As someone who served as a jarhead a long (long!) time ago I am familiar with the movie A Few Good Men. It’s entertaining to be sure, and to be honest there’s some actual truth to the notion of senior NCOs & even Officers countenancing, if not encouraging the rank & file to deal with a “shitbird” to square them away. “Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest” & all that. I’m pretty sure than in some work environments the concept of the worker bees taking matters into their own hands and in blue collar environments things can get harsh including physical – and the boss will look the other way as long as the desired result is achieved. However if things go bad, even if the boss offered subtle or even overt encouragement for the “enforcement” he/she will cut those who carried it out loose in a heartbeat.
As we all know, Trump will throw anyone under the bus. It’s been widely suggested (including by me) that would include his own children (even wannabe Princess Ivanka) under the bus to save his own ass if need be. Of course, in their case he can hardly resort to his “I don’t know who that person is” defense – the one he’s (again) using where Lev Parnas is concerned. However, even if John Bolton who Trump hired because he liked him on TV testifies & buries Trump, or Mick Mulvaney decides he’s not going to get a pardon & will trade truthful testimony for a get out of jail free card Trump will still resort to the “I don’t know this person” defense. Sadly, not only the lion’s share of the goober rank & file voters out in Trumplandia accept this bullshit but so will far too many Republicans on Capitol Hill.
With the Impeachment trial about to begin in earnest in the Senate both sides have basically stated their positions and dug in. That now includes opening trial briefs by both the House Managers and Trump’s Managers. From where I sit, what I’ve read and heard described by pundits is that Team Trump isn’t actually disputing the facts of the case. By that I mean they aren’t disputing Trump having pressured Ukraine starting even before Zelensky was elected to announce an investigation embarrassing to the person (Joe Biden) he considered his main political rival. Trump and his WH team also don’t deny that crucial military & other aid, as well as a much sought after (and needed) face to face visit with Trump (especially at our White House) was withheld.
Hence the title of this piece from the movie A Few Good Men. The prosecution’s (Kevin Bacon) opening argument was simple and powerful and began & concluded with the same sentence – “These are the facts of the case and they are undisputed.”
Trump’s defense has been and apparently will continue to be that the facts don’t matter because he (in his view) didn’t do anything wrong, or if he did he can do whatever he wants, that as President he can’t break the law because his powers are absolute and unquestionable by anyone else regardless of anything in Article 1 of the Constitution, and finally even if so it doesn’t rise to the level of an impeachable offense. Mash all that together with Trump shooting off his big mouth both literally and on Twitter, and a mostly second rate legal team with third rate status trying to force its way into the light (except for WH Counsel Pat Cippilone) and we are in for some interesting days ahead.
The House Managers will I believe make a compelling case even if Moscow Mitch forces every GOP Senator into line and prevents any new witnesses or documents. By comparison the President’s team will look foolish and mostly incompetent. Perhaps even sleazy. That’s why McConnell fears having anything at all on TV and I frankly wouldn’t be surprised if he’s got a signal for whomever is in the GOP Senate office controlling the TV feed keeps killing it & we get repeated “We are currently experiencing technical difficulties” message on the screen. McConnell wants this whole thing over fast – before anyone has a chance to get interested in it. Exposure of what happened and the GOP’s willingness to not only ignore it but for so many of them to take positions opposite of what they held back when it was a Democrat facing an Impeachment & Senate trial could lead to something that for him is a fate worse than death – loss of the GOP Senate majority.
Remember back when the news was filled day after day and week after week with Mueller’s investigation & findings? Pundits were fond of trotting out the old saying of “If the facts are against you argue the law; If the law is against you argue the facts; If both are against you pound the table.” That last one is what Trump and his minions have been doing because it’s their only option. However, for McConnell the glare of the Impeachment trial spotlight is going to make not just the President and his lawyers look really bad, it will make HIM and every GOP Senator look bad too. The electoral fallout could not only cost McConnell his role as Majority Leader, but lead to an even bigger majority in the House and of course a Democrat in the White House. It could also have a significant impact in Democrat’s favor at the state level which is getting overlooked even though it shouldn’t be. Breaking GOP supermajorities in more states, and even taking over control of additional state governments in 2020 means we will have a fair playing field in redistricting – both for Congress and in those states.
IOW that carefully crafted and brilliantly executed strategy the GOP used starting in 2010 to ensure control via creating an overwhelming number of safe (for the GOP) districts will be undone. Worse from their point of view is momentum for non-partisan redistricting commissions will continue to grow. If the GOP can’t cheat as much they will have a much tougher time winning, and lest we forget with Democrats being in greater control voter suppression (another tactic without which the GOP would be screwed) will be tougher to implement.
I guess what I’m driving at is that I am worried as hell about just what McConnell is prepared to do to shut this trial down and fast – as in before the end of the month even. ’m also worried about the lengths he will go to (such as carrying on sessions until the middle of the night when people aren’t watching) to prevent the public from being able to watch live and see in real time the comparison between the lawyers making the case for us and those making the case for Trump. As ’ve said it won’t be pretty for Team Trump and the GOP. t’s about the worst thing that could happen for them.
- Trump broke federal campaign finance and bribery/extortion laws when he pressured a foreign government (Ukraine), in fact two different administrations in Ukraine to cause political problems for his chief rival.
- Trump used the powers of his Office to withhold Official Acts to exert that pressure.
- In the case of one of those Official Acts, the withholding of aid authorized by Congress Trump violated another federal law.
- Trump has obstructed Congress from investigating all this via claims of the most sweeping Executive Privilege ever – even though he has never formally asserted it. Btw, no less than the Supreme Court (U.S. v Nixon) unanimously held that in a criminal proceeding no evidence regarding the matter was subject to EP and said evidence must be handed over to duly authorized investigations/investigators.
“These are the facts of the case – And they are undisputed.”