I said weeks ago Trump wanted a short trial; media bought his claim he wanted a long one. I said McConnell was lying about his resolution/trial plans; Democrats thought otherwise and handed him the articles, resolution unseen. Then I said there'd be no witnesses. And here we are.
1/ I didn't say any of this because I was or am smart. I said it because I'd read hundreds of articles on the Ukraine scandal (which is far *larger* than Democrats are presenting it as) and realized the evidence is so historically damning that Trump and McConnell *must* block it.
2/ When I was a public defender, I learned *quickly* (as all public defenders do) that one of the early determinations one must make of a case is, "What's it worth?" *Can* there be any negotiation? If so, what should be expected? Prison? County jail? A suspended sentence? A fine?
3/ Case assessment is a big part of being a high-caseload criminal defense attorney or prosecutor. My assessment of the Ukraine scandal after scores of hours of research? It's worth not only impeachment but prison time for a number of people. The GOP has made the same assessment.
4/ That's the thing to remember: these GOP senators, as much as we might wish it otherwise (for their sake) *are* smart folks who *do* know (at least broadly speaking) how bad this is. They know the president is a criminal. Please don't think otherwise and assume their ignorance.
5/ They want to keep their jobs. They want to keep the White House and think that if Trump is impeached, they won't. So for their own careers, and to keep the White House, they'll sell America and its constitution to what they well know is a gaggle of petty mobsters and cultists.
6/ Those are the facts on the ground. So there *can't* be a real trial, as the only thing worse than senators selling out their countrymen by voting for the acquittal of a man they know is guilty is *letting us hear all the evidence* that he's guilty, *then* voting for acquittal.
7/ By the same token, *no* career criminal has ever *wanted* to go on trial, and the chance that Trump would be the first was *zero*. But his job, as a career criminal, was to convince us that he was so sure of his innocence that he *wanted* a full airing of the facts at a trial.
8/ But the joke may be on us: we assume that an election *could* fix this. But there will be so many nations (Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Israel, even North Korea) working to re-elect Trump via hacking, disinformation, and illicit cash who *knows* what "election" means now.
9/ There's a chance an election could save us. But only a chance. This impeachment is our other chance. It's an opportunity for men and women of character to do their duty and protect the nation. But there appear to be no men or women of character in Congress who are Republicans.
