunate that cooler heads prevailed, but we may not be so lucky in the future if this sociopath is allowed to stay in office now and for another four years.
8
As a college student in the 80's, political science discussions turned occasion to how the United States would see its demise, if ever. We had a strong military, we were separated by two oceans, and neither Canada nor Latin American posed much of a threat. How would the United States fall, if ever? By imploding from within. But we were students and thought that day would never come. And none of us would have imagined that the Republican party -- the party that held itself out as strong patriots dedicated to the Constitution and protective of American principles -- would be complicit in our beloved country's destruction. But here it is. I am so thankful that my father, who fought for his beloved country and spent 8 months in a German prison camp in WWII, is not here to see some cowardly elected representatives turn a constitutional republic into an autocracy for a narcissistic bully who reigns with a mean tweet.
8
It doesn't take much intelligence to see exactly what Trump is doing to this country.
6
Adam Schiff Man of the Year, as far as I'm concerned!
7
Well, Nancy did a great job to help Joe Biden by disadvantaging Bernie and Liz - who have been pulled off the campaign trail.
2
After the Senate votes to acquit, anything goes. There are 283 days until the election. A guilty, sane individual, accused of murder and acquitted might decide to back off. Not this guy. The sewer’s the limit. Then, assuming the democrats can get their presidential stuff together (a real stretch), there will be over 80 days between the election and the swearing in. That is, assuming Trump agrees to go quietly, (another stretch). “Let the American people and their votes decide”? HA
4
I don't believe our democracy is going to die and don't think it is helpful to talk as if that were going to happen. Instead, call your Senators and voice your views and expectations that they will conduct a proper trial with witnesses and evidence.
I believe good and right will prevail. I have faith in our ideals and process, even though they have taken a hit.
Most Americans -- and other people who appreciate the American ideals of freedom, justice, truth, self-government, and the rule of law -- are honest, and are not stupid.
Most Americans will not accept as President someone who would cheat to win.
3
The real danger to the nation is by removing one of the two candidates from the ballot (President Trump) in November as his Defense lawyer pointed out. That would make Russian interference look like child's play. Hillary Clinton was on the ballot in 50 states. Her problem was she lost 30 of them. The House managers, in effect, conceded that their articles were rushed and weak when they insisted the Senate get more witnesses. They could have done this but wanted to finish for Christmas. Nice.
1
Impeachment was the last best hope that the Democrats had to undo the results of the 2016 presidential election. They have failed.
Now the American people will judge both sides on November 3rd 2020. There are precedents for what may happen this November. May I suggest a brief study of the elections of 1972 and 1984 where two sitting presidents were re-elected in historic landslides?
2
I trust Adam B. Schiff. I hope Republicans see this as a turning point in our country's history and do the right thing. That would require putting aside their singular, tunnel-visioned career objectives and actually represent the People of the United States and uphold the Constitution, both of which the Republicans who support the likes of Trump clearly have brushed aside.
10
As long as folks understand Donald J. Trump as a 'gaslighter' run amok, they may anticipate the consequences of his limits and those who choose to play his sensibilities.
The only caveat is the lengths Trump & friends will go to perpetuate this arrangement to the detriment of the nation. The 2020 election is a major safety check for the U.S.
America has survived worse times and moved ahead. The impeachment drama has been an occasion for leadership to emerge where otherwise the nation might have not had to call on them - perhaps the "silver lining" of our political scene.
1
It is my hope that the American people, who have listened to the evidence provided by the House to the Senate the past few days, do not feel defeated when the Senate votes not to impeach. We have learned from this entire episode that we have legislative representatives who have made up their minds not to work for the American people, but only for themselves.
We know this therefore we must stay vigilant and look at the Senatorial votes offered on impeachment. This will reveal who truly will support the Constitution and American democracy. Those who do not, make your voice heard at the ballot box.
We must be in for the long fight for the maintenance of American democracy, those who came before us, did not give up, neither can we. The House representatives who presented the case for impeachment, did their duty and did it magnificently. They should hold their heads high; they truly served and upheld their oaths of office. I thank them all.
11
Thank you, Chairman Schiff. Your words were powerful and true.
14
The solution to this issue is simple. Pass a Constitutional amendment to eliminate the impeachment references in Articles 1 and 2. What's the point of having such a process if the Congress can decide to ignore it for the most egregious disregard of law ever by a federal official?
4
A simple argument.
When ONLY Democrats accuse and prosecute the President, and ONLY Republicans defend him, then the mere act of impeachment is de facto a political party struggle alone, and thus has no validation in law or in fact since impeachment is, again de facto, an act of political will and not judicial.
4
I don't expect Republicans to vote to convict Trump, but I do have warning for them (in spite of the fact that there is no chance at all of their reading this comment). What I would like to warn them is that they must, for the sake of their own authority, for the preservation of a major tenet of the Constitution and as a warning to future presidents, show their rejection of the absolutely illegal and cavalier dismissal of subpoenas. Once again, I don't expect them to convict him even in this crystal clear case, but they must show, through a reasonable number of votes that they reject this disregard of their prerogatives. They must do this to preserve the balance of power. If they fail, they will create a dangerous precedent.
5
It's not that the defense team's presentations and arguments will be shorter, concise, and mindful of your time...
It's that the defense team has no real defense to present.
Complaints by Republicans pertaining to how much time it took, for the Democrats to put forth their argument, are not relevant to the case, and are in fact, a waste of time.
6
No US Senator should vote to acquit President Trump, after listening to the mountain of evident that shows: 1) he broke the law (Impound Act) by holding up the aid, and 2)that he did so against the US national security interests, and 3) that his willingness to ignore national security in favor of his own self-interest is a pattern that has persisted throughout his term as president. Any Senator who does vote to acquit is just as much a danger to this country as Trump and should be voted out of office in 2020. How can any American want to see their laws, the democratic separation of powers, and the very security of this nation disregarded? How can any American contemplate living under the autocratic regime that would become our country?
6
Almost 70% of Americans want witnesses and documents. We were told things would change when the polls showed such numbers. Now that doesn't seem to matter. 70%. Who's government is this? Certainly not ours.
11
Yes, Senate Republicans will almost certainly use their majority to acquit Trump. If you don’t like what Senate Republicans are doing, note that Amy McGrath - a 20-year Marine Corps veteran with a masters degree in international and global securities studies - is running against Mitch McConnell in this November’s election. A well-educated patriot sounds a lot better than Moscow Mitch. Even if you don’t live in Kentucky, you can donate. People like McConnell will keep doing what they are doing if we keep letting them get away with it.
9
The Dems closing statement should appeal to national not party loyalty's. To global not local concerns. To climate change not party line prerequisites. If the republicans truly believe in their hearts that dtrump and his cohorts represent the best hopes for the county and the world, then they are lost to us. But if a handful of genuine patriots can be convinced that this president cares as much for the Republican party as he does for the world itself and the peoples of the planet (basically not a whit), than they must vote on conscience, not focused on fears of their personal losses. But on the loss of our civilization and our way of life, They must be heroic, they must be patriotic!
3
Ironic and pitiful that the defense team is already implicated in the crime. What happened to recusing yourself for conflicts of interest? November 3rd is the date that makes me hopeful this country will get past this dark hour. Schiff said it all and said it well. He spoke for most of the country and anyone not moved might check themselves for a pulse.
4
So I was looking through a list of countries required vacation times by country. Virtually all had required vacation but the US was 0. Most of Africa left us in the dust in fact.
Our healthcare system is horrible and our infant mortality rate is equal to many impoverished Central American nations.
We have huge tax payer funded giveaways to certain industries. Our largest corporations pay no tax while local stores pay 19% federal. Many companies thrive on tax payer funded Grant's which end up as bonuses.
Throw in laughably corrupt politicians that are accountable for nothing and my patience has worn thin. I will be leaving the US finally for good soon.
6
What is so unnerving about this process is the fact that the Republicans, led by McConnell, do not act like Article I elected representatives of their states. Rather, they appear to be hired and directed by the leader of the Article 2 Branch and directed by Majority Leader McConnell. If I was not familiar with our Constitution, I would swear the Senate is just another Department within the Executive Branch of our government.
4
A number of responses decry the impeachment as extremely partisan. True, but our overall governmental process has fallen into a partisan morass. Recall that the Senate procedure for the trial of Clinton was adopted on a vote of 100 to 0.
This is the fault of the Republican Party. It has lurched dramatically toward a form of radical corporatism and racism that can hardly be termed conservative. The Democrats have moved to the right and back toward the center of late. They remain far more prone to bipartisan action that the GOP. We won't go back to the era where a very conservative like Justice Scalia was confirmed by a vote of 98 to 0. Sad
3
Many here are lamenting the loss of hope and claim that the outcome of the impeachment is a foregone conclusion. But let us have some faith that our representatives may yet be moved to rise to the occasion and finally rebuke the president and his enablers for besmirching our nation's honor.
But also too as well prepare for the revelation that our once indispensable nation has finally been reduced to a deplorable shadow of what it once was. No matter the outcome there is yet much work to be done. Gird your loins for the coming fight and rise above the kind of fatalism that the disingenuous arguments for the defense are intended to inflict.
Pray that our representatives may yet be moved enough by the stirrings of honor to set aside their fidget spinners.
3
Senator Collins was so outraged over the "heads on a pike" comment that she yelled out to Schiff despite the admonition against such displays. So outraged. Where's her outrage against an administration that is undermining the very fabric of our system of government? Where is her outrage that the POTUS has committed a crime against our democratic system of elections? Where is her outrage that we have a president who won't recognize Congress as an equal power? I am a Maine voter. And I am outraged.
9
It seems Putin will win. He has corrupted democracies all over the world. Now, in this trial it is obvious Putin owns most of the GOP senators, as he owns Trump. It seems that as with the rest of the world, Putin has been working on corrupting the GOP long before 2000. It is sad very few Americans can see it.
8
Of course Republicans object to Shiff’s comment about their heads being ‘on a pike,’ if they went against Trump. The truth hurts. The Republican senators are not concerned about truth and facts. They are scared of saying any thing that would annoyTrump, especially about his ‘perfect’ phone call with Zelensky.
NO WITNESSES, NO WHITE HOUSE DOCUMENTS, AND A SWIFT ACQUITTAL. Trump/McConnell win and truth and facts lose. As an American who proudly voted f0r Eisenhower, I am saddened with what has happened to Ike’s Republican party.
6
The quandary the Democrat House Managers faced during their presentations to the Senate is not unlike what many Americans faced during the turbulent 1968 presidential election when Nixon won using a “Southern strategy”. In the ’72 election he had the power of his office going for him and the support of most white working-class voters. Our society is now much more splintered than it was in ’68 and ’72. Identity politics have come a long way. Yet, after Nixon’s landslide victory in ’72, he slowly destroyed it and fell into the deepest chasm any politician could hope to avoid. He faced impeachment and ouster if he did not resign.
This president might be acquitted by the Republican-led Senate. He might win reelection. But will he be prepared for what lies ahead of our country in domestic and international affairs? He has been so consumed with his own self-identity politics that much of what he actually says and does is rooted in his narcissism. He truly reflects William Wordsworth’s words from his poem “My Heart Leaps Up”: “The Child is father of the Man.”
We see now the impresario of “The Apprentice” ensconced in the Oval Office, speaking words of what he thinks passes for wisdom as he greets heads of state and groups of Americans. He has not changed; won’t change.
Regardless of the outcome of the impeachment trial in the Senate, all senators will have to live with it. This will change their interactions in many unknowable ways as we head for the election in November.
2
The word is when told by Schiff that Trump threatened them the Republicans got upset at Schiff. Just that a Democrat can get The Republicans angry is music to my ears and I am loving it. When The Right lies they do it in a genteel way? When Senator Graham had his meltdown at the Kavanaugh hearing he did it in dignified way? I am liking Adam Schiff more and more each day.
7
The real threat to our democracy: Apparently now a President must first agree that he or she has violated the law before he or she must cooperate with Congress' investigation. Think about it.
4
Heads on pikes. How silly! Of course that’ll never happen... because they’ll never flip. And our democracy vanishes with a whimper. Get ready, everyone, for the barrage of conspiracy theories and distractions that starts tomorrow. “Ignore that man behind the curtain!”
44
Why is a majority of our Senators behaving as if the Emperor has no clothes?
The answer to the riddle is under our noses.
Gordon Sondland cheerfully laid it out for us on a platter a few weeks ago.
“Everyone was in the loop.”
Think about it.
The President has demonstrated a pattern of throwing anyone and everyone under the bus at the slightest provocation. Michael Cohen? fuhgedabiutit. Jeffrey Epstein? Hardly knew him. Lev Parnas? “I don’t know him.” Listen to the recording!
What would a conviction actually mean for ALL GOP lawmakers in the Senate? Don’t just think about Senators facing re-election. That’s just a distraction. Think about Senators serving out their terms.
And think about what Gordon Sondland actually told us. “Everyone was in the loop.”
56
And, sadly, Sondland was the only one willing to speak truth to power.
Shiff, Nadler, Pelosi have done an excellent job given the Republican's determination to allow this criminal and traitor to continue and languish in the presidential seat. Let's see which of the Republicans belly's up to the bar and does the right thing to extricate this foulest and disgusting creature from a seat and position he has soiled and denigrated beyond repair - as he has accomplished in all his other endeavors.
32
The GOP Senators are not going to allow either co-conspirators (John Bolton, Mick Mulvaney, Rick Perry) or any new facts (the Lev Parnas' documents and tapes). These witnesses and facts only further confirm the high crimes and misdemeanors of Donald Trump.
All these Republican Senators are going to acquit their Emperor, while pretending that he is fully clothed. American patriots will remember all their names, come November 2020.
50
At this point in American history one has to wonder if all that patriotic mumbo jumbo we were taught was just a dream or a joke.
37
Dear Senators Gardner (R-CO), McSally (R-AZ), and Tillis (R-NC), you might as well vote for witnesses and documents. Because either way, you won't be back in January 2021. you are each going to lose your re-election campaigns in 2020, no matter how you vote. Don't you want your Senate legacy to go down as being on the right side of history?
Same with you, Senators Alexander (R-TN) and Roberts (R-KS). You are both retiring. Don't you want your Senate legacy to go down as being on the right side of history?
49
Democrats and Republicans have been debating whether Trump should be convicted and removed from office, for the criminal activities that he, as a sitting president, has committed. These crimes include well witnessed, well documented descriptions of his bribery, his corruption and his obstruction of justice. He is a flim-flam man supported by parasitic lickspittles.
At the same time that his impeachment trial is occurring, this treacherous con man of a president continues to do his crab walk, offering nonsensical, unsupportable versions of his imaginary accomplishments, including his puffed up version of his economic record and his ridiculous claim that he is the world's peacemaker. His latest crab sidle was to go to the anti-abortionists today, and tell them that he, a life long adulterer. and one of the biggest misogynists in America's history, is the friend of women.
What a useless reality show Trump presents. The USA is the clear loser in this man's buffoonery.
43
Any Republican senator who could sit there and listen to the case laid out by the House managers and not want to get this self-serving, unlawful, reckless, destructive sham of a president out of office is a traitor to truth, justice and the American way.
46
A beautiful funeral oration spoken over our democracy's rotting corpse.
39
“Long live Supreme Emperor Trump”, said Moscow Mitch and the Republican Party....The Founding Fathers would be so proud...
22
And with Trump's eminent acquittal comes the final death of our country.
23
“I would rather be Russian than a democrat.”
— bestselling MAGA rally shirt
The GOP is not even trying to hide its fealty and subservience to its lord and master Vladimir Putin.
They will acquit Trump as per order of Putin.
29
Maybe add an addition angle, that control of the Senate comes first.
Then offer them a path, any path to acquit but at least save the Constitution.
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/13/opinion/by-opposing-obama-the-republicans-created-trump.html
Reality Check magic words are president didnt serve office president in of good faith for people . Demcrats wont say those words because open shut case ,impeached.
1
How the Democrats can stall the senate:
impeach, rinse & repeat; impeach, rinse & repeat; impeach, rinse & repeat -> November.
5
Hear no evil. See no evil. SPEAK evil. There you have the Republican defense of Donald John Trump.
15
Ms. Murkowski said: “‘Head on a pike,’ that’s where he lost me. I thought he did fine until he overreached.”
The report of the "head on a pike" warning was made by Nancy Cordes of CBS News. She broadcast that report.
The report is available on Twitter at
https://twitter.com/i/status/1220491412854185984
In addition it is being reported on various other media.
So the Republican senators are upset that their "marching orders" have been reported in the FREE PRESS (Thank you First Amendment).
This is going to get a lot worse before it gets better.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
November 3, 2020 is coming.
Vote BLUE, no matter who.
33
No witnesses allowed.
No evidence allowed.
Statements from McConnell that he will do Trump's every bidding.
And now the delivered threat to all Republicans: Do as you are told or your "head will be on a pike".
This has all just crossed the line from "cult" to "coup".
Is that going to be the name of Bolton's new book?
"From Cult To Coup", by John Bolton......
28
Quite simply what we are watching is the death of the Republican Party.
22
It’s a flagrant violation of the most fundamental constitutional principles and represents the dissolution of our republic.
I cannot believe this is actually happening before our eyes.
What happened to make Republicans so morally vacuous?
1
The circus ended same as started.
2
According to the polls, a large majority of Americans not only want witness at the trial but have decided already that they want him removed. So senators, what if your problem? Why are you so afraid of this man? He is only a man and an empty hulk of one at that. Do your constitutional duty or kiss our democratic republic goodbye. you are now kow-towing to an absolute monarch. Am I being over dramatic? I don't think so. The Roman Senate and became weak and impotent and the Roman Republic was tottering in the face of Julius Caesar. But unlike ancient Rome, we have the mechanism - the Constitutional machinery of impeachment - to remove to this tyrannical lunatic.
37
Should the Democrats regain power you will then see real Republican concern, concern over whether they will be charged with treason.
Voted democratic if only to expose the evidence.
14
I haven't read much regarding impeachment's effect on the campaign. Assuming the obvious, that the Democrats lose in the Senate, the question is what to make of impeachment during the campaign.
If you don't bring up impeachment during the campaign, it's obvious you're ducking it. If you do bring it up, it may appear that you're beating a dead horse.
The best way to go is to highlight the stupidity of the scheme rather than its criminality. Making Trump defend this fiasco should be plenty embarrassing. But get up on your high horse and demonize the whole thing, and you'll likely look like you're blowing it out of proportion.
The Democrat nominee should enjoy laughing at Trump. Call for resignation and imprisonment and most Americans will see it as overkill. Go with SNL, and stay away form CSI-NY.
3
"I can do whatever I want."
No you can't ! --- You WILL be held accountable.
No one is above the law.
All your defenders are gutless in your presence.They will be a permanent dark mark in all future history books, along with yourself. You and your supporters have become permanently toxic from your presence in the oval office.
The content of your character is proven beyond any doubt.
You've disgraced America.
You've disgraced yourself.
You only have yourself to blame.
Millions have recognized their mistake in voting for you.
The tide of history is against you.
Be honest and accept the judgement.
You are not a winner. Life is not about winning.
18
"I can do whatever I want."
and INDEED HE CAN in the context he said it.
Like most of what Democrats say, it either a flat out lie
or out of context.
I truly believe that if it was their dictator, the current Republican party would be okay with that.
They know they are a dying demographic of angry old white men who can only win by voter disenfranchisement and Russian election interference.
They have sold their souls to such an extent that they believe they can no longer turn away from being trump sycophants without hurting their own careers.
21
The Republicans Senators were outraged when hearing “ their head on a pike” comment if they defy Trump. The truth hurts.
26
@Susan
Trump's thin-skinned self-pity virus seems to be catching.
I don't remember any outrage from them for the hundreds, thousands, millions of people that Trump has attacked on a daily basis and most egregiously.
1
Our political system is still working, under extreme duress. It’s been tested. The House flipped in 2018. The President has been impeached. In the 2020 election we throw the bums out.
15
I never imagined our Country would support someone like Donald J Trump. A dictatorship is evolving right in front of us. Putin rules.
22
Branding Trump a Danger, Democrats
Cap the Case for His Removal
Endangering the Trump Brand, Democrats
Cap the Case for His Removal
2
We have a monarch wanna be in the White House. Our forefathers took painstaking effort in our constitution to protect against that. Where is the impeachment crime.? In the attempted robbery of our fair election process. Guilty. Remove him. He is unworthy. He is our forefathers worst nightmare. Do we abandon a Constitution that has stood more than 200 years for freedoms? I vote not.
14
“Only one person in the world has the power to issue an order to the entire executive branch,” said Representatives Val B. Demings, Democrat of Florida. “And President Trump used that power not to faithfully execute the law, but to order agencies and employees of the executive branch to conceal evidence of his misconduct.”
18
To our brothers and sisters in Maine and Colorado: you are far too decent and moral a people to be represented by the traitors of the Republican party. Show the world and history that you immediately cleansed your beautiful states of corrupted Senate Republicans in the first election following Trump’s sham acquittal, the worst mass offense committed against the United States since the Civil War.
I would have encouraged our brothers and sisters in Arizona, North Carolina, Iowa and Georgia to do the same, but I can’t muster that much hope for my country after watching the unspeakable cowardice of Republican Senators this week.
25
Can we get back to harassing politicians at restaurants? These vampires deserve no better.
15
I wish they could vote anonymously. Republicans fear retribution. From Trump
21
If you ever wondered how a dictatorship such as that in Germany in 1933 came into being, you are watching that process now.
When a significant fraction of the population (here 53 of 100 senators, no less) have the facts thrown in their faces, with credible witnesses testifying under oath under penalty of perjury, and numerous documents generated by the perpetrators themselves being exhibited, and still refuse to see the truth, their "Dear Leader" gets to be a dictator.
The last hope we have is the election on November 3, 2020.
Vote BLUE, no matter who, and vote out as any of these Republican enablers of a would-be tyrant as possible.
We The People got rid of a king in 1776.
We are not installing a king in 2020.
38
@Joe From Boston
Trump is malware, personified.
2
No witnesses or documents - even better. Get to bring in Lev , Bolton and company before a House committee with no Bidens and timing of their choice during the campaign. Then bring up the grand Republican strategy. Brilliant
3
Donald John Trump, Sr. is a graver existential threat to the survival of our limited different power constitutional republic of united states than Benedict Arnold, Aaron Burr, Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, John Brown, Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan combined.
Those American leaders who nominally appeal to 'the better angels of our nature' and who come to define their era often summon the worst demons of our nature as well.
In Newtonian political socioeconomic historical human American reality terms for every known action there is a unpredictable equal balancing reaction.
But the smugly smiling and smirking faces of the interfering hacking and meddling likes of Benjamin Netanyahu, Vladimir Putin and Mohammed bin Salman make this far more dangerous.
America has opened the door, rolled out the red carpet and welcomed the barbarians. Just like the Ancient Romans did to their everlasting regret.
17
I have no doubt that the President has comitted impeachable offenses.
I have no illusion as to the outcome of the Senate trial of those offenses.
I have no doubt that an unnamed source threatened Republican Senators with that “head on a pike” comment, as if it were at all necessary to make.
But I also have no doubt that Rep. Schiff fatally overplayed the House Democrats’ hand with his reference to that comment.
That Republicans reacted in the way that they did, with their transparently sham sense of outrage, was unnecessary, but Mr. Schiff did nothing but give them the cover they were so desperately seeking.
4
One sure way to spoil credibility is to argue with unconfirmed, speculative claims such as Schiff’s “referring to an anonymously sourced news report that Republican senators had been warned that their heads would be “on a pike”. Ludicrous. Facts describing the demise of the rule of law and respect for the Nation and our democracy were central against Trump that reminded the aged Senators of their responsibilities. Apparently, these reminders did not ring a bell. This whole process did not ring any bells for even moderate Republicans.
4
The fate of the 240 year old democratic experiment known as the United States of America is in the balance.
America will either have a ruler, unaccountable to the law, or it will not.
It is up to a handful of Senators and whether they have the respect for the rest of us to allow us to see all of the facts, witnesses and documents, or not. I am not optimistic. The criminal at the heart of the matter is in control of a majority of his own jurors. That can only be changed by contacting those Republican Senate jurors in a demonstration of public opinion powerful enough to over come their fear of Donald Trump.
8
When the Democrats argued, viewership.dropped from 11 million to 8 million. Impeachment is a big to do about nothing.
8
The shining beacon of democracy is blinking at us. Senators, please run to it, and save it for your district's children. Make it shine bright again. It is your time to act, and it is your most important duty.
7
Looking forward to more Trump in 2020.
8
Unbelievable, Ms Collins Ms Murkowski and all Repub. senators; you are in total denial. Denial. You cannot see the forest thru the trees, or even one tree; trump. Very very sad you have been hoodwinked by a fraud a charlatan with a big mouth ready to bad mouth every person he deems deserves his wrath right down to a 16 year old environmentalist from Sweden. Crass lier and cheat. You seem to want him no matter any higher values. He does not wish to follow the constitution and is unconcerned by the interference in our elections by Russia.
15
The democrats have made the case that Trumps actions in the Ukraine are so bad impeachment is warranted. These same people though say the Biden’s did no wrong. How can I trust the judgement of the democrats?
4
You've got to love Fox news. It didn't even carry Schiff's final presentation but immediately after it ended it carried multiple attacks on him. It was like no matter what he said, we're going to tell you to hate it.
9
Forget the "head on a pike" report. Is there one Republican Senator with the courage to truthfully answer the question, have you been warned to not vote against the President or have you been released to vote your conscious?
7
If Republicans feel unmoved, perhaps we can move them out of office this fall
13
Can we get ONE republican to: repeat the charge, that he used tax payer money for personal gain, and then say that this is OK..? I am stuck on thinking they don't understand the charge. If you understand the charge, how can you defend it? It is clearly a Rubicon for a holder of any public office..You can't use the goerrnment money for your own purposes..
7
Like a funeral ceremony, this is the end game of what Roberts unleashed ten years ago with Citizens United. Government awash in cash and influence, the closing of the circle and the end of democracy. Appropriate he presided over the closing of the circle.
