REAPING THE WHIRLWIND

This is beyond insane. Democrats voted to add wire fraud to the impeachment articles, although this was never brought up in the actual hearings. Chuck Schumer is demanding the Senate call witnesses the House never called when it had the chance. It is bad enough to impeach a President for something that is not a crime, based on zero evidence. This is ridiculous.

It is always impossible to predict rational decisions by those who have never demonstrated the capacity for rational thought. It would be beyond stupid for Democrats to actually vote to impeach Donald Trump under these circumstances, but one suspects that won’t matter. They seem to be determined to vote to impeach, regardless of facts.

One has to wonder what evidence will even be admissible in a Senate Trial. Republicans aren’t going to care what Chuck Schumer thinks. The trials will likely start by asking the House to present its evidence with Chief Justice John Roberts presiding.

According to the constitution, only the House Judiciary Committee can bring forth articles of impeachment. The only witnesses called by the House Judiciary Committee were law professors opining on the constitution. The only other House Judiciary Committee hearing was a weird Town hall kind of event where the members of the committee asked questions of their own legal counsel. If Roberts rules that the only evidence that can be presented is that developed by the House Judiciary Committee, Democrats could be left standing there with less than nothing.

At some point, Democrats will have to produce some evidence. I doubt that Roberts will tolerate the type of fiasco put on by the House. The Supreme Court does not want to handle disputes like this between Congress and any President. The safest thing for Roberts to do is adhere strictly to the constitution and the law. If he does that, it will be close to impossible for Democrats to present any case at all.

President Trump, on the other hand is the defendant and his legal counsel does get to call witnesses and introduce new evidence. Imagine Rudy Giuliani presenting documented evidence that Joe Biden actually is corrupt. Imagine Adam Schiff having to either plead the 5th, commit perjury, or admit that most of his public statements were lies. The list goes on and on.

Unless we are missing something really big, Democrats appear to be headed toward an unprecedented political disaster. If they don’t vote to impeach now, they will lose a significant portion of their base. But if they do impeach and are embarrassed in the Senate that could arguably be even worse. This looks like the ultimate lose-lose scenario.

November 3, 2020 is a long way off, but I sure wouldn’t bet on Democrats having much to celebrate unless someone or something big intervenes between now and then. For most of my life I have watched Democrats outmaneuver Republicans time and time again. This time, it looks like Democrats have out maneuvered themselves and Republicans look to be uniquely focused and united. Unless something changes, Democrats are about to reap the whirlwind.

TDM