Wednesday, January 22nd, 2020
Stephan: Several of you have written me today to ask my reaction to the impeachment trial's first day. So I will answer in two parts. First, my thoughts, followed by this report of the day's events by Bess Levin.
I have watched the proceedings in the Senate today and my takeaway is this: The Democrats are making a fact-based presentation of the utter contempt criminal Trump has for democracy, and his blatant obstruction and misuse of the powers of his office assisted my Moscow Mitch.
The Republicans, in contrast, are doing two things, I think. First, they are committed to carrying out a dismantlement of democracy in presentations that are virtually fact-free and in some cases are outright lies and gaslighting, all with the purpose of hiding the truth of Trump's criminality from the American people and the world. Second, they are seeking to redefine the role and power of the Presidency in governance. They are pursuing the christofascist vision.
But there is something else going on that few are talking about: We are displaying for the people of other countries how the United States has become a degraded democracy that is no longer worthy of respect as a nation of laws. I am embarrassed for America and believe the Founders would be appalled to see the country they labored so hard to create reduced to this.
House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff said he would subpoena Robert Mueller’s report to make his findings public. Credit: Andrew Harrier/Bloomberg.Getty
Hello, and welcome to day one of Donald Trump’s Senate impeachment trial. (Technically, it started last Thursday, but that was mostly formalities with some light perjury.) Perhaps in an homage to a man who has made 16,241 “false or misleading claims” in his first three years in office, White House counsel Pat Cipollone kicked things off with a series of outright lies, a gesture that presumably brought tears to the big guy’s eyes.
The first whopper was Cipollone’s claim that “not even [House Intelligence Committee chair and impeachment manager Adam] Schiff’s Republican colleagues were allowed into the SCIF,” the secure facility where members of Congress reviewed classified information relevant to the impeachment inquiry. This statement, of course, was not true at all. While some House Republicans tried to pull a publicity stunt at […]
Your reaction to yesterday’s event was very similar to mine.
And though it is embarrassing to have the rest of the world watching, I believe the most obviously overlooked effect – I’ve seen no reporting on it – is that US citizens are watching more closely than they usually do. And they are not liking what they see.
I believe Trump’s one major skill – drawing attention to himself – will be the most important factor in his downfall. The spotlight he craves is increasingly exposing his mental instability, ignorance, and stupidity.
I’m hoping this growing awareness will be large enough to cause him a resounding defeat in the November election.
From what I saw in the Senate yesterday, the GOP just created another unintended consequence. Their unwavering support of Trump is greatly increasing the odds that Democrats will also gain control of the Senate in November.
Truman’s spotlight could cause not only his downfall, but the also demolish the Republican party. And not a moment too soon.