476
@AL: After Roe v. Wade, naivete became the principle qualification required of Supreme Court nominees.
2
@AL
Oh my, you are right.
I'm so worried for my children and grandchildren.
6
“Let a crown be placed thereon, by which the world may know, that so far as we approve of monarchy, that in America the law is king. For as in absolute governments the King is law, so in free countries the law ought to be King; and there ought to be no other.”
— Thomas Paine, 1776
Trump, enabled by a complicit GOP, behaves like an autocrat, accountable to no one, degrading the separation of powers. Why are Republicans so eager to place a crown upon his head, defiling their own oaths? Our nation was founded in defiance of a king. Trump and his party make a mockery of our Constitution.
507
@Brunella
And as in a kingdom, the king gets to dole out the spoils. This is not about about ideology, this is about money, and every one of these GOP stooges is looking at a payoff, either in campaign funding or in a cushy, post-congressional job. They no longer represent the voters who elected them, but rather a handful of plutocrats whose bidding they do. Tax cuts and hack judges, that's the extent of their mandate.
127
Powerful display by Schiff but if even a handful of Republicans had a spine and even just an iota of of integrity, we wouldn’t be here.
530
Thank you Adam Schiff. It is a sad day for America when we have to plea for a fair, impartial trial with Witnesses and Documents and we have to plea for the republicans in the Senate to do their jobs.
It is sad that the republicans in the Senate will choose trump and party over Constitution and Country.
500
If Bloomberg wants to do anything now, he should put his money into ads to show the danger of this man because Trump wants to be the first American dictator and Republicans are blindly ALLOWING him to the first American dictator.
This is more than the reprehensible act of extorting money from a foreign vulnerable country . It is that Trump will now have free reign to literally destroy our country. Is that what Americans want ? I guess that’s what they want on Fox News , the end of our democracy.
Why in the world Pelosi didn’t add Bribery as one of the Articles of Impeachment is beyond me . He DID in essence bribe Ukraine .
I fear that our relativity young nation is now on the precipice of its demise . Our founders I guess tried but couldn’t imagine the corruption of the Republican Party who swore an oath to uphold our delicate yet powerfully worded Constitution .
Our democracy is only as good as those in government sworn to uphold it . We are sadly lost .
If I could march , I would. But sadly I’m disabled and can only pray that those citizens with the power to act and take to the streets do that ,
I pray .
33
The plain language says impeachment requires HIGH crimes or misdemeanors. Abuse of power is not a crime, let alone a high crime.
Schiff went on an hour long history lesson in an attempt to show why the Founders had meant something else than the plain textual meaning of “high crimes”
But if the Founders had meant for “high crimes” to mean something other than its literal meaning, they had the chance to put that in the Constitution but declined to do so.
Follow the text of The Constitution. Don’t imbue it with your political inclinations. No crime. No high crime. The case should be dismissed in its entirety with prejudice.
20
Does “head on a pike” sound like something Adam Schiff made up? Or does it sound exactly like something trump would say to strike fear into republican senators?
I’ll go with the latter. And every republican senator knows that’s the threat trump would make.
Why are they so scared?
All they have to do is remove him and the threat is over.
Reverse the facts. If the president was not a republican, would they accept this behavior? I doubt it.
40
I think bringing someone to account is a powerful thing. You cannot always control the outcome but it is cleansing to see Trump's actions dissected on the Senate floor, exposing him as corrupt and incompetent, and as Putin's puppet. It baffles me that such a mess of a man can instill so much fear among the Republicans - did many of them grow up with abusive fathers and are now under a trauma-induced sway? Their vote to acquit is based on fear, and in two years if Trump wins, they will be voting based on fear again to add a third term to the presidency.
22
This isn’t one country, expecting Trump’s 2nd world America party to vote him out is ridiculous.
When both parties, the media, and the majority of voters realize the futility of pretending this is anything less that the end of this current constitutional compact we can start having conversations addressing the root cause of our political paralyses and the serious discussions about whether the current national government is a sensible construct or if it makes sense to move forward to new and smaller compacts that better represent the desires and needs of a localized population.
Pretending that the suburban cities and towns of Eastern MA have much in common with rural Alabama culturally or economically is not working, better each has a representational government that can address the desires of those regions specifically.
9
It's time to move on. Get the votes done next week (he'll be acquitted with no new witnesses or documents) and let's get back to focusing on more important things that voters really care about. Dems biggest worry should be Trump's chances at reelection in 2020. I really don't know what Dems will do if he's reelected. Lots of therapy is my guess.
17
The whole point of the impeachment was to peel away a few seats from GOP senators in swing districts. Which would be huge. The witness vote was meant to help.
Instead, by jumping the shark, Adam Schiff gave these senators the chance to say to their voters, I was considering voting with Democrats, but Schiff's insults threw me off.
And, lo and behold, that's precisely what they said. So much for Schiff political smarts.
15
Democrats have successfully trivialized impeachment. I ask my Democrat friends, is this really the standard to which you want to hold future Presidents? 1) Future Presidents may not use aid as a negotiating tool for policy concessions; 2) Presidents may not investigate American corruption abroad as long as the corruption involves a political opponent; 3) Presidents may not pursue policies which might get them reelected because that is using the office for personal gain. Seriously? Is this really the standard to which you would hold future Presidents? I can assure you, future Presidents will not thank you.
23
President Trump's worsening mental state, and increasingly erratic behavior are a problem for all Americans, not just Adam Schiff and Jerry Nadler. I would think Republicans would be thinking of ways to ease the President out of office, while keeping the presidency.
Allowing witnesses to testify at the impeachment trial is a relatively pain-free way to signal to the President and his entourage that it is time to think about leaving. The testimony could be a few hours a day for a month or two, giving America and the President time to think, and giving the Senate time to put someone like Lamar Alexander or Rick Scott in a position to take over when Mr. Trump steps down.
Few of us age gracefully, and President Trump is a particularly sad case. It's time to send the President back to his golf courses.
5
The Democrats did a stellar job in presenting the facts, despite the constraints imposed by the Republicans who, without shame, obstructed the appearance of witnesses and critical documents. No matter the outcome, this impeachment process has permanently tainted the GOP, who have been on a slow downward spiral of disgrace since the election of Trump. History will tell this tale of morality lost, and leadership forfeited to a self-serving tyrant.
18
Schifff's "impassioned" speech was peppered with lies. Pure political theater that he's been producing for over 3 years.
14
@MCH Lies? He backed everything up with evidence. The senate defense has no defense except to lie because all of the evidence proves Trump's guilt.
1
@MCH
There’s a reason the Washington Post awarded him a Four Pinocchio slap in October 2019 for claiming that his panel had "not spoken directly with the whistleblower" who raised concerns about President Trump's dealings with Ukraine. It was a lie...
2
Schiff ends by making a comment about a "head on a pike" and then has to walk it back acknowledging he doesn't know if it's true. Typical Schiff, and why he didn't move the dial. If anything he alienated Democratic voters.
16
I think Democrats exaggerated in their case against Trump and ended up blowing it.
Trump is safer now when they have finished their case than when they started.
14
Will voters remember? Didn't we speak pretty loudly in the last election? The House is full of new members.
So yeah, I think we're listening. And by November we will speak again.
11
If Senate R's vote down evidence and witnesses they will be voted out in November.
American voters are really tired of their unconstitutional acts and failure to listen to their constituents .
15
The more the GOP is showing it's true immoral and completely corrupted colors, the more the rest of the world is going to dismiss the USA policies, criminal President and his mobsters.
If this impeachment process goes on without winesses and the necessary documents open for scrutiny it's absolutly clear, and not only to the American people, that their democracy( which is already not 100% see e.g. gerrymandering, Russian inteference, buying votes, excluding voters, etc.) is on a very slippery slope. Bad example, bad business.
12
From a strategic point---not allowing witnesses is not a good idea. The Republicans have the votes, no matter what. So, make the public appearance of a fair trial and then declare innocence. All this wrangling over allowing evidence and witnesses slows the trial process and on the face of it turns, what so far as been a somewhat dignified process, into a Midnight Mitch kangaroo court.
5
I find it rich that the same Republican Senators who are perfectly willing to aid and abet Trump's coverup, clutch their pearls in dismay at being called on their cowardice. What do they expect us to do? Pretend we didn't notice that they are selling our country down the river? If the shoe fits . . .
15
Schiff and the managers knocked it out of the park, again and again..No-one could be un-moved by their arguments and evidence. Trump is a danger to the country - his careless and sloppy decision to kill Suleimani is just a shadow of trump tantrums to come, if he is not removed - the Dems have proven their case.
12
To any Senator who bothers to read the comments. This is NOT about Party lines. This is about the United States.
Trump is not fit to lead and needs removal.
14
Adam Schiff is a shining beacon of light for democracy. He is so impressive as an advocate in this impeachment trial.
Adam Schiff would make an amazing candidate for President.
15
If the president of a publicly owned company, under investigation for mismanagement or possible crimes, ordered all possible evidence and testimony from employees blocked, what would it be called?
11
Republicans, if you're so bent out of shape and outraged by the implication that Trump has you under his thumb, now is your chance to do something about it.
You know they won't.
And Schiff didn't say it, someone inside the White House apparently did. He was simply reporting a statement that, given all we know about Trump, is clearly more likely to be true than not. To even hint that it could be an excuse to vote "no" is beyond phony and pathetic.
You might want to transfer some of that faux indignation to speak up about a real outrage: the secretary of state insulting and verbally abusing a veteran reporter for simply doing her job.
You know they won't do that either.
In other words, grow up and do your job.
14
My vote for senator in my state will be the opposite of the way he votes for impeachment.
8
Attacking Senators on their home turf isn't going to get the needed 4 votes. Schiff was doing so well but blew it with that "head on a pike" remark and Nadler is an embarrassment and should just shut up. Was looking forward to some defections but that ship probably just sailed.
5
@Citizen
I don't agree. Being a cynic I all but knew that mcconnell would rally the troops. He had the gall to say in the weeks before the "trial" - what a misnomer! - that he wasn't impartial. He should have been hauled over the coals by ch justice roberts at the outset to state, before Him and the public, that he was going to uphold his oath to the senate. Roberts should then have warned all senators that he would step in if there was any sniff of partisanship. That none of this happened was an indication of what was to follow: grown men and women, some past their physical prime demonstrating just how far gone they are cerebrally, by allowing themselves to be whipped into shape by a king's minion. As a UK "subject" I have always envied your constitution and your right to be termed a Republic and your right to be called citizens. Very soon, if Trump prevails, you too will be no more than I and my fellows - a subject. Your citizens will shortly be suppressed, forever, and your press will follow thereon: 2 stops from full dictatorship.
1
Goodnight and God bless America. A dawn of tyranny and further infamy surely awaits. The respective parties have brought it on themselves. It is the people that I feel sorry for. Not for the first time a President was elected after lying to the electorate in order to steal the votes he needed for a majority. To compound this he has, knowingly or not, become little more than a puppet of Putin having placed more faith in that killer and dictator than his own investigative organisations and bodies. He is a sleeper, a Trojan horse, listening to Putin who has shown how to obtain the absolute power he enjoys with the north Korea and Chinese demigods. The republicans should hang their heads. It is not too late but if Trump remains unchecked then it will be. Hopefully sense will prevail and they will at least censure the would-be dictator privately and offer the democrats some crumbs. As an author the shrewdest move Bolton could make is to launch a couple of missiles that will devastate Trump's defence before they finish their reply to the brilliantly presented prosecution case. This may be the republic's last hope. If it fails to materialise then there is no hope. Not unless democrats turn out in force in November to the tune of 90+%. If not the republicans will get back in and will surely need a change of name because the republic will be all but dead. The GOP acronym can be retained though this will stand for Government Of Puppets. Scary times.
12
Let's just understand that there are no good Republicans anymore, if there ever were. Hoping that so-called moderates like Susan Collins or a supposed man of integrity like Justice Roberts are going to do anything to stem the tide against this demagogue is a loser's bet. Their fake outrage about Adam Schiff's comment about the pressure they face, dutifully reported by the always naïve mainstream media, is simply a cover for not calling witnesses. The only way for us to get out of this mess is to win elections.
8
The circus continues. No doubt Marsha Blackburn's attack on Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman will warm the hearts of Trump supporters.
The bizarre thing is that people like Col.Vindman put their bodies on the line to protect the likes of Sen. Blackburn and her right to be free to parade their ignorance and sad values.
14
Even though an acquittal of Trump would mean that future presidents would essentially have carte blanche to do whatever they want and be above the law, appeals that this means that Democratic presidents would have this power too does not move Republican senators. Through a massive effort around the country to purge perceived Democrats from the voter rolls and make it as hard as humanly possible for people to register to vote who are typically disenfranchised, Republicans don’t intend there to ever be another Democratic president. What you really are seeing here is a slow moving coup that is a long time in the making. Even the judicial branch is lost to us now with the massive appointments of young, unqualified conservative idealists who are busy setting back this country by a century or more. Forget about the bright shining future of America. What we are seeing here is 1930s Germany and don’t kid yourself about that. I always wondered how it was possible that fascism could come to Germany and now we are seeing it happening right in front of our eyes right here in America. Fascism is taking hold across the world and Vladimir Putin is laughing himself to sleep every night. Trump and everything he represents and his enablers in Congress and the propaganda outlets like Fox News are anathema to the very principles our country was founded on. One cannot support this and claim to be a patriot. The only way one can support this is if they are a traitor to American values.
12
So now according to Democrats we should impeach any president that goes against in foreign policy what the majority of the house of representatives want.
6
This 3-ring circus with the same performers and same act presented over and over again will now mercifully come to a quick end. Republicans can't take anything Schiff said seriously considering all the many repeated lies he told, especially about the fictional story of RUSSIAN COLLUSION, which partly thanks to scurrilous people like him many people believe really occurred. This context must be considered when looking at events in their totality, as they speak to Trump's likely state of mind. Witnesses will only prolong this nonsense and do nothing to change the outcome. Democrats overreached and should have reprimanded or censured the president when they realized, as they surely did, that they had a weak case. Based on what we already know, the key witness Dems hope for, John Bolton, is likely to focus on Guiliani and put the onus on him. This will lead now0
5
Three days of carefully marshaled, substantive, and utterly devastating testimony from the House managers but Susan Collins clutches her pearls when Schiff repeats Trump's "head on a pike" quip. That, in a nutshell, really says everything about the Republican Party, doesn't it?
14
This thing will be forgotten in a few months. Both parties will campaign off of it. Bloomy is already spending millions, but he’s a total fraud. If it’s Bloomy v. Trump, 2 NY billionaires, Trump will trounce him and win 48 states.
The thing is this: Unless people go to jail over the Trump-Russia Hoax, the spying on his campaign , the FISA abuses, etc.,, and unless the GOP takes back the House, these soft coup attempts will continue forever.
5
“Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy ride” – All About Eve (1950)
We won't be out of the woods until next January.
4
So not 1 Republican thinks Trump did anything wrong. They will acquit Trump and then snicker, sneer , and mock Democrats for their failure to make their case. And what will Trump do? He will be nasty, vindictive, and show no mercy to people like Adam Schiff . And not just to Schiff. He will punish the people he represents. "If New York floods again, don't call me". And the base will get what it has wanted. Punishment of the coastal elites. They want us to feel their pain. And they think they will be excluded from that pain. But they won't. And all they are creating is an embracing of deplorability. And just remember... the coastal elite is where the money is. Where the jobs are. No matter what Trump tells you, jobs aren't coming back from other places. Unless you are willing to work for $5./hr. So by all means bite the hand that feeds you. And when the economy starts to deteriorate (which it will), maybe your Republican friends will come to your rescue. Like they are now. Running up the credit card so you can pay the bill down the road.
13
This would mean so much more if the Republican senators weren't playing with fidget spinners just waiting to put an end to it.
6
The Demos did an excellent job in their presentations. I agree that Adam Schiff was phenomenal.
Jerry Nadler was criticized for his comments on Jan. 21st or was it already on the 22nd? I cheered when he spoke. The GOV is offended and accused Nadler of being disrespectful to them and the institution. Why are they bothered by Nadler’s words? Could it be that Nadler told the truth and they don’t like what they see in the mirror?
By not allowing a trial with witnesses, new documents and not honoring their oath of impartiality, they are being complicit in the whole scheme. They are covering for the stable genius (SG). The patriotic and courageous Americans who testified before the House put their careers on the line. They were attacked by the SG and his buddies. These folks have integrity; something that the GOP Senators lack.
GOP Senators fear the SG if they go against his orders. They are kicking the can down the road by letting the voters make the decision for them. Who knows what the SG will do if he is allowed to remain in office 1 more year? I think that they may live to regret their “decision.” I hope that no one dies because of their complicity in the SG ’s crimes.
And new evidence will continue to come out. No sooner had the Friday session of the trial finished and an audio recording of a meeting with the SG was releases!
8
Their names will be recorded for History...but not like those who wrote the Constitution.
7
The Democrats made a strong case to voters, not just in the presidential election but also the congressional elections. Do we want four more years of a sleazy, corrupt, self-serving president and a party that not only won't hold him accountable but actively aids and abets his corruption? Put more succinctly, do we want to be the United States of America or Putin's Russia?
10
The Chief Justice of the United States can see that the Republican majority of "impartial" jurors are not impartial and that this Senate impeachment trial of President Donald Trump is not just and fair. He does nothing.
Long live "Citizens United."
Short live this United States democracy. Shame on all of the Republican Senators!!!
6
alyosha : "The Democratic accusers have taken a leaf from Senator McCarthy: it isn't necessary to make proven statements, just prejudicial ones."
That sums it all up.
And to think that the parents of many of the accusers were victims of McCarthyism.
At least, Tulsi Gabbard is now suing Hillary Clinton for baselessly accusing her of working for Russia. Tulsi has an eye on 2024, when the sanity may come back.
2
In the end, Trump will be found guilty of “Obstruction of Biden” which, while nowhere near as grievous as “Observation of Clinton” will likely result in the immemorial disgrace of his Presidency.
“This is a work of fiction. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events, is purely coincidental.”
You and I have seen this legal disclaimer or some version of it in movies thousands of times over the course of our lives.
It is probably more familiar to us now then prayers like “Now I lay me down to sleep.”
Today as Republican begin their defense of Trump is a good day for remembering it.
3
If the republicans don't allow Trump's lackies to testify under oath or if they bring up Biden and son, democrats should walk out in mass and boycott the trial.
7
“‘Head on a pike,’ that’s where he lost me. I thought he did fine until he overreached.” If this is going to be Ms. Murkowski's out, then her head and conscience are on a pike. That Senate Republicans are unified in protecting Trump and not the Republic demonstrates how Trump has taken over the Party and the truth no longer matters.
"Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back.” Carl Sagan.
11
So if Trump is allowed to break the law by not complying with Congressional subpoenas, why should We the People have to obey congressional laws? I think all Americans should boycott the government by not paying taxes until our congress can reign this would be dictator!
13
Trump is danger to the nation?
This accusation is truly a lot of ballooney.
I wish we had a Trump in Canda, instead of Pretty Boy Trudeau.
3
So are most of the Republicans in the Senate. This trial proves it.
The Republicans will forever be known as the party of ignorance, immorality and cruelty. That along with completely lacking a backbone or cogent thought or concern about humanity. Republicans take care of their own, Democrats take care of everyone.
6
Looks like “The Family” has got to Senators Lee and Murkowski. Both will place their own skins above the rule of law and the survival of the Republic. I hope both lose their seats in Nov.
10
No one is trying to “ put on a show.”
Some good people are trying to rid our country of an evil, dangerous criminal, Trump.
Nadler is right, he is a dictator.
He must be removed from office.
16
Bolton does not need a subpoena to share with the public what he knows. He is free to talk to the press, like Parnas had the courage to do. Shame on him if he doesn't.
12
At this point I wish it would be possible to impeach and remove all 51 GOP Senators. They have complicitly committed "high crimes and misdemeanors" by going along with the charade which is the Trump administration's highjacking the American election system and the FF's Constitutionally enshrined checks and balances in our tri-partite form of government. I fear for the Republic!
6
I find it laughable that the Republicans claim to be so deeply offended and horrified when Mr. shift reminded them of their responsibility with pointed words. “The whole room was visibly upset on our side,” claimed Senator Langford. What a joke! They stand blindly behind a president who spews invectives on an hourly basis, whose language is shockingly offensive all day every day, cycling through bigotry, hatred, bullying, demeaning, insulting lying and crude attacks. Come on Republican senators, look in the mirror!
14
Representative Adam B. Schiff of California is a really funny guy.
A lot of what he said is pure comedy. Calling Donald Trump a dictator is one of the funniest. Trump got elected as President in 2016. He is facing another election in November and if he is re-elected he will get another four year. Thats it! That is hardly someone you would call a dictator unlike say president Xi who anointed himself president for life. The only undemocratic thing happening here is the Democrats trying to forcefully remove the legitimate president of the US of A.
4
"Branding Trump a Danger, Democrats Cap the Case for His Removal"
More informative , and more accurate
Branding Trump a Danger, Democrats Cap the Case they started they day the President took office
Why is this both more accurate and more informative?
From the Washington Post
"The campaign to impeach President Trump has begun"
Washington Post Jan 20, 2017
Jan 29, 2017 was the day Trump took office.
The Democrats never accepted the lawful election of President Trump (we won the popular vote!)
Once they had the majority in the House, the swung into full fledged action
The end justifies the means in dictatorship
A democracy lets the voters decide
3
The Republican Party has become a cult. It’s the only apt name for its blind obeisance to an utterly, flagrantly corrupt man while surrendering personal integrity and even the party’s own values. All for what? Trump’s threat to tweet them to death? Are they really that spineless? We are seeing the answer to that one, daily and getting worse as the evidence piles higher.
6
The impeachment proceedings revealed, without a doubt, that the GOP sold its soul and our democracy to Putin and his lackey Trump.
8
The only thing that surprises me anymore about Trump supporters is they somehow are always worse than you can ever imagine.
11
These people, Schiff, Nadler, Schumer and Soros are the four most dangerous people high up in the American hierarchy.
They have the capacity to terminate the US as it has existed since the days of Independence.
When we compare AOC against them, she is as tame as a little lamb.
2
I was super impressed by all the democrats who presented oral arguments, and their presentations. Admirable.
6
Prepare for the following response from our National Ape: "I still don't know the man. I say "Get rid of her' to a lot of men."
7
The Democrats obviously don’t want witnesses either- why insult those you are imploring? They obviously would prefer to wrap this up quickly and let their primary campaigns resume at full complement. This whole fiasco has turned into a fund raising stunt.
1
The sky is falling the sky is falling! Schiff, Nadler, and Pelosi - the Keystone Cops - said their case is indisputable and Trump is guilty! GUILTY! But they now admit they have no case and need to find more evidence.
3
In a last ditch desperate effort Schiff, when mentioning the “head on a pike” rumor, looks right at Sen. Collins and says “I hope that’s not true”
What did he get? An absolute No from her as she shook her head and stated “Not true.” He also received the same response from Sen. Murkowski.
These were 2 of the moderate Republicans the Dems we’re trying to sway and it absolutely backfired.
GAME OVER
3
The new Parnas tape shows Trump conspiring with others to threaten assault and battery of an American ambassador. This is a crime in itself. Trump apparently is afraid to accept responsibility for his choices — be it using public process to remove an ambassador or the USDOJ to investigate Biden. He had more than once used illegal methods to try to prevent the public from understanding what he decided. I think it’s high time he resigned and let the courts deal with his acts.
3
When the movie is made, Jimmy Stewart will play Adam Schiff in the closing argument scene.
1
To GOP Senators: Don’t get mad at the Dems for asking you to just do your job, get mad at our President for failing to do his.
9
If Trump were a “dictator” the Senate would not be able to hold an impeachment trial. I am no fan of Trump, but the Democrats hyperbole is wearing thin.
3
Trump was tried according to rules created to ensure his escape, to deny relevant evidence against him and codify his stonewall. Because he is their dictator.
1
I will miss democracy.
8
If Trump gets away with this Democracy is dead, the constitution is meaningless, and America has become effectively lawless.
6
53-47. That will be the verdict in favor of acquittal. We already know how this will end. 90% Americans dont have strong views on the funding of Ukraine or the investigation of Joe Biden.
2
So, the conclusion of the first half of the Jerry Springer show 2020 is over.
Now, for the acquittal.
3
Although the Senate will most likely not remove Trump from office when Trump and his master Putin steal the next election and then taking another cue from Putin, Trump refuses to leave office, the Democrats could at least honestly say "we warned you!".
6
In maybe a little over a week, the GOP will vote to acquit DT. In one week, Nadler will be proven right. DT will be appointed dictator by the GOP Senate. If folks think that the election of 2020 will save us from a dictator, guess again. The other day, DT started talking about fraud in the upcoming election. I'm sure he will want it "investigated" so it will have to be suspended "for now." Don't think so? What's to stop him? The law? Please. Congress? Yeah sure. We're hosed, people.
7
The Mueller report said that it did not have enough evidence to show that Trump colluded with Russia.
Then why does the summing up of a case on obstruction shift to a claimed conspiracy with Russia that has been abandoned?
It's no argument that he wasn't proven innocent. He doesn't have to do that. He doesn't have to do anything. No charged person has to. It's the job of the accusers to show that he is guilty. Or forget the whole thing.
But, the Democratic accusers have taken a leaf from Senator McCarthy: it isn't necessary to make proven statements, just prejudicial ones.
And what is more prejudicial than Russia, after our establishment and media spent the late 19th and nearly all of the 20th centuries vilifying not just the regimes, but the country and its culture.
The summing up doesn't reach out to reason. It reaches out to a reflex, a conditioned anti-Russia response.
I've missed old Joe McCarthy. I'm surprised he's back, and even more surprised that it's the liberals who are channeling him this time around.
