The House has impeached Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, sending the case to Senate for trial. …
The House of Representatives on Wednesday impeached President Trump, charging him with ‘high crimes and misdemeanors’ and making him only the third president in history to face removal by the Senate. …
A historic trial in the Senate is expected to begin early next year, giving senators the final say on whether to acquit the 45th president or convict and remove him from office.
(The New York Times, December 18, 2019)
Frankly, I have commented enough on this tragicomedy. Therefore, I am now resigned to let it play out. But I cannot overstate how discouraging it is that no less a person than Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (a.k.a. the jury foreman) has declared his intent to acquit — no matter the evidence or Trump’s consciousness of guilt.
Hell, the way (white) senators are declaring similar intent, they make the (black) jurors who acquitted O.J. Simpson look like esteemed judges.
Nonetheless, I’m holding out forlorn hope that pangs of conscience will compel enough Republicans to join with Democrats to convict Trump. After all, the House presented more than enough evidence during its impeachment hearings to find Trump guilty beyond any reasonable doubt.
Not to mention the open secret that most Republicans despise him almost as much as they fear him. More to the point, this might be their last, best opportunity to reclaim their party. And none of them would deny that they’d rather have VP Pence as their standard bearer for the 2020 presidential election … with former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley as his running mate.
Hey, hope springs eternal.
Related commentaries:
Republicans offer no defense…