But the “schifftiest” of all defenses was their insistence that, President Trump thinks this impeachment inquiry is so inconsequential, he’s not even bothering to watch the congressional hearings. Never mind that this is even less credible than Nikki Haley, the former US ambassador to the United Nations, insisting this week that Trump has never lied to the American people.
In any event, Trump invariably makes liars and fools of his defenders. In this case, his consciousness of guilt forced him to launch a juvenile attack against unimpeachable witness Marie Yovanovitch in real-time. House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff (of Trump’s “schifftiest” slur) interrupted her testimony to allow her to react to Trump tweeting that “everywhere [she] went turned bad:”
‘What effect do you think that has on other witnesses’ willingness to come forward and expose wrongdoing?”
‘It’s very intimidating,’ Yovanovitch said.
(CNN, November 15, 2019)
Schiff might’ve observed that Trump was unwittingly projecting what (never-Trumper) Republican strategist Rick Wilson wrote in his bestselling book, Everything Trump Touches Dies. Instead, he sufficed to announce that Trump’s timely tweet would be Exhibit A in the witness tampering article for his impeachment. And it does not bode well that even his arch-defenders at Fox News agreed.
For example, there’s this:
Fox News host Bret Baier said Friday that President Trump’s tweet criticizing former Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch was ‘adding an article of impeachment real-time.’
‘That was a turning point in this hearing so far,’ Baier said on Twitter of Trump’s tweet.
(The Hill, November 15, 2019)
Not to mention this:
Fox Business host Lisa Kennedy on Friday slammed President Trump for his tweeted attacks on former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch during her public testimony on Capitol Hill, calling the president a ‘big dumb baby.’
(The Hill, November 16, 2019)
Cue the baby Trump blimp …
That said, I remain convinced that the Mueller Report provided all the evidence of high crimes and misdemeanors Democrats need to impeach Trump. I remain equally convinced that Republicans will acquit him; this, no matter how clear, convincing, and abundant the evidence of his guilt.
I asserted at the outset that the impeachment of Donald J. Trump will amount to little more than a tribal political farce. But I asserted also that, this farce notwithstanding, Democrats must proceed if only to register presidential norms for posterity.
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