36
One of the most enlightening items I read in the Mueller report was in the beginning of section one (which looked into coordination with Russia). It stated that the key players had communication tools which either encrypted or deleted their messages. The Mueller Report then said should these messages ever be retrieved, it could change the conclusion of the report.
25
@alyosha
Mueller pointed out ten examples of where Trump obstructed justice. One such example was where Trump admitted he fired Comey, to stop this Russian thing.
The only reason why Trump was not charged with obstructing justice, is that he is the sitting President.
I would not claim Mueller exonerated Trump, unless you did not read the redacted Mueller Report.
15
@alyosha Based upon what we have heard of Trump's dealing with Ukraine is enough to warrant his removal since he has used his office to promote his re-election, coercing a foreign country to help, as well as obstructing an honest investigation. To parody so many, if he is innocent, then why try to cover up his actions?
You, and others, will have to do far better than to paper over this man's corruption and crime with the label "liberal", which is meaningless in the face of what Trump has done.
12
"But Ms. Murkowski said: “‘Head on a pike,’ that’s where he lost me. I thought he did fine until he overreached.”"
This is where I lose patience with the so-called moderate Republicans. You found fault with a rhetorical flourish from one of the impeachment managers, ok. But that is not what is up for discussion here.
If you think the President may conduct an extortion scheme out of the Oval Office, good enough, then say so. But don't go looking for lame excuses to avoid honoring your oath of office, or to avoid holding Donald Trump responsible for honoring his.
284
@Bill Levine
"Moderate Republican" was always a myth.
When the chips are down, they vote with the extremists.
25
I totally agree. They are just looking for an excuse to fall in line.
26
@Bill Levine
Yes. It is a pathetic excuse to reject the powerful truth and proper course of action.
19
I really think Nancy Pelosi has no idea what she is doing.
Nor our free press.
Both of them believe the House of Representatives impeached president Trump.
No, it didn’t!
According to the US Constitution, the House of Representative can only bring up the charges, basically act as the grand jury.
The actual trial is conducted by the Senate.
It means president Trump hasn’t been impeached yet.
The House has just accused Trump.
He would be impeached only if the Senate found him guilty of charges after a trial.
So, when the House Speaker Pelosi claims Trump will stay impeached forever she is deadly wrong. He has just been accused.
Everybody is innocent until proven guilty here in America.
It means president Trump is still innocent because there has been no verdict yet.
4
@Kenan Porobic
Impeachment = Indictment = Accusation.
Trump will always and forever stand accused, thus impeached.
Possibly not removed, but permanently impeached. Like Bill Clinton.
Also remember that “not guilty” is not the equivalent of “innocent”. I’m convinced DT is not innocent.
34
@Kenan Porobic The House votes on whether or not to impeach, followed by the Senate voting whether or not to remove from office.
Trump being impeached - formally accused - means the House was convinced that there is enough evidence of wrongdoing to proceed to a formal trial.
21
You are simply wrong on the facts. The House impeaches, and the Senate runs the trial. Impeachment is equivalent to being indicted in a criminal case. Yes, Trump has been impeached; that is a fact, even if Fox News won’t report it.
34
If Trump is guilty as the House managers say why do they need witnesses?
12
Don’t you want to know the full extent of his guilt?
35
I am an independent. I supported Gore, Obama twice and then Trump.
I watched every piece of this impeachment saga from the Mueller investigation to this latest performance.
I am never voting Democrat again - until I see some level of political sanity and a sense of fairness, qualities I see in Lindsey Graham and Susan Collins.
I challenge any NYT or CNN reporter well qualified with facts to debate me if they feel they are so right and win on substance - on the record!
31
@Kumar:
Lindsey Graham certainly did show signs of sanity, but that was before the Trump became the Republican candidate for President.
35
@Kumar:
Lindsey Graham did show signs of sanity, but that was before the Trump became the Republican candidate for President.
7
Political sanity from the man who once said such nice things about Trump, said directly the opposite things when it was Clinton being impeached, and now says he has already made up his mind before listening to any evidence and paying more attention to Hunter Biden! Looks more like political expediency to me!
One may not agree that this is worth impeaching, but to support this talk of absolutely nothing being wrong is naked political theater. Not only are the Republican senators opposing impeachment, but most of them do not think anything about this whole affair was inappropriate.
24
Us allies can no longer trust the United states of America. The judgement of republican senators is under suspicion. How can they not recognize the impeachable offenses committed by their corrupt leader. They show that they are not capable of rational thought. If they cannot fathom Trumps criminality how can they make any legitimate assessment of any other world conflict.
135
To quote my brother, democracy dies because a Black president wanted health care for all.
208
@BK Sad. Sad. But true.
19
Adam Schiff and all the impeachment leaders have admirably done their job. It is also clear that there are witnesses and documents that must be given to the people as well as to the Senate. Any senator who refuses to vote to get this information must never be re-elected. trump is no president, at best he is a little man running a very small business serving only toadies. We, the People have a duty to demand his removal from office. Thanks to all the Democrats who believe in our democracy and are willing to stand and be counted.
15
The behavior of some GOP Senators has been truly remarkable. For instance, Senator Blackburn’s tweets about LTC Vindman are absolutely disgusting. It’s amazing that a Senator repeated a lie from a QANON twitter account to smear the patriotism of Bronze Star / Purple Heart winner. Disagree with him if you want, dispute his account, provide counterpoints, by why descend to the absolute gutter and question his loyalty to this country? We are supposed to be better than this. We are supposed to debate the issues of the day without baseless attacks on each other’s loyalty.
She has repeatedly singled out LTC Vindman for attack among all the witnesses. Her attacks always question his patriotism and loyalty to the country. Do she want to be the Joseph McCarthy of the 21st Century? She can hug the flag and other overt symbols of patriotism all she wants, but sad the truth is she will throw any of us veterans or active service members under the bus if she thinks it helps President Trump. Is nothing sacred? Is nothing beyond the cynical partisan maneuvers of the day? It is beyond galling to hear people like President Trump and Senator Blackburn who have never served or suffered for this country viciously attack those that have. Senator Blackburn owes LTC Vindman an apology, but it’s not coming.
It’s times like this that the nation misses statesmen like the late Senator John McCain. I often wonder what he’d think of the Senate today....
12
As a conservative leaning independent I must agree that the Democrats have made their point, if not their case, that Trump is guilty as they charge. The problem for the public, as I see it, is that what Trump is guilty of is more serious to the Democrats than it is to anybody else, causing the Democrats to come of as peevish and petulant with a kind of moral outrage that outweighs Trump's offenses. He surely is obnoxious and irreverent regarding political rules and correctness, but there seems to be no connection to his misuse of power that has led to demonstrable damage. If the primary crime is his delaying the congress approved money to Ukraine, what was the result of that? Were shipments delayed of vital materiel? Did the Eastern Ukraine forces suffer because of the delay in the delivery of the finances? I think this is what is lacking with the Democratic charges. That said, the fact the charges are seen as political does not bode well for the Democratic desired outcome of this impeachment.
2
@bellicose Your argument seems to be that if a person with clear criminal intent and obvious disregard for laws and civilized norms fails in their first murder or bank robbery, it’s no big deal and we should let them try again.
I would hope that most Americans have somewhat higher standards for our citizens and certainly for our public office holders.
7
Of course Republicans are unmoved. They gave up caring about any issue except re-election decades ago. Looking at the stances they have taken and abandoned over recent years show they stand for an angry base and nothing else. In the sixties, Democrats chose to be on the right side of history and adopted civil right over Jim Crow. In one election Democrats lost the Solid South to Republicans who gladly welcomed segregationist and adopted their politics. Republicans have adopted another “outliar” to win an election and know they have no choice but to follow him wherever he decides to go, or worse, they agree with him.
5
The obvious criminality of Trump and his gang, and the loyalty that the GOP and the MAGA cult show to Trump, are a litmus test reminiscent of the Civil War, Jim Crow, segregation and Vietnam War eras.
What we see today is a percentage of Americans recognize the dangers of Trump's criminality and despotism, and want the constitutional remedy of impeachment enforced.
A roughly equal percentage of Americans admire and defend Trump's obvious criminality and despotism, and are willing to break the constitution and rule of law on behalf of their idol, Trump.
Empires die because of expansionistic militaristic and economic overreach, and from rot from within.
If Trump, the GOP and the MAGA cult prevails, America will also die, poisoned not just by GOP gangsterism and cover-ups, but by Trump's gutting of environmental laws, consumer protections, and social safety net services.
9
Biden and his son should testify. Watching as Republicans in the United States Senate try to take down one of their former colleagues in the name of Donald Trump would be very powerful. What Senator sitting there watching that unfold couldn’t ask themselves, “Am I next”? Defend yourself Biden. It would be the greatest political legacy you would leave to this country - standing up to Donald Trump and his Republican followers in the name of democracy.
1
The Dems should now run ads with Mulvaney's admlssion.
Exert pressure on GOP senators up for re-election to support calling witnesses and subpoena of documents.
Hard to oppose that.
That additional info will then make a much stronger case for removal.
1
There is only one president in the last six decades of my life who made me feel shame and anxiety as an American. Only one president who has managed to drive a deep, sorrowful wedge between people. Only one president who seems hellbent to act openly spiteful, selfish, and crude.
I feel alienated in my own country because America does not feel like the country I’ve known all these years.
It’s hard to fathom that one person has caused so much collateral damage to this nation, but that’s the sick, grotesque feeling I have as each day passes and this man remains in office.
Through my voting years I have cast my precious votes for the best persons to get the jobs done, not by political affiliation, gender, or race. The blind contempt and sheer disrespect I’m seeing from Republicans has changed my thinking.
November, it seems, will be the only time a vote will matter.
8
Of course the GOP was unmoved--rambling nonsense from the two primary fools responsible for bringing this farce forward. The voters will remember this joke in the fall and the joke will then be on the Democrats who will be voted out of office.
2
The Democrats are preaching to the choir when they talk to the Republicans. What are Democrats telling the Republicans about Trump that they don't already know? The Republicans knew when the hitched their wagon to Trump that he wasn't a boy scout. Talking about Trump's lack of character is falling on deaf ears. The Republicans are showing every day that they really don't care what Trump did with Ukraine.The Republicans are willing to sacrifice almost anything to retain their jobs and power.Waiting for four Republicans to put country before Trump is like leaving cookies for Santa on Xmas eve. Trump is running his party like a Godfather would in organized crime. No one is willing to cross the boss.
5
Please, Senators. Let us hear the evidence. There is no credible reason to hide any new testimony from us, the American people. We have the right to the truth, whether it exonerates Trump or not.
8
‘Head on a pike,’ that’s where he lost me.
--------
This response sadly indicates that the concern is more about perceptions and less about truth. Wish the response had been along the lines --- "Did he really say that?" .
4
The Republicans are so outraged because they cannot combat the truth nor the facts that were so eloquently yet fiercely laid out by Adam Schiff.
10
A man that manipulates the system to file for bankruptcy six times should had never been allowed anywhere near the White House. We have all witness the harm inflicted to our country in just over three years, it could had been worst, but the potential for catastrophic damage will always exist with Trump.
I still have hope that one of three challenges to come this year will save our nation:
- GOP controlled Senate removes him from office for the evident corruption and abuse of power.
- The Supreme Court allows prosecutors to review Trump's financial records including tax filings in early summer, with the predictable resulting outrage, forcing him to end his political career.
- Americans vote him out in November after four nightmarish years.
10
What the record that Trump is suppressing could reveal it is easy to imagine. Putin boasting to Trump that he had the goods on Biden and Trump swallowing it hook, line and sinker. Putting all his bets on it, because it worked so well with Hillary.
4
The American people are not stupid...at least I don’t think they are. I guess that will depend on if Trump gets reelected and if these republicans keep the senate majority. As far as the impeachment goes we all know the out come. No witlessness no documents no fair trial. It’s been a Mitch McConnell and a republican cover up. But come November the American people will get their say.
3
The obstruction case alone is more than enough.
4
The senate has failed the people of the United States. This travesty defies the integrity of the constitution and the oaths of office they took. If for a moment they think this will be forgotten, they are dead wrong. This episode of The Emperor’s New Clothes has concretized for the people of the world and generations to come the spineless-ness of these “elected” officials. Your performance has been on display for all. My prayer... May the votes that put you in office find their way to those in possession of the integrity it takes to uphold the constitution. Absolutely appalling performance by the US Senate.
3
In October Trump had a massive 20 points Disapproval spread in ABC/Washington Post Presidential Approval Poll. Yesterday, that spread had narrowed to just 3 points in EXACTLY the same poll. Those are the best approval numbers for Trump since becoming president.
This partisan impeachment has been a disaster for Schiff and Dems and tremendously helpful to Trump.
Trump supporters now wish that we could bring Schiff and the Dems on CNN everyday. The more that Dems filibuster with these lengthy, boring, and redundant speeches the better.
The American people are much smarter than Adam Schiff and see right through his partisanship.
2
When the Democrats were arguing yesterday, about 8 million Americans were watching. The Democrats seek vindication but nobody is paying attention. When a TV show has an audience of 8 million it gets cancelled. But Dems insist on going on.
Impeachment is the proverbial tree that’s falling in the woods which no one hears. Dems are proving themselves to be the keepers of lost causes. It’s time to throw in the towel.
4
Rep Schift and Nadler have zero shame fabricating charges against the President and impeaching him without qualifying evidence and by employing McCarthyism techniques. Political theater at best is what these actors do best, backed by their do nothing party who spreads the gospel of hate because they lost the Presidency. They have created a dangerous precedent using the pretext of crime committed in office to advance their political cause - attempting to bulldoze democracy. That will not happen.
2
We Canadians are very confused. How can decisions be made absent a full hearing with witnesses? Why are facts no longer facts? Politicians now choose which facts to believe and create their own truth; really? One fact is irrefutable - History tells the truth. The grandchildren and great grandchildren of these Senators will grow up knowing their ancestor sold out America for personal gain. Trump's presidency has made me question my faith in humanity. I pray it will be restored next week.
5
I will never forget that these Republicans who are supposed to defend our nation FROM people like Trump and his obvious and not so obvious crimes completely protected him for their own agenda.
No witnesses? No written documentary evidence? No forget that. Fact.
5
The people will decide in November and the hope is that truth will win. Democrats have tried to make the case but Republicans are afraid to break ranks with the Executive branch. (If roles were reversed, the Republican leaders would have conducted a witch hunt). Grow up and govern ethically. History will show many Senators to be true cowards. Grow up, Senators!
2
Head on a pike: “It’s insulting and demeaning to everyone to say that we live in fear and that the president has threatened all of us,”
Good grief, do they live in such an opaque bubble that they don't realize that half the country thinks that way about them, and much of the rest of the world too. Countless articles have been written about the possible source of this strange malaise that has blighted the Republicans for the last 3 years.
6
No witnesses, to anyone outside the Trump bubble, equals no credible acquittal.
Trump will lose the popular vote. The real problem is will he leave peacefully.
With this absurd "trial"- Kafka in reverse- perhaps the GOP will lose the Senate.
If Americans are happy letting Putin decide the election... well that would be a tragedy for world democracy.
6
Every single Republican Senator knows that what Trump did was wrong.
Every single Republican Senator knows that calling witnesses is the right thing to do.
Every single Republican Senator knows already that Trump is guilty as charged and that the only honourable course of action is to vote to convict.
But every single Republican Senator also lives in perpetual fear of the Trump tweet and the wrath of Fox News.
And because of that every single Republican is intensely aware that he or she is a coward and, when duty calls, will shirk from it and shamefully do what every single Republican knows is wrong.
"Head on a pike" offends them because they know it's true. And they know we all know it's true.
9
This should be a good lesson for all Americans. The Republican party should never run a candidate that the Democrats do not approve of. Otherwise, there will be constant bickering and threats of impeachment from the Democrats.
1
If, as Murkowski claims, the four words, “head on a pike,” “lost” her vote, then she is not being honest as to when her vote was lost. Those words have nothing to do with the case-in-chief, nor the overwhelming fact base arguments the Democrats presented that Trump actively attempted to bribe Ukraine, and the continuing and patently obvious charge that he has obstructed and interfered with the investigation at every possible chance. It is a false hope to put any faith in “moderate” Republicans, as once again party loyalty will trample civic duty.
7
Republicans are good.
Democrats are good.
I am a foreigner.
A think a House and a Senate together – Congress – that Republicans are in control of is an excellent thing.
But I do not have trouble with any Democrat being the highest politician – the great President.
Be non-partisan here. If Donald requires an admonishment from Congress, require witnesses, rebut any prosecution (it can be done by any lawyer), and by one vote let him pass without impeachment and subsequently choose whether to contest the choosing of your great American Chief for the forthcoming year!
I do wonder if the Ukraine scheme wasn’t more insidious: delays military aid to Ukraine so that the Russians could take more territory in exchange for some favor from Russia to Trump.
Oligarchs building a smelter in Kentucky, to keep the senate in line via McConnell? Could be.
6
The arguments for impeachment are compelling. What has not been raised is the urgent need to remove Trump from office because his abuse of power is a looming threat to the survival of Constitutional government in the U.S., and of the international system whose central institution is the UN and the Security Council. The seriousness of the threat to the American people is that the Doomsday Clock now at almost midnight. Trump is central to the global threat.
Trump can create a crisis to invoke emergency powers and make him a dictator. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/01/presidential-emergency-powers/576418/
Of the many impeachable offenses most dangerous are his confused decisions made without the consent or counsel of Congress or allies regarding foreign countries.
The killing of Iran's high official, general Soleimani is a violation of the UN Charter and of U.S. and international laws. The U.S. is not in a state of war with Iran yet the U.S. committed a major act of war on the territory of Iraq, where Soleimani arrived on a commercial flight at the request of its Prime Minister.
Trump decisions have made negotiations with Iran impossible and lifted limits to Iran becoming a nuclear weapons state. While Iran's president Rouhani asserts that Iran will never develop the Bomb, Trump's Maximum Pressure has empowered hardliners opposed to JCPOA to push Rouhani out.There are no plausible good outcomes from Trump's decision to exit JCPOA.
5
Whenever I read something about Donald Trump, and that's every day of the year, the idiom "the squeaky wheel gets the grease" comes to mind. Trump discovered that a long time ago. Whether he is ignorant, a dictator or ruthless doesn't matter; he is always in the news. That seems to be his only goal.
1
Thanks to the post-Constitution expansion of States across the continent, the majority's vote can be overruled by the Electoral College. Getting rid of a President, that would be a dictator, might depend on replacing Republican Senators. It might be necessary to dig for hidden facts and turn them into Conspiracy theories, like Mitch McConnell gets rich from Chinese trade, when you buy at Amazon and Walmart.
This could all have been avoided without the Electoral College.
2
I think the Democrats have basically given up on impeachment and are playing to the grandstand. This will go down as a huge mistake. I think they realize that.
1
We would not be here if one outmoded, anti-democratic and recalcitrant Electoral College had not decided to usurp the vote and voice of, "We the people." Eradicate this obstruction to our democracy so we can move on!
2
The common wisdom has been that the RINOs in the Senate are afraid of losing their jobs by being "primaried" by a Trump devotee and so will kowtow to him and ignore their sworn duty to do impartial justice when called upon to vote in the Impeachment proceedings.
Given where we are in the election cycle, in how many states could that still happen? Super Tuesday is barely five weeks off. Most states have printed their primary ballots already. Does anyone really believe that a write-in candidate could beat a sitting Senator in a primary occurring in the next few months, or that RINO and a Democratic candidate in November?
If it is not fear of losing their perks as a Senator, then what is the motivation for "centrist", "traditionist", "originalist" Senators to support this obviously unfit criminal?
2
Trump is a lot of things both good and bad but is in no way shape or form is he a dictator. If he was Nadler would woukd not be able to freely spout this absurdity on the floor of the Senate. Comments such as these are insulting to the millions around the world who live in real oppressive dictatorships. If the policies of the Democrats are so good and those of the Republicans so bad how about stopping this nonsense and actually try to defeat Trump in November
3
Impeachment is working extremely well as a dozen GOP Senators will fight tooth and nail and loose their seats. Trump's number are held far below any chance of reelection and everyday between now and November 21 will be new evidence of corruption. The entire GOP establishment are engaged in Constitutional reinterpretation and cover up and will be hammered incessantly about not protecting America. Democrats will rule for fifty years as the GOP will whimper into history as heartless devotee's of Trump and impish idol worshiping fools. The Impeach Trump gambit was unavoidable because he wanted and needed to put every Senator in a loyalist hot-seat to test his power. He wins the loyalist test but looses everything as the GOP failed to recognize America is not Russia.
2
I would put Adam Schiff on the short list for Supreme Court Justice were I one of the dems running for president.
6
Historians will record that the vital, brilliant Democratic Representative Adam B. Schiff was made for these times.
As was Thomas Jefferson all those years ago.
7
Proud of the Democrats, for trying to do the right thing. Maybe we’re not finished as a republic yet.
5
President Donald J. Trump is a clear and present danger to the United States of America, a nation he swore an oath on the Bible to uphold and protect.
The facts are indisputable. He has failed, bigly, and miserably. If he is acquitted, as expected by the Republican led majority United States Senate, he will surely offend again in his petty juvenile vindictiveness to get even for his Impeachment by the House of Representatives.
He got caught abusing his presidential powers and then attempted to cover it all up.
Show some moral courage,
Guilty!
8
Maybe for the Republican senators, this impeachment trial is like someone having symptoms that cause them to suspect they’ve got something bad, like maybe cancer.
Their doctor sends them to the hospital for tests.
Then the doctor’s office calls and tells them to come in...
And they suddenly realize they don’t want to know the t-r-u-t-h... Not at all. Not interested.
(I like this story a lot better than believing that 53 Republican senators are as corrupt as Trump.)
3
Wow.
Listen to the clip of the highlights of the closing arguments linked with this piece. Schiff says that the president would use national intelligence to investigate senators for not voting to convict. (Sounds more like what was done to Trump.) Nadler says that Trump is a dictator. (It's true that Trump is popular. A dictator, though? Not unless Jackson winning his second term against the Biddle establishment was dictatorial.) Jeffries says that the DOJ has been corrupted not to investigate corruption. (So why is it a problem for the DOJ to investigate the Bidens?) Garcia says no president or proxy has ever before "maneuvered" on law enforcement discretion. (Really? For just one example, consider Heckler v. Chaney, involving agency nol pros.) Demings says that a presidential refusal to submit to congressional inquisition is impeachable. (Let me ask the muse of President Washington about his refusal to submit to congressional inquiry on his domestic military adventure.) Schiff concludes that he gives the back of his hand to Trump for asserting the executive privilege doctrine that Pierce's AG Cushing clarified in 1855, Cushing channeling President Washington.
This is an outright disaster for the Dems.
3
Trump openly threatens people. He's been trying to out the whistle blower so his devoted followers could harass him, and maybe do more. His own former lawyer Michael Cohen said Trump speaks in codes that should be understood if you work with him long enough. "Head on a pike" is not way off from something he would say.
4
This has been all about oil. Back foot deals and real corruption, only we were the ones corrupting.
Trump also said “take her out” about the Ambassador to Parnas. That’s the most important part. Why leave it out?
No one wants to believe that an American president would order a mob hit on an Ambassador, but that’s what it looks like.
7
“In order to retain a certain respect for sausages and laws, one must not see them being made.”
― Otto von Bismarck
Rep. Schiff’s stirring call for “moral courage” among Republican Senators clearly fell on deaf ears last night.
But all is not lost.
American voters by and large recognize moral sausage when they see it, and McConnell and Company and the Trump Defense Team are about to serve us up another heaping bowlful of it in the next few days.
Anybody but a Republican in 2020.
7
The Republican senators are obvious cowards. They are unwilling to conduct a fair trial due to being terrified of the criminal in the White House. The holier-than-though group has lost any ability the preach morality. They have lost any integrity they may have had. The corruption will have to dealt with at the ballot box.
5
My favorite line of Schiff's was "Rarely do you see it this graphically." He was referring to the inept bumbling of Giuliani. I'm breaking my no new t-shirts rule for this one!
2
So basically because of the current political climate, the prosecution segment of this Impeachment process should be reminder for future Presidents to clean house where legally possible and as soon as possible since anything can now be construed to be a reason for impeachment.
1
McConnell is the problem as well as the solution. The moment he decides Trump is a liability to the Republicans keeping the Senate, Trump is out. Find the smoking gun on Trump - it's out there - and McConnell will turn.
1
Republicans shout partisanship, but this impeachment was never about partisanship. It is about the president's actions those actions must be measured on the merits of the case.
trump has expressed the opinion that he should have not been impeached as all those impeached will claim. But still the president or any public official undergoing the impeachment process must conform to it and present needed documents.
When the Senate establishes the precedent that a president need not comply, the GOP Senators may protect Trump right now, but will they be so happy when the next Democratic president decides that the or she is not bound to comply?
2
I believe Democrats have done a spectacular job up until now. Since the beginning of this trial the outcome is known, president Trump will not be impeached.
Who need to be convinced he did wrong is the public, the voters. This year’s election is when Trump will be removed from office.
There’s already so much evidences that calling witnesses is not really what would flip minds. However, I believe it’s a strategic move that Democrats already win. If GOP refuse to call witnesses, its a big win for Democrats because it will be seen as a cover up by the public. If they allow witnesses it’s a big win for Democrats as well. The closing speech of Adam B Schiff was not really targeted at making GOP defect but to the voters.
2
There's such little evidence and terms like "abuse" and "obstruction" are so vague that it's hard to take this impeachment seriously. Rather than believing this is actually some high crime, it's much more plausible to believe that the Democrats are trying to smear Trump in the social media.
This is exactly the strategy that the Dems adopted in the Kavanaugh hearing. There was very little evidence there but it was repeated so much in social media that some people thought were misled. In short, the Dems strategy seems to be "to Kavanaugh" Trump.
5
Here's another Republican talking point that really needs to be taken down: the idea that impeachment is merely an effort to overturn an election or thwart the "will of the people."
I will leave aside for now a discussion of how dubious it is to suggest that a President who lost the popular vote by 3 million votes represents the "will of the people."
