Let's cut right to the chase: The President of the United States used the power of his office to coerse a foreign leader into conducting an investigation into a potential 2020 political opponent. It matters not that the investigation never got off the ground, or that the funds that were initially withheld were eventually released. An attempt to rob a bank is still illegal.
The simple truth is that the facts are uncontested; indeed the White House and Congressional Republicans have made no attempt to even argue them. Instead, their entire defense has come down to one of two possibilities: One, Democrats have no direct evidence that Trump himself did anything wrong - an assertion that is easily rebutted by the call summary and Trump's own words; and two, even if everything Democrats allege is true, it still doesn't rise to the level of impeachment.
That is exactly the point Dershowitz is making. To sum up his argument, you can only impeach a sitting president for committing a crime. But according to that OLC memo, a sitting president can't be indicted for a crime while in office. So if you take Dershowitz seriously - and it's really hard to do that - a president can do just about anything he wants so long as he's in office. Knowing how Trump has bragged about running for more than two terms, that would mean he could have carte blanche through 2028. If you think he's done irreparable damage to the country during his first three years in office, just imagine what he could do over the next nine.
Dershowitz and fellow bleeding heart Jonathan Turley notwithstanding, this is an open and shut case. You know it, I know it, and Senate Republicans know it. They are many things - spineless, gutless, soulless - but stupid they aren't. There isn't a single one of them that doesn't know Trump is guilty as sin, and if a Democrat were in the White House, they'd be marching in the streets looking for blood. Hell, many of them were prepared to impeach Hillary Clinton the moment she was sworn in as president over that stupid email server. Given how Trump has compromised American security, that's rich.
But in the alternative universe that is the GOP, things like facts are meaningless. What is transparent to you and I, is opaque to them. Compared to these blind mice, Sgt. Schultz is practically Sherlock Holmes. That's why this impeachment trial will have little to do with witnesses or documents. Adam Schiff could read the Declaration of Independence on the Senate floor and Republicans would send out for crumpets and tea.
We have never seem anything like this in the history of the Republic. An entire political party has thrown down with a would-be dictator who on a good day makes Al Capone look like Father Flanagan. I've said a lot of bad things about the GOP - most of it true - but this takes the cake. If you're expecting anything resembling courage out of the likes of Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Mitt Romney and Cory Gardner, or you're hoping that Chief Justice John Roberts will somehow save the day, you obviously still believe in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.
Mitch McConnell will do everything in his power to ensure that a) Trump is quickly acquitted and b) Democrats don't get the opportunity to introduce additional evidence that could potentially damage him in the Fall. I seriously doubt this "trial" will go more than two weeks. About the only thing I'm looking forward to is the sight of 100 senators having to sit quietly in the chamber without access to their smart phones for twelve hours a day. Lindsey Graham might go into withdrawal over not being able to speak with his master.
May the farce be with you.
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