The lawyers for Donald Trump just ended their defense. They took about two hours to destroy the presentation by the House Managers. It was high theatre, stunningly effective. The House Managers should be doing a gut check because they just got eviscerated on national television. This was one of the worst mismatches in history. Not only were the House Managers outclassed, the lack of evidence, deliberate distortion and blatant hypocrisy turned this into a rout.
While some people, like Chris Wallace, will pretend there is still room for debate, the opposite is true. If Democrats even attempt extend this fiasco of a trial, they will be adding insult to injury. We can be sure the Trump lawyers could have put on hours and hours of rebuttal. They didn’t because they knew it was unnecessary. They brilliantly used the Democratic presentation against them. They proved that the Democrats had no case. They also proved that Democrats lied repeatedly to distort data and events. Then they put Democratic hypocrisy on full display.
This reminds me of what happened to Lord Chamberlain during a House of Commons debate. He was trying, and failing, to explain his strategy for defending Britain against Adolph Hitler. British Conservative MP, Leo Amery flung these words at Chamberlain, loosely quoting Oliver Cromwell’s words to dissolve congress on April 20, 1653:
“You have sat too long for any good you have been doing lately. Depart, I say, and let us be done with you. In the name of God, go!”
I lot of people feel exactly the same way about the House Impeachment managers. Within days Chamberlain was replaced by Winston Churchill. Notice any Neville Chamberlain statutes recently?
Democratic House Managers were not only lying, but they also stupidly put this on full display. Trump’s attorneys made that abundantly clear. My past experience has been this. Once people are confronted with the reality that those, they trusted were lying to them, it changes everything. Even if one desperately wanted to believe the House Managers, this is beyond embarrassing. Kind of like the quarterback throwing three pick sixes in the fourth quarter. First you boo the other team, then you boo the referees, then you boo the coach and then you boo the quarterback. The loudest boos are already saved for the quarterback.
No matter how anyone tries to spin this Democrats blew it big time. It was an unmitigated disaster. During a presentation littered with stunning rebukes perhaps the most significant moment was when Trump’s attorney displayed a tweet absolutely ignored by Democrats and the MSM that changed EVERYTHING.
Democrats have been screaming that Trump ignored the violence for hours. The opposite is true and clearly documented. At 12:30 p.m. he sent the following tweet:
“Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement. They are truly on the side of our Country. Stay peaceful!”
One half hour later another tweet:
“I am asking for everyone at the U.S. Capitol to remain peaceful. No violence!”
If this was reported in the MSM I never saw it. It certainly wasn’t mentioned by the House Managers. Instead, they focused on his statement at 2:30 p.m., where he also told people to go home. Even then they focused only on the part of his statement where he said he understood why people were upset, implying that he encouraged the riot. This was a lie and that they knew it was a lie.
I do not know how this will impact the way Senators will vote. It should result in an immediate unanimous vote to acquit. But odds are Democrats will not even consider doing that. Doing the right thing solely because it is the right thing to do will never be seriously considered. Sadly, every Democrat is likely to still vote to convict. But I doubt seriously that any more Republicans will vote to convict and some of the people who voted to hold the trial may now vote to acquit. Republicans who vote to convict Donald Trump after this performance will be committing political suicide.
The real jury is the American people. Anyone who watched this with an ounce of objectivity cannot help but realize Democrats only embarrassed themselves. It may take a few days for the MSM to realize the full scope of this disaster, but the whirlwind is already on the way and the day of reckoning is coming.
This was unbelievable. As a litigation manager I have seen many trials and seen how juries respond to evidence. I cannot predict how those in the Senate with little wisdom and zero character will respond, but the real jury, the American people will easily understand what happened. Let me put it this way. If I were one of Trump’s attorneys, I would be ordering the champagne to be chilled and it would be expensive champagne. If I were one of the House Managers or those depending on them for representation I would be throwing up.
TDM