But even without that, the claim that it is an attempt to "overturn an election" is ridiculous, considering that in the event a president is removed, the vice president, who was voted into office by the very same voters, assumes the office.
Beyond that even, it needs to be stated that the "will of the people," while certainly critically important in a democratic republic, but it is not sacrosanct. An officeholder earns the privilege of holding office only in part by having been elected; to retain that privilege, he or she must uphold the laws and standards of conduct expected of his or her office. Having been elected is not a license to violate the laws he has sworn to uphold, irrespective of how decisive his electoral victory might have been.
7
Underlying the deep partisan support for a corrupt president exists a deeper fear of the profoundly rooted sense of fair play instilled in all American Citizens from birth.
If the GOP Senate fails to allow witness testimony and document production they are signing their own warrants for removal. The case against this corrupt president is compelling.
The USS Trump is sinking fast and the GOP can still salvage something of their ethics, honor, morality and respect for the law. To do so, they must abandon ship. Who among them will have the foresight and character to lead them out of the darkness into the light of reason?
I offer this reminder to Mr. Trump's supporters, GOP Politicians and Evangelicals; Ephesians 5: "The things which are done in secret are things that people are ashamed to even speak of; but anything illuminated turns into light."
5
Basically Democrats have no-chance what so ever that Trump will be removed, 'cause if republicans would accept they would have no feasible candidate for and thus loose the presidency.
Democrats now this so do the republicans.
Even if their statements regarding Trump stand and yes he does not deserve a second term, they stand no chance. Best what they can hope for is to get some republicans over, but that is doubtful because of what I said before.
1
While I am partisan for sure, and want Donald Trump out of office, I was strongly against impeachment for political reasons. I thought it would hurt the Dems. Then, I heard about the phone call. There was no choice but to investigate, but I was still not convinced about impeachment. It soon became abundantly clear that Trump would not cooperate with the investigation, and that he believed he had the authority to do anything he wanted to do, with impunity. The more expansive and dangerous his claims about his authority became, the more I became convinced that he must be impeached. With a partisan stacked SCOTUS, thanks to McConnell, a coopted DOJ, and a Senate derelict in oversight responsibilities, it has become clear that we no longer have a working democracy. We have a dictatorship.
I don’t say this lightly, or for effect. The Republican led Senate has decided that they agree with Trump, that he can extort foreign leaders, and show remarkable contempt to Congress. He can withhold evidence, and he can break the law and his oath of office. The GOP has also decided that Senators can break their oaths of office, to be impartial jury members, and refuse the American majority a fair trial.
We, the People, have to save ourselves from the tyranny of a Dictator, and a political party who wants to win at the cost of our Constitutional democracy. We must do everything in our power to win the elections in November, so that we at least have a shot at saving the country.
8
Republican Senators will not pay any price for decisions made during the impeachment process. Aside from retirement or individual scandal, there is almost no way incumbents lose in increasingly geographically partisan elections. The House also only varies tightly around an even Democratic/Republican split because voting districts are gerrymandered along party lines down to the street level. For the most part, Senators and Representatives are simply replaced with another member of the same party. This impeachment theater will not change that one iota.
And with that dire warning comes the response back from the 6 Senate REpublicans who were allegedly under fire for being up for reelection this fall.
They didn't appreciate it one bit.
In fact, they disliked it so much they've decided to change their mind and not call for witnesses.
The Schiff Effect at work.
1
It ain't over till it's over. When this trial ends, so much will be irrevocably lost unless enough brave Republicans and Democrats in swing states stand up for what is right. Consider the consequences to future generations otherwise, even if Trump loses the election. Representative Schiff is right: If a President gets away with interfering with a domestic election by withholding aid for personal gain, refuses to turn over documents, and keeps people from testifying, how can any future President be held accountable?
Also, if Trump gets away with this, what boundary will he shatter next? No man is above the law in the United States of America, or will at least one get away with this and more?
1
I don't understand how the refusal to call any witnesses offered by the 'prosecution' can be justified ... it is truly baffling. Don't the majority of Americans think the same?
3
We are at a momentous turning point in our country and, if the Republicans do not do what is right and is desperately needed, we will enter into an ends justify the means style of government which will be extremely hard to reverse.
The Republicans can save their jobs now, or be heroes in US history for saving our Democracy. Not such a tough choice. Do they really think they can't find work if they loose their seat??
I have called my Senators. You should too.
I am well beyond frustrated. These are scary times.
5
I'm impressed by Adam Schiff's professionalism and intellect. His ability to present an orderly and well thought out case without witness testimony is impressive. Mr. Schiff is fighting for our democracy and, I for one, commend him for it. Too bad Senate Republicans aren't as dedicated to their country and refuse to fight for the truth. The last two years have proven that Donald Trump is corrupt and not worthy of anyone's loyalty!
Many thanks to House Democrats for doing what is right--defending the Constitution and their country!!
10
The impeachment trial is important even though Trump’s acquittal is the most likely outcome because it gives Democrats a public venue to state the case for impeachment. The House managers, especially Adam Schiff, set forth a compelling case and backed it with evidence.
Trump’s lawyers have no factual counterarguments to present and all known evidence says Trump’s guilty, so they will have to resort to malicious slanders of the Bidens, disinformation, distortions of fact, and accusations of partisan witch hunts to defend him.
However, Mr Trump’s lawyers need only to provide face-saving excuses for Republican Senators to vote to acquit. This is not a real trial; senators are not real jurors. Flimsy excuses and slanders of the Bidens are likely good enough to get Trump acquitted.
The real value of the senate’s kangaroo court is presenting the case against Trump in an easy to follow narrative in public, in front of the voters.
4
Adam Schiff was magnificent. Perfect... if there is any perfection in this story. We are at a dangerous point in our democracy. Frankly, I have little hope that ears were opening, but Schiff reached into minds, hearts, souls, if there was even a crack in that Senate room or in the public, those who have decided in favor of Trump's lies, distortions, evasions of the dark truth about corruption, Trump's and the corruption of those around him. The GOP is supporting him in all three branches. This is a battle.They, the Republicans call it partisan and corrupt while they make it just that.
7
Adam Schiff has done a great job in expressing what many of us feel about Trump and his administration. The Republican defenders say it's a partisan which hunt to overturn an election. Some of that is true. It is a partisan effort to bring Trump to justice because prior to the Democrats taking over the House the Republicans were doing absolutely nothing to reign in Trump. In fact, Devin Nunes is one of Trump's leading facilitator.
Yes, many of us wanted Trump impeached long before the Ukrainian incident because of what Trump and his family has done since the day he took office. The emoluments violations still haven't been addressed. Previous presidents would have been taken to task for just a fraction of the lies that Trump has said let alone for his actions.
At first Trump appeared to be just an incompetent, but he's shown his true colors that he's very competent. He may be the most competent crook of this century.
Unfortunately for all of the good work that the House prosecutors have performed in pressing the case for Trump's removal it looks like it's a forgone conclusion that Trump will be acquitted. Acquitted, but not exonerated. The true sentencing must happen in the November election when he will be voted out of office.
4
One commenter writes:
"I wish Trump would be impeached but it has long been clear that it was a foregone conclusion that he will not be removed by the Senate"
Trump is being impeached as we speak, Being impeached is not removal. Conviction in the Senate means removal. So many don't understand what "being impeached" means. No wonder Trump loves the 'poorly educated."
1
Let's say the Republicans decide after all to allow witnesses. And let's say Bolton, Mulvaney, Pompeo et al appear to testify.
What's to prevent any or all of them to lie through their teeth under oath? That's assuredly what Trump would do, based on his career behavior. And it is a safe bet that he would let each of his cronies know that testimony that implicates him will have grave consequences -- like their heads on a stick.
Seems to me that this nightmare scenario is altogether possible. And besides, given the fact that all the Senators swore an oath to consider the facts objectively and compassionately, which none of them will then do, what other outcome might we expect?
Things have sunk so low that I berate myself for even raising this possibility. You have to admit, however, that given what we already know about the Trump regime, what's to prevent lying under oath?
2
If the Republicans allow no further evidence, if they block the attendance of relevant witnesses, if they exonerate Donald Trump, then the 2020 election will constitute that rare event where the people decide the form of government itself - in this case, democracy vs autocracy.
The only upside, I guess, is that the decision is to be made democratically. Let's hope the 2024 election is also democratic; incredibly for the USA, this is no longer a given.
2
Republicans are great. Yes. Democrats are not bad. What? If Donald requires an admonishment from Congress, require witnesses and just rebut any prosecution (which at least one of his very experienced, worthy and ethical lawyers ought to be able to do). He could suffer an impeachment process. I think: No. And then he should decide by himself whether or not to retire at the end of the year!
Schiff was very moving, and made a great case for removal from office.
I don't understand how Republicans could so shamelessly support trumps actions - Have they no integrity and sense of duty to the country ?
4
Whether or not there are witnesses and fresh evidence Trump will walk and will claim vindication and hoax. We know that the man is an incompetent lying self-dealing bombast: it may well be that he believes that he has done nothing wrong. In the matter of Ambassador Yovanovitch he of course will claim that he had an absolute right to fire her. No-one has ever argued that he does not. What he will never understand is that the right to do something does not make it right to do it.
2
Republicans are great. Yes.
Democrats are not bad. Of course they are!
It is time to be non-partisan here?
If Donald requires an admonishment from Congress, require witnesses and just rebut any prosecution (which at least one of his very experienced, worthy and ethical lawyers ought to be able to do). He could suffer an impeachment process. I think: Not. And then he should decide by himself whether or not to retire at the end of the year!
I feel like we're living in the Twilight Zone.
In one version, two groups of people are watching the same event at the same time however it turns out the words and evidence is eerily completely different, hence the difference in their conclusions.
In another, the majority group's souls have been replaced by a soulless force. This is is the one that keeps getting repeated in my mind.
Either way, it ends in doomsday. Oh, wait, that's just reality.
3
Schiff skillfully advanced the thesis that even if Republicans reject all evidence, and even if Trump is re-elected, he will still be an illegitimate, minority president who obtained office through unacceptable acts, foreign deals, and never-ending frauds. Impeachment will necessarily go on for as long as Trump is in the White House.
3
We all know were this is heading, given it's just political theater, and both camps won't move from their set opinion. The disfunction in the system is a sign that we need to upgrade things to get away from representatives acting as our agents all the while protecting the rights of the individual. No more of these self serving millionaires projecting their ego on the American public all the while we suffer the pain and financial cost of their misguided vision.
The determination of Republicans to make the trial a hollow one by preventing witnesses and documents shows that the rot in the Republican party began long before Trump. Whatever the Democrats' flaws, there is only one major party willing to uphold the US Constitution and American democratic values, while the other party - the Republicans - is an authoritarian one whose only value is expediency and only goal is consolidating power, like the ruling parties of Venezuela, Russia, China, and Iran.
6
Republicans are great. Yes.
Democrats are not bad. Of course they are!
It is time to be non-partisan here?
If Donald requires an admonishment from Congress, require witnesses and just rebut any prosecution (which at least one of his very experienced, worthy and ethical lawyers ought to be able to do). He could suffer from an impeachment process. I think: Not. And then he should decide by himself whether or not to retire at the end of the year!
Trump is a political outsider - a perfect candidate for the DC establishment to throw under the bus, at the right time.
In time he will do something so insane that even the Republican establishment can't defend.
Getting rid of Trump in the election this fall seems like a good possibility. But let's change the scenario a little and imagine the next demagogue who comes upon the scene.
Next time it could be someone who is articulate, intelligent, knowledgeable of history and current domestic and foreign affairs and someone who is clever and cunning.
Someone who is adept at manipulating the strings of power much more adeptly than bubbling, stumbling, ignorant Trump.
Someone whose base becomes a slight majority of the electorate rather than a minority.
Folks, I present to you the person who can not just have aspirations of being an autocrat, but someone who achieves it.
If there is anything to learn from the fiasco of the last three years it is that our democratic system is much more vulnerable to capture by an unscrupulous figure than we previously imagined.
Our efforts should be directed toward how to strengthen our system of government to make it less open to attack and capture.
That may involve changes to the Constitution in several ways. One of the most obvious is to get rid of the electoral college. Another one would be to amend the formula for allocating senators to each state. There is too wide a disparity in the senator to population ratio. California has 2 senators and 40 million people. 11 states have 40 million people and 22 senators. This is not equitable. A process of impeachment through a referendum put to the voters requiring a 2/3 majority to pass might be another.
1
At this point the conclusion is foregone and the President will be acquitted. Perhaps there is hope in this — he will almost certainly be simultaneously jubilant and vindictive to such a degree that his demeanor will repel people and his behavior will become bizarre enough to scare people to vote for his opponent in November.
Why did the Dems speak so many hours to make their case? It was a measure of the number and brazenness of the Republican lies.
A popular saying:
A lie gets half way around the world before the truth gets its shoes on and out the door.
Some commenters dismiss both sides as partisan. My replies -
1. That statement implies that neither side in the debate has much substance. It disappoints me that you can hear the issues discussed and dismiss it all as partisanship.
2. Over the past generation, the issue of fake news as grown. Part of that is false equivalence. It has gown to be a big deal.
The Constitution assigns importance to the impeach and remove process if it is needed. It is not possible to comply with the requirement to hold a hearing, but admit little or no testimony or documents.
By comparison, Clinton was investigated for years by the House. As a result, the Senate had a huge trove of documents and testimony. This time, Trump and the GOP blocked most of that.
Looking at evidence is basic to any hearing. If only 4 Republicans agree, that is less than 10% of Republicans in the Senate. That shows the extreme depths to which the GOP has sunk. It long ago ceased to be the Party of Lincoln.
Yet those 4 are among the oldest. The rest of the GOP has sunk to a very sad low.
2
I think Mr. Schiff did an excellent job as did all the Democrats. I can't see how any American can disregard the serious threat to our constitution from Trump. All we need is 5 Republicans or more. I certainly hope they do the right thing. If they do they will go down in history as saving this great country. Or perhaps the Judge will decide to ask for witnesses. One can only hope.
2
So much for any moral courage from R senators.
The contrast between the eloquent, articulate, move-the-earth-under-your-feet closing remarks by Adam Schiff while the R senators play with their fidget spinners shows the danger the R's and the Trump regime pose to our nation.
The behavior of the R's makes invalid any claim that they are a legitimate political party capable of governing. They are interested only in ruling.
6
Clearly, not dire enough.
All signs suggest this criminally complicit GOP fully intends to plow ahead and empower a president who has committed high crimes and misdemeanors. I find it quaint that there is an article up telling us about his defense team...as if it mattered.
The moment this GOP signaled that it had no intention of listening to the evidence --a point brought home in the usual thuggish fashion by those who slept through the proceedings or played hooky, two actions which should have triggered immediate, permanent removal from the room and the loss of the right to vote in the proceedings--an investigation should have been opened into each and every one of them, into their dereliction of duty, betrayal of sworn oath, refusal to do the job they were elected to and paid handsomely to do.
Anyone paying attention to the hearings knows the Democrats made an airtight case for both articles of impeachment. There is overwhelming evidence of both obstruction of Congress and flagrant abuse of power.
As a nation, we now must demand to know why the GOP thinks this is proper. Millions of Americans have watched. We have come away with the conviction that the GOP just indicted itself. There will be a price to pay...both at the polls and in the history books.
If decency, morality and the law hold sway, this party just blew itself up. If not, their brand of deplorable will become the new norm. The fate of this nation lies in the balance. It's up to we, the people to choose.
7
Thank you, Mr Schiff. You reminded me what not was like to feel proud of my country today. It hurt like a parent watching their child go off to college. Something seems to be ending, that we should desperately want to hold on to. Alas...
2
The Republican senators rushing to say how unmoved they are by evidence presented by the House Managers are scared to death of opposing the Wrath of Trump. If nothing else, the House Managers clearly showed attentive viewers what a controlling, unpatriotic bully is mishandling the presidency. The impeachment hearings should make it very clear how critical a vote in Nov 2020 for the Democrats will be to rid the United States of Trump, his spineless appointees, and the cowering Republican members of Congress.
3
They won't remove Trump.
But I wish to thank Adam Schiff, Nancy Pelosi, House Democrats, and all the support staff who worked so hard, and with such intelligent focus. Excellent work.
Mr. Schiff, our great state could really use you in the Senate.
7
When Trump won office I was concerned but I really did think our checks and balances would keep him in line. I did not think the entire Republican party was as amoral as Trump. Appears I was wrong. How any thinking human being can hear the case Dem's laid out and not come to the conclusion Trump violated the constitution and does deserve to be impeached is beyond me. I guess voters will have to take up the torch in November and vote every last Republican on our ballot out. And if that doesn't work I am looking for another country because Trump will be emboldened and out of control if he gets another term. Its sad Republicans care more about themselves than their country.
4
Don't be surprised that the formerly Grand Old Party feels it can thumb its nose at its constitutional duty while ignoring the will of the people. Just as Donald Trump has been emboldened by getting away with a lifetime of fraud and abuse, so too has the GOP lost the fear of an electorate they have gerrymandered within an inch of its life. Despite a clear pattern of fraudulent and anti-democratic abuse, Republicans have been allowed to skate for decades and we are only now coming to terms with the consequences.
Consider that deadly perversion of foreign policy, the Iran-Contra scandal. Its special counsel finally had to fold up shop without conclusion when, at the advice of one William Barr, George HW Bush pardoned those protecting him. The result? No accountability.
And Bush v. Gore, when a GOP-appointed Supreme Court majority threw out two hundred years of precedent and handed the presidency to George W. Bush. Were we marching in the streets? Demanding election reform? The crisis passed without accountability.
How about the intelligence failures that led to 9/11? And the GOP lies that created that nightmare of a thousand Benghazis, the Iraq War? Anyone held to account? Not really. Many responsible remain in positions of power.
One of our two major parties has long demonstrated that, in order to hold on to power, it will profoundly abuse our trust if we let it. So why do we continue to let them?
November may very well be our last chance to hold the GOP to account.
5
...all for naught -President Trump will be on the ballot in November - and may even win.
It’s all coming down to who the Democratic nominee will be - one person.
Not a trial - not accusations - just an election where the American people will decide.
It’s going to be very close - while Trump may lose a few votes based on what occurred with the Ukraine - it’s an insignificant number.
Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren do not have broad support among Democrats - I would vote for Biden, but not those two - if it’s Sanders or Warren, I’ll take my chances with Trump another 4 years.
I wonder what John Roberts thinks of the events taking place under his watch - will he speak up to address any of this in an Op-Ed or other forum or from his desk at the hearing. Surely he understands the events taking place and the damaging effects on our democracy at a much higher level than nearly all of us. History will look unkindly on those that could have an impact - chose to slink under the rug and not speak up! Surely he understands that The Constitution is not being followed - it’s all being addressed and allowed to fall apart and nothing done about it right in front of his eyes - he’s the Chief Justice - if the public will believe anyone understands the Constitution - it will be from him - especially since he was chosen by a republican president.
1
They won't remove Trump.
But I wish to thank Adam Schiff, Nancy Pelosi, House Democrats, and all the support staff who worked so hard, and with such intelligent focus. Excellent work.
Mr. Schiff, our great state could really use you in the Senate.
1
He won’t be removed from office. This has been an utter waste of time. This is aiding his re-election bid. When he is found not guilty this cloud of suspicion will be lifted when it shouldn’t. Still amazed Democrats are doing this. Just a colossal mistake. Should have been focused on the election.
1
Had the Democrats presented their evidence in a couple of hours in prime time rather than twenty-four hours over three days, it is likely many more citizens would have been willing to sit and listen and perhaps be convinced. Perhaps all of the major networks would have carried it. As it was, and I tried to watch as much as possible, it was repetitive and boring.
1
This should be a "Me Too" moment for the Senate ...
The abuse Congress (and all of us, frankly) have being subjected to must end. The upcoming vote on allowing witnesses and documents may be the last chance Congress has to assert its co-equal status as granted by the Constitution.
I can only hope the White House testimony makes Republicans squirm in their seats and reconsider their loyalty to an unfit president.
1
What the GOP doesn't realize is that there will be a Democratic president again. They are setting up a free for all government that is dangerous to the future of America. Dangerous narcissists should NEVER AGAIN be allowed to run for president. What I don't get is why the GOP is standing by a megalomaniac, surely there are other qualified candidates in the GOP? I am so disgusted by the behavior of the GOP, by not allowing witnesses, they are going against our justice system and they are going to acquit trump, but history will mark the acquittal as a sham. I am so sickened by what trump and the GOP have done to my country that I am currently house hunting in Canada, I no longer look at America as my country.
1
I find it hard to watch the impeachment process because the case is so clear. Schiff and Nadler has been clear in making the arguments.
What I can’t fathom is the corruption of the US public. Their elections are at risk and they dislike Trump. Yet still he is being supported and highly likely to be re- elected.
When did the US public become so corrupt that support the Republicans and this President.
Is white fear of demographic progress so strong that it has done this?
2
Tremendous job by Adam Schiff and the House Managers. The closing on Friday was absolutely spellbinding.
The section on Article 2 was particularly effective - the Republicans are basically saying you must go through the courts, the intentional stalls and the numerous appeals to obtain any testimony, thus any "legitimate" impeachment will take years. This effectively eliminates the impeachment provisions of the Constitution. Imagine a President who knows he cannot be impeached and removed any conditions - this appears to be just fine with the Republicans.
How can any fair minded Republican listen to the mountain of indisputable evidence and do nothing? They must be defeated - all of them. 2020 is not a drill - please vote.
3
Trump and his policies’ temporary and more permanent implications and outcomes can be/are a threat to an already divided nation of diverse peoples whether Republican policymakers accept this reality or not. Documentable harms have occurred. Others are likely to occur. In broad areas of daily living. In the daily operations, and achievable mandates, of governmental systems. Health. Social welfare and achievable-sustainable- equitable wellbeing. Education. Economic. Judicial. Environmental. Ranges and areas of research. A scenario which concerns many is that if Trump,
the desecrator of the Presidency, the ravisher of facts and truths, the exploiter of America’s enabled, anchored, tradition-based hatreds, with its WE-THEY empowered culture, is not removed from office he will continue for yet another term of harming. And in this event normalize, as a viable value, being above the law.
There is an additional threat to the nation, and to an alive, vibrant, and personally accountable democracy with its necessary underlying principles, which has not received adequate consideration which is not Trumpian.
Toxic complacency and complicity by ordinary folk will take on a life of its own as individual choices to BE willfully blind, deaf, indifferent and ignorant about what IS, should never have existed, shouldn’t BE NOW, nor tomorrow, continue and even expand!
Trump may or not be unseated.
THE WILLFUL choosers,represented by all- too-many, can’t be unseated.
They need to choose to...
What have the Democrats done since their electoral debacle in 2016? They spent 2 years on ‘Russiagate’ followed by 1.5 years on ‘Ukrainegate’ which serves as the basis of their ‘impeachment’ charade. The Democrats have supported Trump’s military spending, money for his border wall, trade policies, and continuation of astronomically expensive strategic debacles in Afghanistan (longest war in US history), Iraq, Libya, Syria, Yemen (Iran next?). They have deliberately avoided any discussion of single payer healthcare, more jobs paying a livable wage, affordable housing, education, cheaper and better public transportation.
The reason why Trump won in 2016 is because the Democrats have been far more interested in promoting the policies of large corporations and war, while the living standard of the average American worker has been declining for 4 decades. Nancy Pelosi, Adam Schiff, Chuck Schumer and the rest of the Democratic elite have far in common with Trump than the average American.
2
If the case was indeed solid, Nadler and the rest of the happy few would have never had to embark on the absurd, grotesque rhetoric of evoking the specter of dictatorship. Their credibility evaporated then.
2
They won't remove Trump.
But I wish to thank Adam Schiff, Nancy Pelosi, House Democrats, and all the support staff who worked so hard, and with such intelligent focus. Excellent work.
Mr. Schiff, our great state could really use you in the Senate.
1
The timing may be bad. Elections are just around the corner. Was Some of the evidence is still being blocked. But the whistle blower letter has been substantiated. The House investigations turned up even more.
Impeachment wasn’t a vendetta. It was the right thing to do. It. Is. The. Right. Thing. To. Do.
1
It was a fine lecture on the importance of having a president who cares about the country more than himself, but the jury was not interested in hearing it.
Louis XIV had his cousin Charles II on his payroll so he could live well, or better than what Parliament was providing the successor to his brother Charles I and after Oliver Cromwell's penurious rule. Too bad Charles II didn't have hotels and country clubs to launder the money through so we could have avoided all that silly talk about bribery of elected officials.
What we have here in the People v. Donald Trump is a jury which is a curious mixture of being bought with cash by right-wing donors, and won over by threats to reelection. There are one hundred jurors; if they were hung the VP would protect his boss, as that is his main job, and if they were not a jury hung in deliberation, they will be at the polls.
Instead of proving their case, the Democrats focus on Trump’s character.
The process has degraded to political theater - aimed to win the 2020 election.
It damages the Constitution by degrading impeachment to politics by other means
This is not what this voter wishes to see.
2
30 percent of our country is too dumb and uninformed to understand what is at stake. 10 percent of our country is happy with their huge tax cut. So, unless the 60 percent left rail against the tyranny of the minority, our democracy will fail. Then, we will look back at this time as the glory days when we still had our freedom, our vote still counted, and decency and honesty prevailed.
President Trump has betrayed the nation and set fire to the Constitution. While it goes up in flames, the Senate Republicans are not fetching water, they are throwing gasoline on the fire. That they fail to see the danger in their actions is nothing short of appalling.
An election cannot be reversed, but the removal of a dangerous president has been provided for by the very document they watch burning.
If Trump is acquitted by the Senate, he will continue with his wrongdoing. This time it involved the Ukraine. Next time, it could be the 2020 election. In fact, it's highly probable that one of his conspiracies to cheat in the upcoming election is well underway.
If he is re-elected, who knows what could. Trump is a dangerous man who has only the wealth and power of himself and his family in mind. He does not love this country. He loves only himself. As for the Republicans, one must ask what they stand to gain. They have put themselves in a precarious position.
The majority of the populace has indicated that they want to see more documents and hear more witnesses in the impeachment trial. The Senate has decided to ignore them and ignore the facts and want to acquit the president simply because he is one of them.
If that happens, voters will be upset and angry and vote them out of office. In my humble opinion, it couldn't happen to a more deserving group of people.
2
Good vs. evil - all too obviously. If only this could end like a Frank Capra movie: heroic Adam Schiff collapsing from exhaustion, when somebody suddenly rushes in with incriminating tapes of Donald Trump, who, beaten, considers ending it all before confessing to his crimes. (During the State of the Union address.) As it is, after Schiff's brilliant oratory tonight, Republican Senators grumbled loudly about the ( rather effective) "head on a pike" reference. Not the Hollywood ending of my choice. Is it really possible that the GOP has decided to ditch democracy for good? If so, the public will know all too well what the choice is in 2020 and I desperately hope the majority does not want the corrupt dictator to triumph.
2
So tired of the Murkowski and Collins posturing. When have they actually demonstrated true independence and voted against their party? My recent examples are few and very far between.
2
Never has so much media time been spent trying to convince the public to pay attention and take a side. The public knows better than to take any of this seriously - the numbers indicate the number of people watching was small to start with (11 million), fell significantly on day two (9 million) and likely fell again yesterday. The democrats would have been better served using 2-3 hours to sum up their case - instead, as politicians are inclined to do, they droned on and on and on saying the same things hour after hour. The only thing Schiff, Nadler and the others have convinced the general public about is that this is a waste time.
1
All those Senators need to take off the garments of their Party and drape themselves in Old Glory, listen to and view evidence, and then vote with America in their mind.
Because this is not about Trump as a Republican, it is about Trump as the President of the United States of America.
He's abused the office, the privileges, and the trust of the People.
So, unless the Republican Party wants to claim that that is what they stand for, they'd best give this some thought.
1
The world laughed at Trump during the 2016 campaign, and couldn’t believe when he won (?)the elections. Up until today it’s been a roller coaster of tweets threatening adversaries, rallies filled with hate speeches (despising and stigmatizing minorities), attacks on the press ( including Fox!), on Democratas (simply because they don’t pay him tribute as POTUS), and the way he’s presented himself before the international community is nothing short of ridicule. Internally he claims to be the paladin of the country’s economic health, but any economist can quickly ( and in a very simple way) justify why he can’t take credit for this state of things. Other than that, and if we set to the side the “presidential” executive orders on migration all he’s managed to do is feed the “Wall”.
So what’s wrong with this picture? Why are all republicans ignoring reality? Is it really worth to throw democracy in the bin, just to get one more win? Also, can’t they see that in this process they’re also validating Russia’s, Brasil’s, North Korea’s and even Venezuela’s autocracies?
It’s not too late to do the right thing, for the sake of all Americans.
At the end of the day, it won’t be long before citizens take this matter into their own hands. And senators should remember (congressmen alike) that they all get elected by the same people that no longer trust DJ Trump, nor are they prepared to dance to his sad playlist for a whole decade.
1
America’s racism sometimes exonerates clearly guilty people just as it has convicted clearly innocent people for crimes they did not commit. That’s the problem with racism. It distorts the truth about ourselves and others so as to prop up structures of lies and corruption. We are witnessing a national disgrace of historic proportions in the Trump impeachment trial. If Republicans ignore the clear and convincing evidence of Trumps guilt then we have reached the pinnacle of racism for our nation. A clearly guilty man will continue to wreak havoc upon our democracy with dictatorial impunity, enabled by a criminal conspiracy of Republican Senators. At that point justice will no longer be the law of the land.
I was deeply proud of them—Schiff, Nadler, Jeffries, all of them. They made a compelling case, regardless of outcome, and I am hoping that enough voters were watching to make a difference in November. I know that I will do my part to support the Democratic effort this year.
There have been so many thoughtful editorials, here in the Times and elsewhere, about this nightmarish period in our history. The one that haunted me this past week was a piece by Jennifer Rubin of the WaPo. The best defense Republicans really have, she wrote, was that Trump is literally incapable of distinguishing his interests from the country's. But then, of course, they'd be branding him as mentally ill—which he appears to be.
Take away every cruel, racist, planet-destroying thing DJT has done, and you're still left with the obvious fact that he has no interest whatsoever in doing his job. Obama worked tirelessly all day and answered letters into the night. Trump tweeted 142 times a day ago and spends God knows how much time watching TV and talking to Fox anchors on the phone. The fact that his supporters equate pointing all of this out to "hating the President" is galling to say the least.
3
I am confident Republican senators, after hearing such compelling evidence, will realize how dire ignoring Trump's gross misdeeds is, just as they've realized how dire ignoring climate change is. NOT!
2
President Trump does not need a defense for his actions. President Trump can act in any way he pleases. He can demean anyone. Insult any person for any reason. He can lie and cheat and steal, and no one is going to hold him to account. President Trump is above the law. We know that. Just as we know that our democracy has been subverted by a minority party with the aide of foreign powers and money. It is termed a "coup", and America is living it.
1
The Democrats lost it all when they pressed so hard as to impel Senator Collins to forward a note objecting to the vicious remarks of Rep Nagler. That will go down in history as the moment the Democratic case collapsed, guaranteeing D. Trump a second term.
2
Having a political opinion different from Trumps does not make him a danger. They lost the election - Trump as President makes foreign policy - not Pelosi and other House Dems. They need a course in the constitution. Pretty poor presentation by House Managers. No evidence that Trump actually said or did what they ranted about.
2
Reason and logic will not save our democracy. Economics is the solution. Boycott states whose senators votes for acquittal.
Adam Schiff’s closing argument reminding Americans of Democracy’s fragility and the moral importance of Truth is a Profile in Courage, worthy of inclusion in future history textbooks.
4
Thank you Adam Schiff. “She is worth it.” Now is the time for all good men [men] to rise. It is not too late for the ethical, America-loving Republican Senators who took an oath and love this nation to rise. Rise. And be welcomed as the courageous patriots they are by our grateful nation. We need you and your service now more than any moment in your life. This will define you. And our nation.
Come. Let’s unite. Let’s heal together—-before it’s too late.
1
Here’s what Sen. John Thune said yesterday of Donald Trump;
“As everybody sort of knows, he’s very unconventional. And I think a lot of people when they voted for him, that was baked in and they knew what they were getting. That’s why there hasn’t been that huge public reaction to this, except for the partisans on both sides.”
This is the kind of gaslighting that is just as bad (if not worse) than Trump’s misdeeds. It implicitly says “Hey this guy Trump doesn’t know what he’s doing, let’s give him a pass on bad behavior because he won the Electoral College by 75,000 votes. Anybody that disagrees is a partisan.” It’s making an excuse for malfeasance instead of acting as any kind of check.
The fact that my tax dollars are paying for grown men and women to spout this kind of hogwash back at me - while shirking their duty as Senators - is infuriating.
1
Honestly, Trump has been making deals to benefit American people while Democrats are wasting time, money and energy to pursue this obsession to impeach Trump. They should go back to making deals with Trump to benefit American people.
2
Maybe it wasn't the best idea for Schiff to refer to a report that Rs have been threatened by Trump, but whether the wording or the report are accurate, we all know that is exactly the way Trump thinks and has talked in the past about so many things. So it's ridiculous for Rs to reject the sentiment when they know it rings true. They're looking for any excuse to betray their country in favor of clearing this corrupt, lawless monster in the White House of charges that have been proved convincingly and demonstrate what a dangerous authoritarian is destroying our republic.
It sickens me to keep hearing more about the Rs who are all complicit in Trump's offenses continuing to betray their oath to the Constitution and their oath in this trial. These people have debased and poisoned our democratic form of govt. Schiff referred to moral courage and implored them to find that quality in themselves and bring it out now. I'm not holding my breath for these spineless partisan swamp creatures to revive whatever decency and moral core they might have once had.
I've heard some Dems in the Senate speak about their R colleagues at times saying that they know these are "good people". No. Good people don't betray their country. They may be your friend around the dinner table and swear love for their families, but that doesn't make them good people if they can't also display real courage or the ultimate love of country at the time of crisis. They are a moral void.
1
Clearly Congress can’t get things done that MOST Americans see need to be fixed. Remember this in November and get out and vote for new representation and let’s fix this.
Government of the People, by the People, and for the People.
1
Republican Senate votes down every witness, documents, or other pieces of evidence.
Choosing party over country, Americans will never forget this moment for the years to come.
History in the making.
2
Too bad Republicans - as well as the people people who premise that they are "non-partisans" and then proceed to make trite and false equivalencies - have chosen to ignore the January 23rd announcement made by atomic scientists about the 2020 Doomsday Clock. It has been moved up to only 100 second before midnight.
And still no concern or acknowledgement of the FACT that this is largely attributable to the actions of Donald J. Trump.
What heroes each of the Impeachment Management team members are! Heroes for today: they are modest and unassuming. Mild-mannered and decent. Full of skill and expertise. As a group, a united group, powerfully, they have stepped forward to save our country. With love and gratitude to each of you!!
1
I thought the squad of managers would deliver their articles and let the Senate take over. I didn’t think I’d be seeing Adam Schiff going on for hours and hours and the rest of them saying the same thing over and over again. I suspect the Senate doesn’t like to be lectured by the Lower House, but they have to sit there without objection. I don’t think it will go to witnesses. America has had enough. Any further articles that pass the House should be dismissed.
1
Republicans are great. Yes.
Democrats are moral. Of course they are!
A think a House and a Senate together – Congress – that Republicans are in control of is sometimes excellent – for some of the country and for most of the States. Democrat Presidents can be cool – and somewhat different from the run-of-the-mill Republicans (if after all they exist).
It is time to be non-partisan here?
If Donald requires an admonishment from Congress, require witnesses and just rebut any prosecution (which at least one of his very experienced, worthy and ethical lawyers ought to be able to do). He will, subsequent to this, settle in a course of action, deciding whether to contest the choosing at the end of this year!
The foregone conclusion that the Senate will not remove the President signifies a new, dangerous chapter in American history, with new norms of conduct.
The failure to depose the President by the Senate (the Cabinet certainly will not do so either, despite this is allowed by the 25th Amendment to the US Constitution) means that from now on, the President can openly solicit foreign intervention in domestic elections and call upon so-called (and poorly defined) "executive privilege" to obstruct Congressional investigation.
From now on, it is open season on reason. Now that the Senate has sanctioned the wanton behavior of the present President, future Presidents and nominees of any party affiliation will be able to behave similarly. The Senate said, it's okay.
Republicans, you could have prevented this, but you chose not to. Now the genie is out of the bottle, and a new reckless, lawless chapter of American history is being drafted.
Anti-abortionists consider Trump to be their ally and that abortion is more, in their view, unconstitutional and wrong than Trump is. An excuse can be made for Trump: he's inexperienced in the world of political accountability and tripped on his laces. But, he was simply trying to protected the voices of the unborn. No high crime or misdemeanor is worse than abortion, they say. So as long as he is fighting to end the legal right to abortion, there is a place for him in their hearts as president.
1
@Max
Trump is secular, however, in the hearts and minds of the religious right that is zealously against abortion rights, Trump is like a god to them and a martyr to their cause. Schiff and Pelosi and Nadler represent the devil's trinity of anti-christs. The civil unrest they threaten, from the Red states is no something their Republican Senators are likely to dismiss. If they vote to acquit the president for his misdeeds it will be, in their minds, a justified crime, like that of a starving person who steals a loaf of bread. Some human situations require a delay in judgment, so their rationalization would be not they didn't think the president was guilty, but that they have to defer to the future of history's authority in judgment in this matter. A vote to impeach and remove from office is a vote to murder the unborn, they are being told from their constituency.
2
Not only is the truth irrelevant now, but so is doing the right thing. By dismissing Trump’s abuse, which we know they will, Republicans are letting the country and world know that we stand for absolutely nothing. They’re demonstrating that as long as you have the power you can be cruel, lie, cheat, steal, bully, disrespect or bomb anyone you want. And without character, America can never be great again.
As the Senate stated, via McConnell, they will Not vote as a collective to remove $45. They will acquit him of Constitutional wrong doing. My personal belief is that the House Impeachment Committee has spent their time sharing the facts, Again, as an information tool for voting American citizens; knowing he won’t be removed. Maybe knowledge of what transpired for his Impeachment will help voters make an informed voting decision. They did succeed, rightly, to impeach him. He IS impeached. Third U.S. President to be so. That Fact can Not be disputed. Each citizen will decide if they want to Vote for a U.S. President who prefers to uphold OUR Constitution or one who chooses to “do as ‘I’ want”. Praying for a Constitutional President...for my nephew and nieces future.
I'm amazed that there are not huge gatherings of people outside the Capitol, shouting for "justice", "fair trial" and "call the witnesses". Maybe I am only imagining that Trump's base is small. Maybe his support from his fellow Americans is overwhelming.
What other reason can there be for people to just sit passive and let the Republicans ignore evidence given to them and prevent new evidence to be presented?
Everything that has been presented the past three days have fallen on the deaf ears of the Trump Party Senators as they will do anything to protect their Supreme Ruler as already evidenced by their act of perjury when taking the oath for a fair, unbiased judgement.
The framers of the Constitution never envisioned that a President would have total and complete control of a political party that would kowtow to his every wish and desire and would protect him at all costs, regardless of any crimes he has committed.
1
In the age of digital media the language has gotten a lot flashier. You hear the word "unbelievable" thrown around a lot, but it just doesn't seem to register any more.
While the vast difference in how this issue is being covered by different media is mentioned a great deal here, the depth of the misinformation campaign being conducted on a large portion of the American population is simply beyond belief... you need to see it for yourself to understand how dire the situation really is.
If you haven't done it already, I highly encourage you to take a look a the news website that are not considered "main stream media" and see how this impeachment is being presented to far too many US citizens.
It's a minor story with short and misleading sound bite quotes, taken completely out of context, while the majority of coverage centers on conflict between Democratic nominee's and pieces written to create fear about the perils of allowing the Democrats from gaining any form of leadership (they're going to take your gun's, outlaw religion etc...).
The key to fixing a problem is understanding it, and you can't understand the destructive loop the GOP is stuck in until you see the entire apparatus. Go down the rabbit hole, it'll blow your mind.
pettifoggery (vb) - to engage in legal deception or quibble over insignificant details
Chief Justice Roberts warned that neither side should engage in pettifoggery on day 1.
The question now is, if White house attorneys state outright lies such as the House conducted closed door "secret" hearings disallowing fair participation by Republicans, will Chief Justice Roberts interrupt and call out those statements as patently false?
A failure to call out those types of lies will define if the Chief Justice cares about fairness, honesty and transparency. If he lets them slide, then he is willing to let democracy die in plain sight.
Congressman Adam Schiff presented a compelling case for the conviction and removal of Donald Trump as President of the U.S. The question now is what will the Republican controlled Senate do? Will they remove Trump before he does further damage to constitution and rule of law or will they betray their oath
Nothing but admiration and respect for Schiff and the entire case presentation by the Democrats.
However, we should try to understand the Republican mindset, which is this:
We are this close, so, so close to achieving the desired result of our 40 ( or more) year long game. Do you think we are going to throw that away now?
What they may do - in the ultimate cynical, slap in the face gesture - is agree to the subpoenas, have the documents and testimony presented to them and then...
vote to acquit anyway. Because they are so, so close.
Sorry my Democratic friends, the only one that should be removed is Adam Schiff and the only threat to this Country is the Democratic Party. Schiff is clearly a person with too much hatred. The Party has been on a chase to remove Trump since he announced his candicy. The same can be said for the media and those that have never acknowledged the success that this man has had for our Country. This is a sham trial/hearing. There is nothing new since the House hearing and that brought us nothing worthy of impeachment. I believe in the two party system. However, the more we hear from Schiff and Nadler, the more I am afraid that people will be walking away in discuss from their Party. Let's start doing an honest days work!
3
The Republicans are preparing to release a tyrant on this nation. As soon as they vote to acquit Trump, they will confirm to the world that his corrupt behavior is acceptable. In the process, they will nullify the power of oversight and impeachment that Congress is granted in the constitution. The most corrupt President in our history will become "above the law". He will bask in the glory as he receives the power that will bring him closer to the level of the strong-arm dictators that he idolizes.
What will this man do with his new found power? Now he can achieve more of what he desires, but was denied by the Constitution. Perhaps, finally he can exercise censorship on the press, jail his critics and his political rivals, declare a war without consulting congress, change voting laws so that only "Trumpers" can vote. Maybe he will change the Constitution to extend his term.
In the case that he fails to win the election, he may declare himself the winner by Presidential decree.
The future is terrifying once the Republicans release this power hungry tyrant from his cage.
2
We can make a difference. We can turn this around. Trump has a fanatical cult following that adds to the difficulty of defeating him. But the vulnerable GOP Senators don't have that same fanatical allegiance. So let's focus on them. You can make yourself feel good by giving to the opponents of these vulnerable GOP Senators: Joni Ernst, Iowa; Martha McSally, Arizona; Cory Gardner, Colorado; Thom Tillis, North Carolina; Susan Collins, Maine and Mitch McConnell, Kentucky
2
Why have the House Managers found
it necessary to use such vituperative language concerning
President Trump ?
Washington denied the Americans involved in the Whiskey Rebellion the same rights the Declaration of Independence stated were in-alienable.
The Federalist did their best to stop Jefferson and his gang from winning the Presidency.
Jackson defied a Supreme Court Order.
Lincoln defied a Supreme Court Order.
Wilson misled the Nation into going to war against Germany.
FDR ignored the Letter of the Law concerning Lend-Lease
and antagonized Japan into War.
Later he handed Eastern Europe over to the Soviets and their
Puppet Governments - far worse than anything Trump did concerning the Ukraine.
Truman waged war in Korea with a Declaration of War.
LBJ did like wise in Vietnam.
Clinton/Bush I & II, plus Obama kept the nation at war.
Why were they not all impeached and convicted ?
Washington, Lincoln, Wilson, FDR were all more dictatorial
than Trump could ever hope to be.
The Republic survived them and should be able to survive Trump.
I hope Bernie wins the Democratic Nomination so that I may vote for him.
However, I now think Speaker Pelosi delayed the presentation of the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate so that Bernie, Warren and Kay - have no time left to campaign in Iowa and New Hampshire.
As such, Pelosi and Schiff have conspired against the Republic
and are Traitors and should be turned out from Office -
Their very words have convicted them.
2
Plato predicted that democracy would ultimately yield to dictatorship. Rome lasted as a Republic for several hundred years before it yielded permanent dictatorial powers to Caesar (and all later Roman Emperors). The United States Senate has an opportunity to prove Plato wrong, and ensure that America has a chance to remain a democracy longer than Rome did. Will they rise to the occasion?
It’s better for the Dems to not have witnesses. Whatever Bolton might add (1) won’t sway the vote and (2) won’t compensate for the harm that a Hunter Biden appearance would cause. Well done Congressman Schiff and others. Now let’s move on to November.
So after the complicit GOP senators vote in lockstep ( or is that goose step), will that be followed by a ring kissing ceremony so they they can further prostate themselves before their monarch?
I'm truly amazed that it has only taken 3 short years for our democratic republic to effectively be transformed into a dictatorship , all with the blessings of Trump's cult following.
Besides this metamorphosis, what also saddens me is a literal return to the Dark Ages in this administration where common sense, data, information and science are dismissed while we allow the Mother Earth to be polluted and uninhabitable, when we can take obvious steps to mitigate.
So much for considering the birthright we leave for following generations.
The ethnic proxy war that both parties in Congress want to promote in Ukraine has a natural sympathy with Schiff's over the top belligerent rhetoric. The absurd fantasies about Russia are made to order. The problem is that Ukraine and Russia are working for a peace settlement. The Ukrainians and the Russians have agreed to reopening the natural gas pipeline that flows through Ukraine. President Zelensky won a landslide election to get out of this war that his predecessor banked his leadership on. This impeachment is the mother of tempests in a teapot. The Democrats have completely rejected President Obama's wise efforts to avoid getting involved in Ukraine's ethnic strife or provocatively place Ukraine in NATO.
Thank you Mr. Schiff . You proved that America is not numb to the value of integrity, honesty and protection of the Constitution.
I am very grateful to you.
2
As revealing and deplorable as Clinton's deplorables comment, the Republicans were obviously just laying in wait for anything to use. Or just make something up.
To be called out now for cowardice is in fact a compliment. It is assuming that there is still some flicker of decency somewhere deep inside them. I think they should be believed when they say that they are in lockstep not out of fear but because they really are who they say they are.
1
Schiff is a hero whether or not democracy is saved.
If winning is what really matters most, we'd all be Republican at this point.
We're NOT all Republicans now because we value honor, truth, and human dignity more than victory.
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@Theresa
We're also NOT all Democrats now because we value honor, truth, and human dignity. Some of us see the sham in launching a partisan attack to overturn an election and set up a Democratic Party victory during the next one.
Good luck with that.
I still hope for the impossible: a dynamic, bigger-than-life statesperson candidate running as a viable independent. A pox on both major parties.
1
@Theresa Schiff is the opposite of a hero. Nobody wants 4 more years of Trump. But Schiff is going to deliver 4 more years. And wasted all our time and effort into this.
1
Yawn. Except for a tiny number political junkies and crank leftists, this "impeachment" has been an exercise in staged drama that most Americans have barely even noticed is hsppening. It's the best argument possible for limited government, as the personal conduct of those involved is worse than what most people would allow in their own homes. Apparently these are the "best" politicians available and incredibly, they write the nations laws and control its purse. What an amazing insight into farce, futility and shameless pandering to the worst of human instincts.
1
I think Trump is a great juggler. He can be selfish to an extent – not a problem – in the realization disadvantaging others may cause him to suffer retribution. Interests he needs to balance. His moral stance seems implicit – unexpressed. He is criticized and then fires back, “I did what was correct” – with little or no explanation. Lack of rationalization does not mean there occurred a wrongdoing, just that the rightness of the action cannot be easily defended by the agent who performed the action. If witnesses are by any chance interviewed within your hallowed hall, I will read the reporting of expressions expressed. As an afterthought, when electing the president, which might seem more important to most people – the person who is candidate – or his or her supporting men and women, such as in Congress – his or her political grouping?
1
@M. C. Major One round as a party vote, the successful party fielding the candidates for the second round which elects a president – such might be nothing new. In a way, it reverses selection of party (occurring first) and selection of president (occurring after). I feel it should benefit, and may dull inter-party conflict viz. the elected president, who will apparently locate in or towards the center; and there should perhaps be little probability of presidential policies not in the center.
@M. C. Major I say: get rid of the primaries. There should be two rounds in order to elect a president. In the first round all citizens over 18 will vote for a party, not for any particular person, most likely the Republican Party or the Democrat Party. Only the party that wins is able to field candidates in the second round and must field three or more candidates for president. This will enable Democrats to vote Republican or Republicans to vote Democrat depending on which party succeeds in the first round; the man or woman successful in the presidential race, although primarily of one party, will have been elected by Republicans and Democrats and those in between – and he or she should be representative of a great swathe of the modern-day and united States!
@M. C. Major I am looking down on President Trump’s discourse and not really the policy he announces and supports. May Trump and your United States have future success in all fields!
I am very impressed with the Democratic managers' presentations of evidence and effective arguments. Having followed the House impeachment testimony, there was much repetition but this is necessary to get the message out to the wider public.
I thought they did an excellent job of demonstrating how Trump's actions violate Constitutional principles and threaten our democracy in the long-term.
I am eager to hear the defense. My guess is they will evade and not address the facts presented by the Democrats since they have no answers.
With today's revelation of the tape with Trump saying "take her out" in reference to the Ambassador whose authentic anti-corruption work impeded his corrupt political motivations, the Republican senators have no argument against calling more witnesses.
Honest, lawful people do not ignore subpoenas. Even Nixon turned over documents. Republicans, how can you continue to defend the indefensible?
159
Regardless of the partisan animosity that infects virtually every substantial issue the congress deals with, when you peel back all the vitriol and discard all the mutual slander, what remains is an exhaustive presentation of documentary evidence and witness testimony that amply supports the two articles of impeachment.
One might expect the defense to refute the prosecution's evidence with their own documentation and witness testimony. Something they chose not to do during the House impeachment process. But they have the votes they would need to present all the exculpatory evidence and witnesses they want, to refute the prosecution's case, starting Saturday morning.
Is their plan to subliminally plead no contest on the merits of the articles, but use their numerical advantage to keep Trump in office? Seems likely. But I hope the term "historic" is not associated with this enterprise. My choice would be "horrific".
62
It is time that average Americans take to the streets. Confront GOP senators who fail to seek the truth and demand action. Bombard their offices with calls and emails. Those with money, put up or shut up and take out ads that target and Republican running for office.
Until their is a groundswell of opposition - not just vigorous debate in Congress - nothing, nothing will change and Trump will be assured of another four years!!
69
As widow my taxes have increased because I live in a state with a very high state tax which has been limited deductions; especially for singles.
I recall as a new young wife listening to a black and white television when it was announced by a Mr. Butterfield that he had wired the Nixon Whitehouse. Even then, I knew that was a killer.
Clinton was different. He got caught lying. Was oral sex actually sex? Perhaps that wasn't the correct misrepresent, but it almost seems not relevant now.
This present case is so different and important. I would almost put aside the issues were they not so dangerous to our country. Look at the man who is our "leader." He tends to not tell the truth, likes Russia and autocratic leaders, does not take care of the middle and low income people he professes to support. His rallies are filled with divisive profussions, not policy discussions which I feel he doesn't even understands.
Guess we all know he won't be removed from office now. He is not what one would call a "Good Man", nor is he an "Honest man."
I would like more witnesses to testify; not to smash the Republicans, but to help me understand what is happening to this country.
99
@Tanis Marsh What is happening to America is that it is being lead down the path of corruption by Donald Trump, who beat all the alleged mainstream Republican candidates.
This sort of corruption in politics will affect all aspects of American governance in that we are lead by the best of the worst, which some think is "winning".
1
I guess the GOP Senators prefer their threats veiled and in mob-speak. So sad they were offended by Schiff laying it on them. Not
39
At this point the Dems should walk out in protest and save their souls. Without witnesses it is a sham and the Senate cannot hold a trial without a quorum.If all the Dems walked out it would stop this shame.
52
It's really disheartening that the nation holds it's collective breath, while we wait to see if elected officials will represent the people or follow the party line. I hope each of these senators enjoys their '15 minutes in the sun.'
Their legacy will follow them for the rest of their lives and into history. Once a part of history, scholars will no longer ask them to explain the choices they made, it will be assumed from the outcome of this trial. History can be the harshest of judges!
I pray that each Senator gives their vote the gravity and respect it deserves! Your country is waiting.
32
Schiff for president, 2024/8. Today was so refreshing and encouraging.
82
If Mr. Schiff were an honest person he wouldn't be a politician.
Those two categories are mutually exclusive...
However, if you believe the politicians are the honest people, then you believe Trump is an honorable man too.
6
@Kenan Porobic For your info not all politicians are crooks or charlatans. Some might actually be decent. It is a question of degrees, the choice between Trump and Schiff is clear. Trump is a very flawed being.
1
@Kenan Porobic
Another argument that I've heard all my life.
"All politicians are untrustworthy. They're all the same."
This broad brush simplification means we all must not pay attention to what happens in the executive and legislative branches of government. Who benefits from this attitude?
It's the politicians.
1
@Kenan Porobic That's just ignorant rationalizing. Politicians, like any other occupation, are not all equal. Wouldn't you vet several surgeons before you chose one to perform open heart surgery? Haven't you ever had a really bad or really good experience with a contractor doing work in your home? I believe many politicians are honest and want to do the important work of our country while serving the interests of their constituents. Likewise, I believe there are many rotten apples in the barrel and Trump is rotten to his very core. He can't even spell honor or integrity much less demonstrate it.
1
I think the Democrats from the House have done an absolutely superb job of presenting the evidence. The presentations were written eloquently, forcefully, brilliantly, and each speaker made them riveting. Schiff was thrilling. It is a rare honor to get to hear a person capable of real moral outrage expose, through deep feeling, sickening crimes and abuse of power. I grasp the significance of this so much more than I did before. I think Schiff will go down in history for this. The Republican Senate? What person who has lived through this time and been on the side of our country could ever forget when a whole political party tried to shatter the principles of this nation and turn it into a corrupt dictatorship? I have long recognized that the Republican Party is an anti-government force in government, but it has finally devolved to Senators trying to destroy the powers of the Senate.
125
Everyone’s getting unhinged.
Even Pompeo lost his cool & screamed at a reporter when she asked him for a single instance in which he defended the fired ambassador to Ukraine.
It is very beautiful to behold.
87
From the “you can’t make this stuff up” files: President Donald Trump said at a press conference in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday that he opposed the impeachment of President Bill Clinton even though Clinton was doing bad things, like lying. Trump added: “Now, with me, there’s no lying.”
88
@David Henry
Henry, that's the thing, 45* doesn't think he is lying.
In his mind everything he does and says is perfect.
Hence, he does not think he is lying.
2
Trump’s next gig starting in December 2020 will be as a stand up comic on Fox. He can tell war stories of his bravery in Nam and also give lessons in how to cheat on both one’s wives and one’s country. He is donating his Fox salary to a scholarship fund to send Hannity to finally get a college degree.
5
@David Henry
That whole press conference was OFF THE RAILS....it once again exposed this potus...
5
I have never been prouder to be a Democrat.
132
@Jeanne
You are precisely the person to whom Schiff was speaking. He closed the deal. Now the Democratic Party needs you to hold onto this glowing feeling and show up to vote.
It was always a "Get out the vote" exercise for the democrats.
4
That is great to be a proud democrat, with a re-elected Republican president. Free health care should include the disbursement of Xanax to all in this absurd frenzy.
2
@AACNY Agreed! Since I was old enough to vote, I have made it a point to vote in every election, including off-year elections and local ones. It is my belief that every American should be more involved with the governing of our great nation by paying attention, examining the issues, learning about the candidates, volunteering on campaigns and helping to GOTV, attending town halls, writing letters to the editor, and more. It is the only way to truly keep our nation great.
See you at the polls!
1
I've stopped having hope at this point. I'm but 33 years old, and I've resigned myself to preparing for a fairly dark, terrifying future for this nation. All of my own hard work in my own life in this life is futile.
How's that for Millennial optimism?
54
@chocolat Your lack of faith in your fellow citizens and our nation is disturbing. Maybe looking back at some of the real challenges to our existence and how we overcame them will give you a better perspective.
1
@Saints Fan
I'll be voting D forever, thank you much.
@T Smith
I'm mostly just venting. It all *seems* bleak now, a reflection of my own perspective.
1
The GOP is having its Jim Jones moment.
The American people are watching y'all with your little spinners and novels. We need some new Senators.
162
Senate yields will
King of tyranny then sits
Et tu brute, deliver daggers
17
While this farce continues the Pretend King Trump edicts continue to wreck our country's natural resources and plunge our values into a dark abyss filled with grief. It will take us a long time to bring back our home to the bright future it once had. We cannot forget those who threw us into this abyss. An epidemic maybe on the horizon and these inept politicians will bring us to the brink of destruction. Luckily they never understood us and we will carry on with or without them. The Founding fathers knew that once we tasted freedom and what life had to offer we would never let go. These Republican Senators may have written us off and the country but we have not.
48
Hopeful.
I like it.
2
The GOP Senators, if not all of them, at least those who have a conscience, should vote for Witnesses to be called. If they do not do that, what would they be afraid of? According to recent polls, the majority want to see Witnesses being called. Those numbers in the polls can also be constituents of the Senators. Will the Senators be mindful of that?
29
I couldn't but laugh today at the chaplain of the Senate opening prayer where he prayed that God would direct the senators to do the right thing.
As apparently he or she is directing them to acquit Trump, I think the atheists have a tremendous recruiting tool. Who can believe in a divine being who believes that someone like him who commits so many evil acts should be president of the U.S.
43
@Steve Having Chaplains in the White house is compounding the problem with every that went wrong in our government. What happened to separation of church and state?
2
I just cannot believe all the republicans are so loyal, so besotted, or so blinded by trump they dont believe the proven truth right before their eyes! Its very very shocking.
96
@Mother
Venality. Trump and the RNC have amassed hundreds of millions of dollars. Whoever the donors are, they are powerful.
3
Plenty of them believe it. They just don’t care.
5
So it goes...So Collins and Murkowski do we just get over it?
48
I agree with their summing up, terribly stark but true.
Someone had to try to wake people up before it's too late.
But yet again the Republicans bury their heads in the sand, reacting only with righteousness indignation about 'head-on-a-pike'. Never once did they seem even slightly troubled by the horrifying picture of presidential abuse and corruption, goon squads, shake-downs, threats and all, painted with fact after fact after fact.
This righteous indignation is even more galling when few to no Republicans ever called Trump out for encouraging division and hate, his vicious attacks on Gold Star parents, John McCain, woman, disabled people, poor people, immigrants, people of color, refugees and on and on, and his tacit approval of white nationalism and encouraging violence against the press...
132
The case has been made and guilt is apparent. At this point one can say, definitively, that Republicans are advocating for elections to be Fair, Free and Rigged. Allowing this man to participate in the next election, knowing his history, is just encouraging cheating out in the open. This goes against everything I've ever learned and valued about America. The fact that our downfall would be an inside job, just never occurred to me.
64
@Rick Gage
You are so right! Any overt aggression from another country would have been repelled immediately with force.
To be attacked by your own elected government was unthinkable three short years ago!
3
We are witnessing the transformation our country from one governed by the Constitution to one governed by whichever party is in power.
52
@David R
Or worse; by whichever Trump family member is appointed to the executive office. Do ivanka and Lara and Donald Trump Jr seem ambitious? I think so.
@David R The GOP never gave Obama an inch- and his stretching of Executive power was for principle, not personal power or to incite insurrection.
1
Worse that that, by anyone that has enough money to buy his way in.
If the Republicans whitewash this, I say it is time for a massive march on DC, and shake these representatives to their core.
131
As I read though some of the comments I am gobsmacked at the number of people who are OK with foreign interference in our government, solicited or not. Putin is at the root of this and he is not our friend. His heritage is the same KGB and Soviet Union that swore to bury us.
121
I have been saying this, describing this exact scenario of Russian KGB/style malfeasance and, yes, war on America, since election night 2016.
Got laughed out of grad school- for, get this: Strategic Communication.
3
Reps have lost a lot of respect around the world---I'm sure there are a lot of countries who would like to support Dems, before all their investments in the US start rotting under the Republican's 3rd world corrupt practices.
Reps seem ok with all the foreign assistance Trump got and is getting.
So---good news for cash-strapped Dems running for election.
Perhaps McConnell's opponent in Kentucky would appreciate assistance from overseas friends, maybe spreading some fake news about McConnell on social media.
Or McSally's opponent in Arizona---more funds are always helpful.
Cornyn's Texan opponent may need some money or tech help.
Or Lindsey Graham's opponent in So. Carolina.
Republicans have let the cat out of the bag.
48
@SLB
Thank s to Adam Schiff for speaking truth to power! It's a blot on the character of every senator who leaps to the defense of Mr. Trump. What a despicable, cowardly example of humanity!
@SLB I would hope Dems would have more honor.
While there is a long roster of low points in American politics, no means exists by which to adequately describe the degree of dishonor and cancerous perversion of the Republican Party.
As I approach the end of life, I am truly sick of heart to observe the level of amorality my country has fallen into. Not only the mindless folly of granting power to an habitual criminal but the outright corruption of the Republican Party.
These are people who have falsely sworn to uphold the laws of the land and support the well being of its citizenry; vile opportunists refusing to honor a single word that falls out of their mouths ... and don't care who knows it!
We are watching this nation engage in its death throes. I will not be here to see it but I can assure you: the forthcoming election of 2020 is the do-or-die moment for America. It may already be too late ... it is up to you.
149
@forgetaboutit
I hope you will be here to see it and are registered to vote.
1
While this is definitely a right wing coup in the making, it is a shabby one. Yes, they are determined to get away with murder, and they probably will. But it is 100% a clown act, and while the US will probably suffer as much as 5 more years of Trump and an unknown amount of clumsy rightwing destruction of democracy and environmental safeguards, this will end.
Somehow, eventually though, researchers will determine how otherwise sane people can have acquired such a fascination with this despot. How sane people can completely ignore what has taken place, and substitute some cheap, illogical interpretation of it, on behalf of our naked despot.
48
Checks and balances RIP.
49
Pelosi and Schiff. Awesome.
108
It's Burn's Day today so I thought it appropriate to give you a pertinent Burn's Quote.
"Here's freedom to him who would read;
Here's freedom to him who would write;
None ever feared that the truth should be heard,
But them that the truth would indict."
Burns was a republican in the true sense of the word. He wrote this sometime around the time of the American Revolution. I think today's Republican Party don't seem to have the same moral compass.
77
Not many Democrats doubt that Trump is a menace. And if that were the question, removal would be a foregone conclusion. But being a menace is not the issue. The issue is what happened and what to make of it.
Not all the evidence is out there. But based upon what we know, what happened seems clear. First, Trump decided to squeeeze Zelensky to get him to help smear Biden. In a July telephone call Trump laid it out. Around the same time, he delayed military aid to Ukraine.
In the end, Trump never smeared Biden because the whistleblower intervened. And the smear he planned was pretty much ridiculous -- it was based on transparently false information that would probably have blown up in his face. As for the delayed funding, Trump gave it up in less than two months, presumably because he thought better after hewas outed by the whistleblower.
The scheme was harebrained but clearly illegal. Bottom line, Trump has to be punished -- a President can't do this kind of stuff. But the question remains -- what sort of punishment is called for. On that one, reasonable people can differ. The plan was incredibly dumb but outrageous. Great harm was contemplated, but little harm (to Ukraine) resulted. Because the scam was so harebrained, I'm of two minds. But a decision is called for. And when backled into a corner, I have concluded, on balance, that this disreputable affair was not evil, but it reveals that Trump is grossly unfit, and therefore has to go.
26
Um, he has rendered our nation ridiculous, on the world stage.
1
I have never heard of any dictator being impeached, but anyway, when this circus is over, Trump will be giving State of the Union speech and declaring victory. All the Democrats have done is fire up Trump's base of supporters as never before and greatly improved his re election odds, especially if he goes up against someone lame like Sanders or Biden. Trump will come out of this stronger than before and so will the country.
16
Stronger than ever? With an amateur dictator and American oligarchy stronger than ever? Sounds simply fabulous.
28
@Bob
Well ,it is at least nice to know that Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar are not "lame" in your eyes.
Methinks, however, you might be a bit overconfident about 2020. Your same fire up Trump's base argument was made in 2018; and as I recall, your side took a pretty good beating.
2
@Bob
"I have never heard of any dictator being impeached . . ." Well, Trump is not going anywhere, is he? Tragically. So what does that say to you?
2
It is quite clear from the last few days that the Damocles
sword hanging over our sick body politic will soon fall
to land a mortal blow at what
had been a functioning constitutional republic.
For 53 senators to sort of sit and play at paying some attention to the narratives of the House managers, and then
decide that no witnesses need be called should tell
us that the same suicidal mindset that justifies no genuine action to decrease the rate of atmospheric temperature increase is at play at much more than that mortal sin.
Not wanting to hear what witnesses
would inform them was the conscious effort to sell their
republic in exchange for a cheap cache of "drugs" is more than simply execrable. It is an affront to the constitution they
swore to uphold.
So it is now solely an electoral issue entirely. And you can be sure that the same evil filth that instigated the plot to shake down Ukraine is going to be very busy distracting us, lying to us, drowning our public discourse in perversity and psychopathology, and trying to drive still more wedges between us.
Will we be able to resist the natural gag reflex long enough
to commit each of those outside the cult to register and vote out each senator who just couldn't be bothered to listen to the unexpurgated, sordid details?
I really wonder, especially about younger voters, and those so detached from civic life that they cannot distinguish everyday bad behavior from deeply evil behavior.
49
America,
Hey,
Your dire warning is to call your respective senators,
amd sincerely,
with heartfelt sincerity, request that they provide your american people a fair Impeachment trial for Donald Trump.
Or for all intents and purposes,
become a fellow russian c0-conspirator.
18
I enjoyed the soaring rhetoric, the clear, well written, calmly delivered speeches and the challenge to honor our constitution, our country's history, its honest and dedicated public servants, and to defend its citizens from a would be tyrant.
We have surely seen the high point of this trial, and the House impeachment managers' finest performances.
It remains only to be determined how far into the sewer pit the Trump's defenders are willing to descend.
66
@Jim Remington
Oh, they are gonna go deep. No doubt.
3
I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s had impeachment fatigue for months.
Regardless of Schiff's impassioned speech and how clear it is that Trump should be convicted, the GOP and their supporters won’t change their minds and the sooner it’s over the better so we can move on and focus on getting him voted out.
11
@Bronx Jon We needed to hear the words of Schiff and the other House Managers. Their speeches illuminated the time line and the incredible danger posed by Trump's obstruction, and gave us context. And Schiff's words, I hope, shamed the complicit, complacent Republican senators.
2
What if Trump had told Zelensky that in order for him to get the $391 million in aid, he would have to agree to give 10% of it to Trump's reelection campaign? Because, essentially, that's exactly what he did. There is ZERO difference between the two, because no matter how you slice it, extortion is extortion. Period.
60
My dad volunteered for the army in WWII; even though he had a defense job he willingly put his life at risk because he loved this country and thought it was his responsibility to fight for it. He was then severely wounded on the German border and his wounds affected him his whole life. My dad, and all our other veterans, had real courage. It is so disgusting to me that my own Republican Senator Toomey doesn't even have the courage to risk his Senate seat by voting for a fair trial and voting to convict Trump.
73
Make Toomey pay when voting comes around. Polling makes it clear that Americans want witnesses. If reps can’t listen to the pulse of the country, they will have an unpleasant surprise coming their way. Everyone Trump touches turns to rot, remember.
4
Citizens United and the boatload of corporate money has bought our ability to govern ourselves, raided our public coffers that were suppose to be to support ourselves, and even stole our democracy. All in the name of profits.
42
That is a true story.
I am a witness, for the last 50 years, of the degradation of American civic life, in service to corporate global profit.
3
So, we have come to this? Senators will vote to maintain this man in office because they got bored and fidgety, and their feelings were hurt?
82
While I think Trump is guilty of what's he's been accused of and would like to see him removed, I find that I can't wait till this so called impeachment hearing is over so we can talk about something else.
It's telling that the impeachment hearing is considered to be nothing more than a waste of time as both sides have decided how they will vote, it is once again a dishonest theatrical display: the petulant intransigence of the right vs the moral pompousness/self-aggrandizing intelligence of the left.
I miss the dignity which politicians such as Obama, George H.W. Bush, James Baker, etc embodied. It's as though everyone now is heir to Joseph McCarthy; full of deceptive passions, but lacking in character.
12
It's sad but amusing that the GOP acted indignant at the mention of the "head on a pike" threat. As if it's any secret that GOP pols fear they'll be on the business end of a poisonous tweet by Trump should he feel crossed. It's often brought up by political analysts and correspondents whose jobs is close observation and discrete conversations with people in tight circles. Trump has torpedoed more than one career and cause with a few taps of his orange thumbs.
31
Can anyone out there claim Trump as innocent and should be acquitted? He is guilty as stated by his own words. He invited foreign influence and rejected oversight, against his own cabinet’s advice, our Constitution and his own party’s admonitions and now he expects them to acquit him? If Republicans in leadership and Evangelical leaders continue to support him, they might as well sell our country out to the highest bidder, because that’s what he will do and has done. If the Senate allows him to walk away with no accountability, no documents surrendered and no witnesses allowed, they have coronated a king not re-elected a President. He will cheat in the elections allowing the dark forces the world over to aid and abet him winning at all costs. What will you do then? It is my opinion, that the House will have to impeach again on two articles -Bribery and obstruction of justice and hope and pray that the Senate has learned something from the first round. How can they be offended by Schiff repeating what Trump said, when they’ve allowed him to get away with far worse said and done to so many others. Justice will be served. The day of reckoning will come. Personally, I’d rather had my head on a pike and my integrity intact, than sell my soul to the likes of Trump, the King of Chaos over those who blindly follow his edicts. To many have fought too hard for too long, for these senators to throw away our rights, giving up their own to Don the Con. We want our country back!
31
What can you say about the modern GOP when they are willing to sacrifice everything - the law, the Constitution, their own integrity, this country, and everything it stands for, in order to install a guy like Donald Trump as King for life?
32
@Chicago Guy I guess you missed the fact we have term limits for Presidents and we hold elections every four years. King for life? Get serious.
Of course they aren't moved. The GOP has become the CoT (Cult of Trump). I hope the GOP realizes that by doing so they have picked party over country, politics over reason, and for what? Is Trump really worth it to the GOP? Trump is no Truman, no FDR, no Kennedy. If American voters would just wake up, especially in the Rust and Farm belts, the GOP would be done.
I've worked in rural communities in Colorado, servicing dairy equipment. Trump is as far away from the values of rural, hard working Farm and Rust belt values as one can get, but he is a demagogue who has the glamour (in the Olde Irish sense of the word, i.e. Witchcraft; magic charm; a spell affecting the eye, making objects appear different from what they really are.)
Demagogues appear all throughout history, but remember very recent history, when two of those appeared in history in Europe, the ending was not fortuitous. So avast, fellow Americans, and beware, shoals lie ahead!
28
@Catwhisperer
"Trump is no Truman, no FDR, no Kennedy. If American voters would just wake up, especially in the Rust and Farm belts, the GOP would be done."
Trump also is no Eisenhower, George H.W. Bush, Herbert Hoover, Ronald Reagan either.
By the way, I'm a lifelong Democrat who did not vote for either Bush nor any Republican candidate but I respected the Republicans who occupied the White House, except for Nixon and Trump.
2
Thank you representative Schiff and the rest of the House managers. You are my hero, no matter what the corrupt GOP decided to do.
63
Inflammatory speech and hyperbole weakens the case against Trump, making the charges and those who support them seem absurd. More measured speech would be far more persuasive to most voters in this show trial.
16
@michaelf And those so tough Republican senators were so offended by Schiff's mean words, eh? The rest of us were gobsmscked by the implications of not finding Trump guilty of obstruction.
3
Unfortunately, hyperbole is not going to win the day. Schiff pandered to his constituency. If the goal was to make an argument for removal, passion was not a convincing veneer.
15
The McCain quotes were well thought out and well executed, the head on a pike comment was just not well thought out, and it would have been better instead to have pointed out the unfolding news outside of the hearing which is supporting the democratic arguments - and encourage them to consider what is yet to be learned.
An acquittal will simply embolden Trump to do worse the next time. It won’t be long before he uses the DOJ against his political opponents, including the FBI. That will make it much more difficult to remove him from office even by election.
14
We are so very close, possibly already there. Then what?
The House Managers were excellent. I give them an A+++. They clearly poured their hearts and minds into a monumental effort as our dedicated representatives in Washington. It is comforting to hear professionals with integrity, a stark contrast to our president. Even if there are no votes from Republicans for witnesses, it is worth hearing their impassioned and articulate defense of American democracy.
My one wish is that they refrained from criticizing the Senate Republicans. Best not to qualify Republicans’ defense of the president beyond saying they don’t understand it. Give Republican Senators an “out” as they absorb the gravity of the president’s corruption.
4
No evidence has emerged leading AWAY from Trump's guilt.
It has been consistently clear.
26
Republicans can vote not to call witnesses, they can vote to acquit, but they cannot stop the inevitable. This scandal is not going to get smaller. Evidence will continue to make its way into the news and the public sphere. Voting to keep Trump in office is not going to be a good look by November.
Their only hope of salvation is the alternative facts bubble in the right wing media. That’s why Trump is trying to weasel out of the debates. The narrative won’t hold in such an uncontrolled environment, especially with nonpartisan moderators willing to ask about Ukraine.
25
I am a non-partisan and I look at this whole impeachment activity differently than most partisans of both parties.
I wish Trump would be impeached but it has long been clear that it was a foregone conclusion that he will not be removed by the Senate.
Consequently, the Democrat partisans have been engaged in the impeachment process to put on a show that they hope will favorably impress voters to vote against Trump and Republicans in the November election.
I am not sympathetic to the Republican effort to protect Trump. And, I am not sympathetic to the Democrat effort to put on a good show for partisan benefit in the next election.
I think it is wrong to regard this process as akin to a criminal trial as the media does and as the partisans on both sides also do.
Impeachment is a purely political process that is presented in a faux trial setting. However, normal due process of law is not required, there is no specific description of what constitutes an impeachable offense and there is absolutely no penalty upon conviction. The only thing that happens is that the president is removed from office.
An impeachment is merely the equivalent of a recall election except the recall is voted on by the members of both houses of Congress instead of the people. The framers did not put a recall provision in the Constitution but they did put the equivalent, impeachment.
All the comparison to a criminal trial is just theater.
95
@Errol
I think that the goal of the Democrats was simply to bring out into the open what Trump had done.
They accomplished this goal. It is up to the Senators to now vote. What if any affect, if any, this will have on upcoming elections is not important in my opinion. All I wanted is to learn what happened and I was able to do that.
I am a retired Government employee and one thing did happen; I am extremely proud of the government employees that came forth and testified.
432
@Errol -- I'm afraid you are misinformed on several fronts regarding the meaning of the Constitution's language concerning impeachment, the nature of an impeachment trial and the concept of due process.
"High crimes and misdemeanors" was a legal term of art in the 18th Century that had a very clear and specific meaning (and a meaning that would have been well understood by Madison, et al.): it refers to violations of the public trust. The term had been in use for four centuries under English law, since the impeachment of the Earl of Sussex in 1388.
Now, as to the question of due process, there is a very good reason why there is no due process in an impeachment. Due process comes into play when the state seeks to deprive a person of life, liberty or property. The presidency is not the property of any person, but of the people collectively. And the outcome of a guilty verdict in an impeachment trial is merely removal from office. In an impeachment, no one is seeking to execute the impeached official, nor are they seeking to imprison him, nor are they seeking to deprive him of anything that is rightfully his property (because an officeholder does not own his office).
And while an impeachment is not, to be sure, a criminal trial, it is a trial nonetheless, or is certainly supposed to be. Remember, the Constitution does not contemplate political parties anywhere in the document. It does contemplate Senators who will put the country's interest ahead of their party's.
387
The language in the Constitution is not at all vague or unspecific. "High crimes and misdemeanors" was, at the t
30
The House managers did an outstanding job of presenting the case for removing the would-be dictator, Donald Trump. It was satisfying to watch Rep. Adam Shift evolve from local politician to national voice for justice. Fact is all of the managers served the public interest honorably and history will treat them well. As for the Republican Senate? We will remember in November!
30
If our constitutional democracy is saved — and yes, that is a question — then Rep. Schiff, with his powerful eloquence, will go down in history as one of its saviors.
Thank you, sir, and god help us all in the days ahead.
35
@Alan Representative
Schiff is a hero whether or not democracy is saved.
If winning is what really matters most, we'd all be Republicans at this point.
We're NOT all Republicans now because we value honor, truth, and human dignity more than victory.
19
I enjoyed the soaring rhetoric, the clear, well written, calmly delivered speeches and the challenge to honor our constitution, our country's history, its courageous and dedicated public servants, and to defend its citizens from a would be tyrant.
We have surely seen the high point of this trial, and the House impeachment managers' finest performances.
It remains only to be determined how far into the sewer pit the Trump's defenders are willing to descend.
21
By November no one will remember anything about the impeachment trial except that Trump was acquitted.
11
We will never forget our elected representatives who chose to ignore these arguments for business as usual. It will be very difficult to recover from this level of distrust and betrayal. We are seriously wounded as a nation and have never been so disassociated from right and wrong.
I am afraid we are so warped that Trump will walk and even be re-elected. I have no faith in this process or our leadership.
755
@Jeanine
By many, the US democracy is seen as the best democracy money can buy.
Cynicism about Washington predated Trump.
It is one reason Trump was elected.
28
@Jeanine The Senate trial will be over in very short order, and Trump will walk. The Republicans can block witnesses and documents in the trial, but they cannot prevent the truth from coming out. Just today, an audio tape has surfaced of Trump ordering the firing of Marie Yovanovitch. When all the information comes out, it will be up to the voters to decide.
108
@Jeanine I am with you. And sadly, he will be re-elected.
I sat in a meeting yesterday with a group of business owners who said his impeachment would be a threat to their business. Since the economy is so strong, they will vote for him again, despite his behavior. Money. Money. I guess I just can’t compartmentalize my ideals that way.
41
We heard a lot of compelling arguments for impeachment, but not so much about the compelling argument for removal. That was mentioned from time to time amid the presentation of the evidence to which the House Managers were limited, but there needed to be more about the present danger. Republicans must feel this: Trump's actions in Ukraine, in Syria, in Iraq, on tariffs, on immigration must given them serious pause. But if Republicans don't feel this, then we have only two bulwarks left: the current control of the House and our votes in November.
237
@Wilsontraveler
The arguments for impeachment and the arguments for removal are the SAME arguments.
80
Stopping Trump's brash actions in Syria and Iran should be brought up, as asides. The Republicans are not in lockstep over last week's potential war and loss of influence to the Russians around the World.
25
@Tom W They certainly are not the same arguments. Just because one indicts somebody, it doesn't mean they will be convicted and sentenced. I would have preferred the three days to unfold: Article I, Article II, the case for removal now. You and I may see a prima facie case for this (the moment Trump asked for "a favor" from a foreign actor in the matter of an election, he broke American election law—but that's not what the first Article claimed, and the second article should rely on United States v Nixon, but it didn't). If the high crime and obstruction seems self-evident to many, the case must be made for removal right now in the face of an election 250+ days away. That's a much trickier question and not at all self-evident. And for the record, I've been imploring my own House representative to impeach Trump since the fall of 2017.
6
Call your senators. Call them every day. Tell them you want them to vote to allow all witnesses and to allow all evidence. It probably won't change their minds, but at least you tried. I cannot reach the Washington offices of Cruz and Cornyn, the messages state they are experiencing high call volumes and their voicemails are full. So, I call their Austin offices instead.
68
Ms. Murkowski wanted a chance to jump ship and found it using the head on the spike excuse. She is selling out for a statement that though inferred may have an actual basis in fact that was undisclosed by the party it was addressed to.
51
I don’t know why everyone is afraid to say it: we are in the midst of a coup by the GOP. In Trump they have the cult leader, in Mitch they have the enforcer and in the Senate they have their foot soldiers in lockstep - each one of them more cowardly than the next. That is why this “trial” is so important. If any of them took their oaths and jobs seriously we could stop this assault on our democracy right now - but I am afraid there’s not one Republican (including the Chief Justice) with the integrity and guts to do the right thing or even entertain the notion. Think about it: control of the Supreme Court and Federal Benches, seeming control of the DOJ, seeming manipulation of mainstream media, control of the Senate and the Executive Branch. All Parties like to be in control - but this is the first time the Party in control is dismantling/deconstructing (their words) our precious democracy; that which made us a role model and gave us our true strength. Failing here the election (national and local) is OUR chance to restore the nation’s soul and character. Are we even sure what that is anymore? We’ve been so torn asunder by the autocrat wannabe in the White House.
277
Hmm not so sure. After a case as strong as the one put forward this week, I am beginning to smell fear on the GOP side of the room. That fear has a name: President Pelosi. What other rational explanation can there be for this lockstep disregard for what is so clearly a Constitutional mandate to hear witnesses and review documents, to preserve the balance of power in a system of checks and balances, and to protect the foundation of our system of government: free and fair elections with “one person, one vote.” The House managers made a clear and convincing case for why each one of those freedoms is at stake here. Their advance rebuttals are equally powerful. As somebody else commented in this thread, the trail of facts do not lead AWAY from the President’s guilt.
There must be reason to fear that too many heads will roll if Senators indicate they are considering conviction, let alone planning to convict.
But as the Parnas recording shows and foreshadows, truth has a way of coming out.
I am a realist but I still believe in the law of natural consequences, even when raw power is the ultimate objective.
17
@Suzanne Stroh
"...disregard for what is so clearly a Constitutional mandate to hear witnesses and review documents"
I hate Trump too, but that doesn't make it OK to just make things up. There is absolutely nothing in the Constitution about whether an impeachment trial must have witnesses, or anything else.
@Olivia
Corporate media is helping their coup.
That is why they won't say what has been obvious since before Trump was elected.
3
Senator Graham called for an investigation of Joe Biden, but his hero Donald Trump will not allow an investigation of any of his actions which have been hidden from us. How is it that every person in this country is subject to investigation, but not our so called president? As Mr. Naidler Said, trump is now officially a dictator.
187
Imagine that Joe Biden is not the nominee. The actual nominee is rumoured to have a close relative that have had business dealings in Brazil.
So president Trump calls president Bolsanero of Brazil and says that if they want that trade agreement signed they have to do him a favour. The favour is to dig up dirt about his political opponents relative. Bolsanero is to set upp a team and have that team coordinate with Rudy Guilani.
Is there anyone who thinks that could not happen because Donald Trump would consider it unethical?
23
@Torkel Blom It would be likely to happen as the Senate now sanctions it. The world will now be subject to Trump's extortion and our country no longer a democracy.
7
The Senate GOP may have said "not true" to Schiff's claim that those who rebelled will have their "heads on a pike", ...but we certainly know better, and so should they.
And they should realize how insular and uninformed their concerns seem to the American public.
38
Masterfully prepared and presented, Mr. Schiff.
268
Just go to Fox News. You’ll hear plenty.
5
Jeffrey Stark
2 hrs
I tenuously cling to the hope that in light of the evidence and testament of the truth that has so eloquently and demonstrably displayed by Mr. Schiff and his fellow House of Representative managers will find its path into enough of the republican members of the Senate, which is in effect, the majority of the " Jury"and will render justice for the American people and resurrect the sanctity of the office of Presidency. If not, I fear our Democracy is about to pay the toll to Charon to deliver our Constitution in his journey to the darkness to Hades.
21
Personally, if I were Mitch, I might be unbending, still acquit it but I would strategically allow evidence, I would go head to head and enforce every single subpoena.
I would save the checks and balances and SAVE OUR CONSTITUTION.
What matters to our grandchildren is NOT setting this possible precedent that breaks up the three equal parts of our federal government. We must keep the checks and balances.
Fight for transparency, accountability and for the future even if you intend to bring acquittal.
27
This is the moment we all feared. Trump is shredding the Constitution and his party is going along with him. Democracy is over in the US. Even if the voters reject Trump, he will contrive ways to remain in office--national emergency? fake numbers?--with the support of his party. And even if by some miracle, he is overwhelmingly defeated it will take decades to repair the damage he has done, assuming it can be repaired at all.
90
I thought I’d never see it my lifetime, but we are here. So very sad. I will do my best to fight, but RIP America as we knew it
4
@Alan Wallach
If the election goes against the Trump, he will declare election fraud and refuse the leave the White House.
Guaranteed.
3
VOTE - in less than a year he could be an ordinary citizen and eligible for criminal charges.
64
I am not quite sure how you mean this. My take is that if Democrats are elected we could end up with a police state, knocking on doors and dragging people to court regardless of what they’ve done! At least this seems to be the essence of their current shenanigans.
4
@Confused Yes, given the far left takeover of the Democratic party, many of us live in fear of a police state. On a more positive note, if we get arrested we won't have to worry about bail!
1
You are confused. It is not complicated. Wannabe dictators bend laws until they get cabinets, police and military in their courts. Then they rule freely (as dictators) and you will then understand what a police state means.
4
Jerry N seems to be loosing the plot from exasperation and acting, at times, like a loose canon. No wonder the Republican senators appear unmoved. He’ll be shouting “Loch him up” next. Only the faithful will take notice.
3
@John Walsh I am proud of Jerry Nadler for calling the President's lawyers "liars" and saying the Senate would be complicit in a coverup if they acquit or dismiss without allowing a fair trial involving witnesses and subpoened documents.
The GOP cry fake howls of indignation. Nadler explained why and how they were liars.
If Nadler is exasperated it is from indignation he feels for those across the aisle marching in lock step with the leader of the senate, and unwilling to break from the party to do the right thing.
27
Senator Barrasso at the break today represents how all republican Senators, save for maybe one or two and emphasizing maybe, will remain servile and simply protect Trump to maintain their seat and power at any cost.
He looked in the camera and told us that he didn't buy the argument that Trump was bad for the country, paraphrasing him but accurately so he said "jobs are up, the stock market is up and consumer confidence is up."
So pay no attention to the president behind the curtain who is acting corruptly, who really cares, just go out and buy more stuff to keep the economy humming, everything's fine folks.
Mitch McConnell will continue his reign of craven cynicism, signaling to you that democracy and the Constitution really has nothing to do with governance, stop kidding yourselves. It's about political power, control and manipulation. So let's get back to it folks, we're wasting time here.
27
It's interesting - in the same way that it is interesting to watch someone shoot themself in the foot - that almost all the commenters here have made a decision on Trump's guilt.
Without yet seeing or hearing the defense.
And that, is what ideologues are all about.
6
@Objectivist There is no defense of what he and his corrupt cronies did.
12
@Objectivist: Wasn't it you the other day that claimed that there was no evidence that Trump had done something wrong?
12
@Objectivist - so you have been in a coma the past three years and just awoke long enough to ask 'what year is this?'
16
I know there is a lot of hand-wringing about the danger to the nation but that doesn't faze me. We are and have been polarized, and I have long since accepted it. The Trumpies are not part of my nation, and I am not part of theirs, any more than the states that eventually fought on the Union and Confederate sides were ever really one. We may live side by side or intertwined, in relative peace and even prosperity, but I do not see Trumpies as part of my nation, and whatever they may say or do, I am not, nor ever will I bez part of theirs. The good news here is that whatever Trump and his allies may do, there will still be strong democratic values in my nation, because they will always reside in me.
14
At least until you are drowned under the rising seas brought on by climate change. That’s why it matters!
6
This centrist warned his left-leaning friends about the dangers of rapidly-expanding Executive power under every succeeding President during Obama's reign, and was pooh-poohed.
While I didn't know when I argued with them just how soon that expansion would "go critical," the progression was plain to see.
I'm still hoping (but not daring to believe) that the combined leverage of some of the polity and enough of the people will staunch the wounds before our democratic republic bleeds out.
The next steps, in my mind, should that much be possible, will be to (1) restore limits to Presidential power and (2) come up with ways to limit the damage that technological advances, particularly in media, can effect on democratic functions when in the wrong hands.
17
This has little to do with power given to Obama. It goes back decades.
7
There’s a conservative canard about Obama’s executive orders being so numerous. FYI - of all the 2-term presidents since 1900, Obama issued the fewest executive orders.
13
Of course, the Republicans will not stand up for the Constitution or the republic itself. They have been itching to undermine "intrusive" democratic government for years (think: Tea Party). Destroying the Constitutional checks and balances is almost the last hurdle... and the Trump monarchty is their perfect replacement to cement their power. The only thing left to do is to finalize people's mistrust of our election system through disinformation and foreign interference. Job done.
38
The Democrats have not been convincing for their case to remove President Trump. It has been three long days of endless testimony that has not proved President Trump was guilty of wrongdoing. Maybe that is why Adam Schiff and Jerrold Nadler look so unhappy. Deep down they know they have lost this battle.
18
@KMW clearly we live in completely different worlds. Adam Schiff's closing remarks were right on and will live on in history. Grant us the sanity to chose to do the right thing and save our Republic.
132
@KMW They knew it going in. The republican senators were never going to vote for removal. But they have shown who they are and their loyalties are with Trump, not the American people. Trump is guilty. They know it. We know it.
49
@KMW This isn't even jury nullification; it's reality nullification.
9
“Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.”
~ Thomas Paine
58
@That's What She Said Everyone who inherits the Kingdom of God will live in absolute freedom, happiness and a paradise Earth. What we have here now all over the world is a system run by the devil and one that is passing away.
Stunning presentations by the House Managers and especially Adam Schiff, whose intelligence, clarity and passion wooed me like nothing else; thank you to them. And this could be a gorgeous history lesson about our democratic freedoms and why they are important were it not so contained by the mutiny of Republicans. How dare any Republican Senator counter the facts of these presentations. We see you and we are smarter than your clown-car antics and waving hands. #RightMatters
136
@Sarah Bravo
3
What a travesty, Republicans are going to justify not calling for witnesses and documents just because they don't like what Schiff said??
This is a bigger banana Republic than I thought
93
I love Adam Schiff. I love him. He is a true statesman. The right man at the right hour.
Thank you Mr Schiff. You have done your country a great service. Sleep well tonight. You are a true patriot.
567
@Aaron
Yeh sleep well because you sure put us to sleep with your speech. You have done a great job to raise your profile because before this farce of a trial nobody who you were.
3
@Steven
So sorry the speech didn't meet your meet your entertainment expectations
8
@Steven So, you were put to sleep In Australia, Maybe you should wake up and pay attention to what Trump is doing to destroy democracy in the United States.
8
The just released audiotape that ABC broke the news about reportedly will, in addition to documenting Trump's demand to "take out" Marie Yovanovich, demonstrate that a FULL YEAR BEFORE Trump began to strong arm Ukraine, he asked his advisors how vulnerable Ukraine would be if Russia decided to annihilate Ukraine. He was told it would be extremely quick.
It seems we now have our very own, "What did the president know and when did he know it?"
Republicans beware. This travesty is likely to prove much wider and deeper than we can imagine. Yes, Rudy may trot out some more Russian-sourced red meat to feed Trump's base. But, I suspect that the full story--once the actual truth comes out--will be utterly astonishing.
So, my question for Republicans is, which side do you want to be on? Trump's or the nation's?
Time to subpoena a stable of witnesses and a trove of documents.
234
@Leslie
I have imagined it wider and deeper: Trump will be proven to be a Russian asset; owned lock, stock and barrel by Vladimir Putin. I believe there are Americans already in possession of the indisputable truth of his treachery. In time, we’ll all know. The world turns.
31
@Leslie-Excellent summary. Dismissing the Mueller Report findings would be alarming enough--but Republicans need to know that evidence connecting Trump and illegal acts benefiting Putin, Russian oligarchs, Saudis, and others--will continue to come to light. Why put the country, and their careers and reputations at risk for this reckless President?
25
@Leslie clearly trump was/is in debt to russian oligarchs. putin gave him a deal he could not refuse: deliver ukraine, and no more debt.
8
“When he [Schiff] referred to an anonymously sourced news report that Republican senators had been warned that their heads would be ‘on a pike’ if they voted against Mr. Trump, several of them vigorously shook their heads and broke the trial’s sworn silence to say ‘not true.’ Ms. Collins was among those shaking her head.”
Ms. Collins like the rest of the Republicans, buries her head in the sand when it comes to Trump’s tyrannical actions & bloody comments.”
72
I thought Schiff was phenomenal. Who needs more witnesses when the case is this clear? Congratulations Adam.
197
Schiff's 150-minute opening argument was impassioned, forceful, projected from his inner being, and shockingly dangerous to the world.
This is a guy who supported the Iraq War, supported the Libya invasion that Barack Obama has called his greatest mistake as President, and even supported a no-fly zone in Syria that surely would have led to an overt and possibly uncontainable confrontation with Russia.
Schiff's speech was a McCainiac playbook for Cold War 2.0.
President Obama wisely refused Ukraine's demand for Javelin missiles, restricting his aid packages to "non-lethal" materiel. No need to escalate that conflict and burden my three-year-old daughter with $400 million more in national debt.
Trump gave Ukraine the Javelins: THAT is what we should be impeaching him for! But then we'd have to impeach the majority of Congressmembers who approved the deal. Hey wait, that's not a bad idea.
3
@Charles This is not about Javelins. It is about the fact that Congress both the Senate and House approved the aid, and trump Unilaterally decided to go against the law and hold that aid up for political purposes. If he did not approve of the aid he needed to debate that with congress and in not doing so he broke the law.
10
I grew up in a country with a bloody dictatorship. Trump is not a dictator. He acts within the broad parameters of the constitution and has for instance elevated to the supreme court judges who like it or not, went through a constitutional process. Trump has not indicated he wants to remain in power more than what the constitution establishes. President Clinton, mentioned that he would not mind serving more than two times and in fact acted more borderline than Trump in this regard. Please stop the nonsense and by the way, Trump is highly respected and feared abroad, which is better than having a weak president in the eyes of our enemies.
14
@sebastian
Yes, Trump's mania inspires fear, not respect.
9
@sebastian You write: "Trump is not a dictator. He acts within the broad parameters of the constitution..." Actually the House Manager argued Trump is acting outside the parameter of the constitution, for he refuses to comply with congressional subpoenas, refuses to allow witness testimony, and has abused his power.
It's sad that Trump is respected abroad because he doesn't deserve the admiration. He has violated his oath of office to defend the constitution and look out for the general welfare.
6
@sebastian Perhaps you missed it when he said that America should consider a President for Life.
10
I watched the entire thing. I don't understand how every single one of these Republicans could have watched and then have walked away unmoved. Baffling. I truly DO NOT get it. I thought Hakeem Jeffries was particularly persuasive, and I find it impossible to believe that the larger American public wouldn't be persuaded by his logic, evidence and clear explanations.
151
@bean
Most of us have asked this same question since the day Trump got elected.
How can it be possible that the Trump's supporters are so completely unable to see how corrupt, dishonest and self serving he really is?
9
@bean
They may flip. Unless they really do want to end the Constitution and their own political power. A king doesn't need a Senate, except as a rubber stamp.
3
@bean
Reminds me of research into the members of cults -- holding such a fixed belief in a cult leader can powerfully control and alienate said leader's followers from reality and from "right."
6
Closing Today
The Founders gave us more than words,they gave us inspiration and inspiration to the rest of the world. From the prison cells of Turkey, from the interment camps in China, from the cells in Egypt, from the Elgin prisons from all over the world they look to us and increasing they don’t recognize what they see. It is a terrible tragedy for them it a worse tragedy for us. There is no where else to turn. They look to us because we are still the indispensable nation. They look to us because we have a rule of law and no one is above that law. One of the things that separates us from those in Elgin prison is the right to a trial,. Americans get a fair trial. And So I ask you, I implore you, give America a fair trial. She is worth it. Thank you . -Schiff
Teddy Roosevelt said
Only those are fit to live who do not fear to die; and none are fit to die who have shrunk from the joy of life and the duty of life
No one more fit than Schiff
655
@That's What She Said
If Schiff with his balefully gleaming eyes is the fittest for whatever, then America is lost in a quagmire of its own making.
I feel much safer in Canada knowing that Trump will be victorious after this witch hunt and that he will be reelected in November.
I don't want to live next to a second Venezuela, where the likes of AOC and Omar are going to be the ruling class.
2
@John Brown
Why does Schiff knowing who the WB is an important fact? As I understand it everything reported by WB has been corroborated by other witnesses. Schiff and the impeachment leaders have met their burden admirably. If people choose to ignore the threat of trump, they endanger our democracy. No Republican in the Senate who refuses to hear witnesses and read documents is fit for office.
28
@That's What She Said
Who is ' us' ?
The Founders gave us separate and unequal women.
The Founders gave us separate and unequal men without money and property.
The Founders gave us enslaved and separate and unequal black African American men, women and children.
The Founders gave us the lands, the lives and the national resources of separate and unequal brown Indigenous Native men, women and children.
5
Jerrold Nadler did a stellar job. His historical references of the role of congress from the time of Lincoln was clearly informative and I might say inspiring to hear.
I hope he moved some senators to at least consider. But I feel they think it is easier to live in shame rather than cross Trump.
49
@SridharC During the argument to allow Boton to testify, I appreciated it when Nadler spoke truth to power and called the President's lawyers "liars" and explained why that was so, and went on to point out that the Senators who refuse to consider the evidence and support a fair trial would be complicit in a coverup. This drew fake howls of indignation from the President's lawyers, and it also drew a reprimand from the Judge for strong language. It was a great moment in the Senate.
1
Some of the Republican Senators took offense to Representative Schiff’s insinuation that they were afraid of President Trump ( after the head on a pike comment). If they are not afraid of President Trump, they should ask to hear from further witnesses in this case.
77
If this was a normal jury trial would the judge tolerate the jury members read novels or do jig saw puzzles. Now imagine that a black man is on trial and all white jury say before the trial that they need no evidence as they have already made up their mind that he is guilty. To me as a Canadian I find that your nation is becoming a failed state regardless of how well you are doing with your economy.
446
@Mir
It's been a failed state for a while.
Lobbyism's reign of graft and rigged courts that endorsed the Brooks Brothers Riot as the proof one side won, and that ruled money speech and voting rights moot, have turned it so.
Obedience solely to their kleptocratic master's directions while ignoring the law, rights and reality have become the Senate's routine for so long that all else has vanished into oblivion behind the bubble cloud of their current corruption clout.
It took a while to get widely noticed by the majority of the people who get slowly but steadily and mercilessly stripped of everything, because America's natural resources and the global revenue flow to America's dominant corporations is so huge, it could be seized from the commonwealth almost in its entirety without becoming too conspicuous, as the pittance that got left has still just been enough for the middle class. With their ruthless market and political power abuse and with the latest mendacious tax cut for the rich that was a relentless tax increase hitting straight in the face of many in the middle class, that period of slow awakening to the cruelty in the transmission to the new era of the kleptocracy going completely rogue is ending now and the result will be a row that will dwarf the Civil War in significance.
Just wait for the insanely bloated n deficit (returning zilch stimulus at that) to lead to cruel cuts and the next Financial Crisis on steroids. It's all around the corner of our times now.
16
@Mir as an American, I agree! Let this be a lesson to all nations about what happens when you cut funding for public education. It’s the culmination of several decades but the tipping point has been reached. You guys had better get a solid refugee policy together if Trump wins a second term. I hear Saskatchewan can be rather balmy in late summer, right?
19
The justice system in the south was like that! We’ve never been perfect but what is different is the indifference to lies in a world where we have the ability to prove otherwise.
8
Dictator? What a ridiculous thing to say. Don't they understand that they only harm their own credibility by such hysterically absurd statements? If he was a dictator, they would be sitting in jail now, not pontificating on every channel in the country.
17
@David
Not a dictator? Just wait. It ain't over until the Fat Man sings.
7
@David The point, David, is that Trump BEHAVES like a dictator and WANTS to be a dictator. IF Republicans fail to convict and remove him from office, he will be a giant step closer to his aim. He will be accountable to NO ONE!!
2
@David Give Trump time. He's already implied that the whistleblower should be executed.
1
Sheer dribble from the Democrats who put together a nonsense process that was not compliant with the requirements of the Constitution. Now we are going to listen to the Democrats whine until November and then President Trump will be elected to a second term. And please do not mention any polls--for if you do I can only conclude you were one of those who thought the Hillary by 12% polls were accurate--how did that work out for you?
11
She won the popular vote, that’s how it worked out.
1
People who don’t understand polls and statistics shouldn’t be able to cite them. Go back to class.
1
The feckless Republicans are writing a shameful chapter of our history. They have sold out the American people to prop up this lawless charlatan. Utterly cowardly and indefensible.
68
I keep thinking, like the Grinch's heart growing 3 sizes, or those after school movies where the would-be antagonist has a revelatory moment and does the right thing in the very end, Republicans will finally realize what they are doing and wake up before it's too late.
Do they GET that they are handing the republic to "trump"? Do they understand that their necks will ultimately also be on the line when he chooses to take them out? Do they get what he's going to do to the country they all claim to love? Do they really want to lose all this for their children? This great experiment in democracy squandered for the most crass New Yorker, casino operator, serial bankrupter? The man who (in theory) paid out $25,000,000 to settle a fraud lawsuit right after getting put in the white house by Russia. That is your standard bearer? That is who you want to hand the republic over to? This is the ultimate end game that Republicans have been working on since the 1960s? Really? Really?
Shame on all of you.
207
I cannot fathom what motivates these Republicans. The outrageous cynicism, the outrageous hypocrisy, the seething sneering spitefulness, the utter contempt for our nation and the rule of law. The utter contempt of the truth. It’s truly frightening that people like this walk among us. And that they control our fate.
244
@Kurt
The simplest explanation is that they are against political equally.
The Amendments to the Constitution, ratified by super-majorities made us more equal. The 14th Amendment made everyone born here or naturalized equal citizens under the law.
The Right is against this. Go ask a Revision about equality, and they will explain why it is impossible and dangerous.
The Right would rather be slightly more equal subjects under King Trump, who they mistakenly think cares about them, than be politically equal to monirities, LGBTQs, or "liberals."
Read the Constitution and it's Amendments, than compare it to what Replicans do with Government power. They oppose almost everything in the Constitution, because they are against the Enlightenment, reason (facts, logic, math, and science) and equality.
Save the modern world from these clever cavemen, who only care about their own tribe.
4
@Kurt It’s Greed, Kurt. Greed.
I sat in a meeting yesterday with a group of business owners. They said Trump’s impeachment would be a “threat” to their business. The economy is good. They are making money. They threw in a joke about AOC. One even said they hope the Ukraine gets him re-elected.
People are willing to compartmentalize a lot of their feelings and beliefs, all in the name of the almighty dollar.
I don’t understand it. I can’t do it. But nonetheless, here we are.
8
@Kurt what makes them like this is their voters. They reflect their voters and their President. I feel sad that your great country has become this, all because of white fear of demographic change
6
If he Nadler said it, it was foolish. Would a dictator even need a Congress?
5
It’s hard to believe this is all happening in the United States, formerly a shining beacon of democracy for the entire world to look up to.
1160
Yes. The Democrats used subpoenas as a political weapon and now try to brand the President’s use of executive privilege as obstruction. The House does not get to define executive privilege.
This precedent would mean that any election could be nullified by a House that doesn’t like the President. Ridiculous path and ludicrous argument. A sad day.
31
@Me Too Your reasoning is illogical. (1) The House can't nullify an election -- only 2/3 of the Senate can (and that would not be nullification, anyway) (2) If House subpoenas win out over executive privilege, that means only that witnesses are heard and evidence comes forth, not that guilt is evidenced. (3) Executive privilege is not and never was absolute. If it were, wrongdoing by a President could almost never be exposed, except through law-breaking by those in a position to know. That's clearly not what the framers of the Constitution intended, which is easily discerned by both reading the Constitution and the framers' discussions surrounding it.
275
@Me Too
Are you watching the same trial? executive privilege? He has not claimed executive privilege, just refused to allow any cooperation. Not even the attempted to hide behind that argument which specifics could be contested. Nixon tried executive privilege, the supreme court ruled appropriately. Listen in to the proceedings which have been labeled by some as "boring". They're a great history lesson. Very difficult times but ultimately good for the continued evolution of the country.
180
Unless the Republican senators have an awakening of conscience and honor, they will be the ones who signal to our nation and to the world that the United States is now a dictatorship, with Trump supreme and themselves his vassals. Wake up, senators!
1192
@Tortwuz-They'll also be signaling to foreign adversaries just how easy it is to manipulate U.S. leaders, elections, and government policies.
138
@Tortwuz
Your conscience can only awaken if you have one in the first place. Republican senators care about money and power, not the country, not their fellow citizens, and certainly not things as quaint as morality or decency.
Dictatorship is fine with them as long as they can continue to enrich themselves.
34
@Tortwuz
Unfortunately, Republican Senators ARE awake. They have realized how much of their electorate does not care about corruption, good governance, or ethical conduct. They are like a dog who has been so used to being controlled by a firm leash that they had been heeling without one. Now that they have realized that there is no leash...they have run amok.
19
While the outcome of the trial is all but assured, one thing’s for certain: Adam Schiff will join the pantheon of patriotic Americans who insisted on truth, decency, and fidelity to the Constitution. He’s the Joseph Welch of our generation.
Democracy may be dying before our very eyes, but for that brief glimpse of honor in an ocean of lies, corruption and inexplicable servitude to Donald Trump, I’ll be forever grateful.
Thank you, Congressman Schiff.
1870
The outcome of this impeachment trial may be a foregone conclusion but not so the November Presidential election or the less-red third of the Senate.
The game’s afoot and everything to play for, and that is what Schiff et al. are all about, the longer game in 2020.
President Trump has to win the the Presidency and the Senate to stay in the game. If not he is toast and will probably end up in jail courtesy of that much maligned Mueller report, sitting there quietly like an IED on permanent view. No Ford/Nixon-like pardon will stay that outcome.
And the Supreme Court? Time for the Democrats, if the above comes to pass, to increase its membership to eleven. It is doable constitutionally but maybe not politically. But sometimes a threat can do wonders.
110
@Objectivist
Really? You really believe that!? If there were exculpatory evidence, why on earth did the Trump team choose not to present it!?
202
@Objectivist
"... he will be indicted..."
This from an 'objectivist'. I seriously doubt it. For one, there is no exculpatory evidence.
Sure, the Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged has some kind of mystical appeal to the type of adolescent boys (Paul Ryan types) for whom Rand’s wacky gumbo of libertarianism, anti-communism, atheism, self-help and trickle-down economics makes a lot of sense.
Even Ayn Rand after her initial objections, allowed social worker Evva Pryor, an employee of her attorney, to enroll her in Social Security and Medicare.
Objectivism is the philosophy of rational individualism founded by Ayn Rand.
33
King Donald has gone rogue.
The US overthrew a monarch centuries ago but now the Republican Party installed a new one.
39
Republican senators heard three days of remarks by House Impeachment Managers.
The real question is ... "were they listening"???
8
Remarkable that Murkowski faults Atticus Schiff for overreach because he used the “head on the pike” rumor to emphasize the patently autocratic actions of Trump. That style point/overreach is enough for her to act to sanction the manifold transgressions of Trump. Sad . . .
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@JT - John Tucker
Wonder if Murkowski is also mortified by Trump’s recorded comment about Marie Yovanovitch: “Take her out!”
26
@JT - John Tucker I call it a fake howl of indignation.
4
I'm curious.
What percentage of the population do Republican Senators represent? What would even a simplistic analysis reveal?
If a state has two Republican Senators - credit them with that states population. One senator - half the state's population.
You could go back and tally actual votes for a comparison and contrast all the Republican votes compared to Democratic but the total will be far less than the overall voting population.
I suspect those Republicans represent far less than 50% of the US population - the question is how much less?
3
@cynicalskeptic
Answered my own question.
In the most simplistic approach - giving all of a states population to a party that has 2 senators, half to each party if the state has one of each
Democrats represent 158 million
Republicans represent 154 million.
In reality I expect you'd see a wider split
The senatorial count is hardly representative of the overall population.
1
@cynicalskeptic
Using your criteria, 53 Republicans represent 48% of the population of the 50 states (excluding D.C. & territories). The 45 Democrats and 2 Independents who caucus with the Democrats represent 52% of the population of the 50 states.
2
Adam Schiff makes me think of “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” except it doesn’t look like we’re getting a happy ending. The corruption is overwhelming.
Vote blue no matter who, up and down the ticket.
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@Catherine
I would vote for Nixon over Trump.
At least Nixon respected the Constitution enough to resign once caught.
Trump attacks the Constitution on TV, on purpose, to weaken all limits on his power.
10
@Catherine Adam Schiff reminds me of Henry Fonda in "12 Angry Men" as the juror who is calm, takes his responsibility seriously, and looks at all the facts in making his decision knowing that truth matters. Love that movie but even better seeing someone with those ethics and oratory skills in real life.
6
These spineless, cowardly enablers will some day have to face their children and grandchildren when history accurately records their cowardice and betrayal of our country. The evidence was clearly presented, and is overwhelming.
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@Jim
Their children and grandchildren will be inheriting gigantic fortunes without taxation.
13
@Jim well, someone will do those children, grandchildren and history justice by providing them with the definition of evidence - none of which was presented by these silly politicians.
1
I don't feel like an American anymore. Correction: I don't feel like I live in America anymore.
153
Best that we emigrate.
6
If only I could.
6
Powerful performances by the House Managers. Compelling, irrefutable and indefensible evidence of guilt. Apparently, it won’t matter to the GOP. I’m kind of jealous of the future generations of kids who will get to rehash what a travesty we are enduring and scratching their heads and asking their teachers. ‘What the heck?’
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@Scott Kennedy I’m not sure that heck will be the word that will be used. ..... but I get your point
7
Schiff was brilliant. The staff people who choreographed the presentations, the videos, etc. deserve great praise and raises. The Republicans will probably blow this all off but the Democrats did such a thorough and high quality presentation I am proud to be one of them.
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@greg
Schiff was very good.
And it seems that Trump's legal team is simply adapting their boss' favourite response of Projection: trying to take the elements and even structures of fact- and reason-based criticism and simply turn it upside-down or inside-out, to apparently incriminate the critic in one's own place, and so neutralize the criticism.
Someone please explain psychological Projection to American voters!
1
"Head on a pike" is right. Why else would the male and female Republican Congress behave en mass like sheeple?
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@Sunny That is the mystery of the ages and one that will surely come out.
1
Nothing is going to happen! This Fake president will get away with it. Republican senators are worse than him and they control everything. The Rigged system and the media allowed this man to become president and he'll probably be there for 4 more years. It will be a long and slow descent into darkness!
21
Republicans are unmoved... it’s ok. They are not my fellow citizens. They are not my neighbors. They are not part of my family. They are not worth defending. The are not worth sacrificing for. Good riddance.
60
The democrats are trying passively to accuse Donald Trump Jr. of treason. If they are too weak to call it what it is, then I suppose I understand why this is happening.
1
@Ethan *Donald Trump Sr.
1
@Ethan The Supreme court has defined treason as aiding the enemy during a declared war. WW2 was our last declared war. The managers are lawyers and know Trump's acts do not meet that definition.
4
Chief Justice Roberts, haven't you ANYTHING to say?
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@Ricardito Resisting He probably does not want to get on the bad side of King D.........
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@Ricardito Resisting
Roberts cannot weigh in on it. We (and he) must keep the Judicial free of partisanship for it to be the only branch of Gov. that can hold a light for us and a possible way back to sanity and democracy. Much as I rue the travesties that are being committed by this clown of a president and the abdication of the GOP Senators from to their responsibilities to preserve our republic, our Judicial branch must not be pulled into the fray. God help us all.
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@MNM
" . . . our Judicial branch must not be pulled into the fray. God help us all."
I hope your prayers to whatever deity you worship may be effective.
The GOP has been busy pushing and pulling SCOTUS and the entire Federal judiciary into the partisan fray -- and whether Trump is impeached and removed, and whether or not he survives and wins another term in November, the US judiciary will need another generation and more to recover from the deliberate efforts of the GOP, led by Mitch McConnell and a willing, spineless Senate, to fill every vacant position with far right wing judges -- many in the Federal courts with little or no experience, and definitely not qualified according to the level of vetting formerly imposed by the ABA.
Who can forget McConnell's gleeful blocking of Barack Obama's nomination of Merrick Garland to SCOTUS?
Or the shocking displays of anger, scorn, and disregard for true investigation that resulted in the elevation to SCOTUS of Brett Kavanaugh?
Or the number of federal judges -- most very young -- already appointed or in the pipeline for nomination --
As of January 9, 2020, the Senate has confirmed 187 Article III judges nominated by President Trump, including 2 Associate Justices of the Supreme Court, 50 judges for the US Courts of Appeals, 133 judges for the US District Courts, and 2 judges for the US Court of International Trade.
Read this and weep.
11
Despite a brilliant presentation by Schiff GOP senators will not betray Trump and will vote the Party line.
With the expected acquittal of Trump by the GOP controlled Senate, essentially will put an end to any future President from being impeached.
However, the Democratic managers this week convinced enough of people in the key states to vote Trump out in November 2020. That will be a victory for the American people and democracy.
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@patrick ryan It occurs to me that if we ever have a Democratic President again, and they are impeached, they will follow the law. Because that's what Democrats do. Trump's behavior is shameful. The disdain with which he will be remembered will disincline anyone from wanting to act like him.
2
I pray you're right,but it seems likely he'll cheat to stay in office. I fear we're on the road to dictatorship.
1
Good night America. If the evidence put forward doesn't convince any republican senators or any member of Trump's base of the presidents guilt your country is in real trouble. From the outside, not being republican, democrat or American the charges obviously point to Trump's guilt. The republicans are set to ignore the entire case.As far as the head on a pike threat threat goes, it wouldn't surprise me if miller or the titular head came up with it.
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@Tom
Unfortunately, you're right that America's "in real trouble" because of the despicable behavior of the Republicans.
So yes, wish up good night; but don't expect us to wake up from this nightmare.
5
Trump is dismantling America bit by bit and the republicans stand idly by. The whole world looks on, horrified. Despite valiant efforts, by Pelosi and Shiff, he will not be removed except by voters,
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@C Mio that should be Schiff apologies. He was brilliant!
4
The one rule change that would make a difference is for a secret ballot; then we'd learn what the senate really thinks.
58
Schiff was brilliant tonight.
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I have listened to the House Managers Impeachment disclosures and feel even stronger that the current President has abused the powers of his office and has shown, through word and deed, a disregard for Congresses role as a co-equal branch of government. His removal from office is critical to the future of the United States of America.
I am saddened by the Republican Senators that have drawn pictures, or read books, or fallen a sleep while this historic chapter of American history was taking place.
I am angry and saddened that so many of the Republican Senators that took the oath of impartiality seem to have already decided on their verdict (party over country) far ahead of time making a mockery of the American Constitutional system of justice.
But my hope is that Americans viewing this trial will see, feel and believe in the urgency of these proceedings and weigh the senators response to this crisis with action; in the streets, in the courts, and at the ballot box.
333
B.T. - what you are doing is called ignorant. It is the Senators who are counted on to be an actual impartial jury, and they have assured us that they will NOT do that, despite their oath. THAT is your Kangaroo Court. In the discussion and thought by other people, we are entitled to our opinions at all times, especially in view of the planned ban on witnesses.
32
@Lalo
These guys - well, almost exclusively guys - are twiddling their thumbs because for them, being a congressman or senator is merely a steppingstone to a lucrative job in the plutocrat-funded GOP ecosystem that only hires from within its ranks. As polls have shown, these weasels are unresponsive even to their own voters, and are merely carrying out the wishes of a handful of obscenely wealthy people. Tax cuts and hack judges, that's it. Their reward? Becoming a college president; a lobbyist; a think tank fellow; or a talking head on Fox. In the meantime, they get to desecrate those magnificent surroundings, doing nothing, collecting a paycheck, and a handsome pension.
13
@B. T: Mitch Mcconnell the Leader of the House stated before the trail got started that the Republicans would not impeach Trump no matter what the evident was. The Kangaroos are all Republicans.
6
This much is clear: McConnell and the rest of the GOP are traitors.
First, because they are protecting a president who put his personal gain above that of his country — including conspiring with sleazy operators with shady ties to Russia to disparage and remove a US ambassador.
Second, because they are shredding the Constitution by refusing to allow a legitimate trial and hold the executive branch accountable.
Shame on them all.
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The reverence of Arlington Cemetery has been slapped in the face by Donald Trump and his Republican brood.
45
@MIMA
Don't worry. Trump already has plans to turn Arlington Cemetery into Trump Golf Resort - Arlington. He'll just remove the tombstones and Midnight Mitch will be given comp drinks in the clubhouse for having signed over the land.
Now it’s time to hear from Trump’s legal team, a.k.a. Liars & Spinners. And they’ve already lined up Trump’s next ghostwritten book: “How to Commit Treason and Get Away With It”...
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@J. Grant This is the problem with both sides, you haven't heard a word of Trump's defense yet they are "...Liars & Spinners. "
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@David Kane I would be willing to have my mind changed but given how much we know so far, having a preformed opinion would require you to be a low information content person. I've kept abreast of a lot of this and I know the contours of both sides and J. Grant I believe is correct.
If Trump had offered a reasonable defense, perhaps apologised, etc. I might believe his side. But the way it is right now, no way.
Both sides aren't the same, and I say it with the full knowledge that neither side has little to zero impact on my life. You might think I'm biased but for me it has always been about lesser evils in politics. Trump is the greater evil.
20
Excuse me, who created this liars and spinners phony story from the very beginning, the liars and spinners who were never able to come up with even one argument that would probe the impeachment commission to be wrong.
Please don’t turn things around the same way Trumps liars and spinners have been doing from day one of Trumps presidency.
You are doing exactly the same as your bosses did
11
It was rumored that Donald Trump kept an edition of "Mein Kampf" at his bedside. I think it's time to ask what he learned from reading that book.
The dictatorial threat that he leaked through one of his minions today as a warning to Republicans - stay in line or you head will be on a pike, is absolutely nothing less than gleeful obstruction of justice by the man who would be dictator.
18
According to Ivana Trump's attorney, Michael Kennedy, it wasn't "Mein Kampf" he kept by his bedside, it was "My New Order," Hitler's collected speeches. She further indicated that it was the only book she ever saw Trump read.
21
@mirador
Thanks, I believe you are right, I stand corrected.
4
Can we please draft Schiff to run for President?
243
I keep wondering if Putin suggested to Trump that he mess with Ukraine? Afterall, they are at war ... keeping funds from Ukraine would benefit Russia. And agent orange believed Putin over our own intelligence agencies. Plus Putin said he would be happy if Ukraine was blamed for the 2016 election because he would be off the hook.
25
I’ll be surprised if we see witnesses. I think this will be over by next weekend where Trump will be emboldened to continue acting in ways beneficial to him and detrimental to the country. If he’s re-elected, I’m afraid we’ll see another impeachment.
Yes, the witnesses who testified in the House were strong but unfortunately, the Democrats, instead of being patient and pursuing witnesses, were willing to let a few ducks waddle off rather than getting all their ducks in a row.
4
@David H Nadzam
They were placed in a catch-22
Many of the called witnesses either simply refused to comply, his behind they were told not to by Trump or - like Bolton - took the cowards way out and asked a third party (the courts) to make the choice for them.
On the other hand, if Congress had waited for all the law suits etc to happen, there would be no impeachment.
Fortunately, Trump had provided so much material in the way of tweets, video and audio that impeachment could go ahead.
The next step should be to hold those that didn't testify when called to be held in contempt of Congress, even as a warning to what happens in future - mess with a lawful investigation and impede and obstruct Congress, and you will pay.
11
@Shane Lynch "those that didn't testify when called"
They were not called.
2
Oh, yes, indeed, they were called! Here’s a list of those subpoenaed, direct from Article 2 of the impeachment brief:
“Directing current and former Executive Branch officials not to cooperate with the Committees — in response to which nine Administration officials defied subpoenas for testimony, namely John Michael “Mick” Mulvaney, Robert B. Blair, John A. Eisenberg, Michael Ellis, Preston Wells Griffith, Russell T. Vought, Michael Duffey, Brian McCormack, and T. Ulrich Brechbuhl.”
ALL of them ignored the subpoenas. I fault the House for 1) not immediately holding them in contempt of Congress, and 2) not sending the House Sergeant-At-Arms and the Capitol police to compel them to appear.
8
If Collins, Murkowski, Alexander, Romney can be swayed one way or the other by a single Schiff comment, I'd say it pretty reasonable to surmise, 1. They never intended to vote for witnesses, rather simply wanted to be seen as being thoughtful about it, and 2. none of this has to do with facts and truth for them - it's just political theater.
It's really depressing to see where this country is now -- Bill Clinton lying to the grand jury, and the Ken Starr GOP circus around the '98 Clinton impeachment dragged us down, and this is taking it to an order of magnitude new low -- and sadly, probably not the bottom yet.
All that is happening here, is Trump and GOP are setting precedence for what is A-OK in the future. I will bet my retirement that this will happen again, and likely the roles will be reversed, but the rhetoric and partisanship worse and more divisive. And both GOP and Dems alike have contributed.
I'm tired of it, AND, I don't see how we get out of it anytime soon.
20
We don’t. It is rare for a patient to emerge from a persistent vegetative state and the US is in such a state.
6
@Otis-T There's only one side interested in going in the right direction at least, and the other side needs to give up.
When Obama offered to compromise, Rs should've taken up on it. Agreed to make him a successful President. But they didn't. They took on a scorched earth strategy.
If Biden wins, there's another opportunity to do so again.
3
That is quite easy Otis, just blame both sides, then you don’t have to feel guilty or voting for him in the first place.
If you can’t see that Trump wants to be as evilly successful as Putin, you are taking a very cowardly position by blaming both sides.
It is called hypocrisy, look it up.
9
Incredible that the impeachment has gotten this far with Republicans acting as though DT is being unfairly maligned.Please be aware that the flood gates have been pushed open and may never close if DT is not out of office soon. He has been brutally unfair and must be stopped.Mitch McConnell,Lindsey Graham and a host of Republicans are not respecting our beloved Constitution...why is that okay? Trump first,forget about the Constitution? Witnesses and evidence all need to be presented without commentary from the President's real staff.Hannity,Graham,Carlson,etc. from Fox News.Thank you Adam Schiff for supporting our country and working to keep it safe from corrupt practices.
44
@Marybeth Monaghan "supporting our country and working to keep it safe from corrupt practices"
Schiff is working to keep the country safe FOR corrupt practices. Like having Hunter get $3,000,000 from the place Joe is in charge of.
Technology has made debate chambers obsolete. Now they're just expensive fatuous theatre. When was an attendee's mind last changed by floor debate? Reduce polarization by converting the chambers to mess halls with monthly random seating. Keep committee hearings, press briefings, and speeches, and start televising meetings held in congressional offices, where the real decisions are made.
5
And thus, amidst a wave of brilliant oratory, democracy gasps its last breath.
485
@Zamiatin Cry not for us yet Zamiatin...the big work and the big test lies ahead...can the grass roots build on the Blue Wave of 2018 and sweep this administration out to sea?
51
@Steven Obama can’t run again
9
@greg
Or better still return the best president in live memory.
4
Trump is invulnerable and Nadler was correct. The Republicans are participating in a coverup which is harmful to the nation and destructive to democracy. It does amaze me that not even one will display any evidence of courage or patriotism.
Even outgoing people keep quiet.
430
@Yuri Pelham
It's not "harmful" and "destructive", rather it is the END of democracy.
This is not a drill, folks, this is the real thing. Break glass. Pull emergency brake.
Your country is being destroyed.
337
Calling for witnesses could very well be the poison pill that the Republicans do not wan to swallow. The polls indicate that the about 70% want witnesses and even a majority of Republicans do also. That means that most Republicans are looking forward to a robust defense that will include evidence and testimony which will clear the president. After all, the whole thing is a hoax.
But there aren't any. The Republicans have been arguing (if that's what it is called) about process and unfairness since the get go. Ask yourself this. If all of this evidence exists that clears the president, why would the Republicans have waited until now to present it? They had chances during the Judiciary committee hearings to do so. But they did not. They had hours on end to refute witness testimony but they did not. Trump has been demanding a chance to defend himself in the Senate trial, and now is his chance. But the admission of new testimony and documents will allow the Democrats to do the same.
The Republicans don't want to go there. Looking forward to tomorrow to see what rabbits the presidents attorneys pull out of their hats.
147
@Bruce Rozenblit
Republicans may tell pollsters they want witnesses, but they mean only three: Hunter & Joe Biden, and the whistleblower.
17
Adam Schiff for President.
672
@Grady Moseley all the managers were very impressive -- I felt quite uplifted by Hakeem Jeffries.
24
@Grady Moseley Not since Obama's speech at the 2004 Dem convention has an American, stood up, and made a case for what America stands for and its importance in this world. Adam Schiff , against powerful opposition, has done so in nothing less than the most astonishing fashion possible. I was basically in disbelief as he spoke. Where did this man come from? The depth of his knowledge and courage are of staggering proportions. So yes, how can this country utilize the talents of this man to the benefit of all? President you say?!??! I am on board.
38
@Grady Moseley
In 2020, Adam Schiff for Vice President.
11
This is so dispiriting. Not one Republican has stood for the truth, the Constitution or the country. They have betrayed their oaths, themselves and their constituents for fear of a loudmouthed bully. There is not a spine among them.
History will judge, but we can vote.
803
@Richard from Philly
Personally, I don't care how history judges them. We need to judge them now and at the polls. That's when history will be made.
71
@Richard from Philly
The truth, writ large, is in the record. Will Republican Senators be judged? Each and every one, soiled for life. You can take it to the bank.
41
@Richard from Philly, What if history is redacted? What if you are denied the right to vote? What if the 2020 election is postponed indefinitely? Are these silly questions? Too many think that there will still be democratic solutions after this impeachment trial. America has been pivoting away from democracy, but this trial marks the inflection point beyond which peaceful reversal is near impossible. This is it folks.
14
Pray for us.
82
Rather not. I’d likely combust.
5
@Sunshine Daily.
2
@Robert
Ditto!
It doesn't do any good anyway.
11
If any president deserved removal from office it's Trump. The man is a criminal and a narcissist. He's dangerous, and the GOP just allows it.
There's no honor left on the right side of the isle.
Hopefully, in November they'll all pay for this by not getting reelected.
Then the damage control and clean up can begin.
349
@Matt Trump WILL be reelected. No one in the field of challengers are capable of beating Trump.
12
Bloomberg
15
@David Kane Counting those chickens a bit soon David.
23
This was a momentous and truly sad day. Sad for our republic and for the citizens it represents. That this President is acting like a King and dictator is clear. That the Republicans in the Senate are willing to support him as sovereign, is insane.
If Trump is allowed, as is all but certain, to skate on these charges, the United States of America will have truly abdicated its place among the great nations of the world.
Who imagined that this fall from grace could happen in our lifetime?
578
@Clyde After Bush and Obama I thought the US had learnt its lesson. I guess not, that was just a local minima. Bush 2 was a relatively normal President.
We'll see in 2020 but if Trump is re-elected, the party can't go on (already there's a mild recession) and not necessarily because of Trump I think we'll hit another crisis which I hope will be our bottom.
6
@Leia Exactly how in your mind did FDR "extend the Great Depression" while funding all sorts of meaningful programs to put men and women back to work? And once the independent Supreme Court makes a decision about constitutionality, that word is final until and unless Congress overrides it with new laws.
You need to upgrade your information sources.
51
@Leia
Right-wing economics is a disaster.
Go search for GDP growth by decade. Then average the decades.
GDP growth averaged above 3% in the 1960s and 1970s, when Democrats controlled Congress and even Nixon was doing things like creating the EPA.
After forty years of Supply Side Economics (tax cuts and deregulation for the owners of capital) GDP growth is only 2%. Even after the giant Republican tax cut for the rich, growth this year was 2%.
The Great Depression and the great Recession were both caused by the same give aways to finance by a government dominated by Wall Street
Keynes showed that government spending was necessary to end a downtown, and the massive spending of WWII that catapulted the economy to a much higher level, proved him correct.
GDP growth is a third lower since Reagan's *conservative" revolution demanded open borders for factories, so the rich could send them to China. "Unfetterred free trade with China and other low wage countries was the Right's idea, and the Left fought it tooth and nail.
Now you want to blame the Left for your disasters again.
The economy grew faster and was better for families, under Carter, oil shocks, and stagflation!
Adam Smith and Keynes were right.
Milton Friedman is still destroying the world long after his death.
9