Donald Trump has been impeached for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress—and in case there was any doubt he’s guilty, he’s bragging about obstruction. But that’s not enough for Senate Republicans determined to protect him at all cost.
On day one of opening arguments, the House impeachment managers, led by Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff, gave a master class in conveying complicated information clearly and persuasively, while Republicans conveyed their contempt for the proceedings by leaving the room and Chief Justice John Roberts failed to do his job by rebuking their absences. Even before Democrats began to make their case, a majority of Americans believed Trump should be removed from office.
The House impeachment managers—Schiff, Judiciary Committee Chair Jerry Nadler, and Reps. Zoe Lofgren, Hakeem Jeffries, Val Demings, Jason Crow, and Sylvia Garcia—continue to make their case in the second day of opening arguments. Daily Kos will be following live.
Thursday, Jan 23, 2020 · 8:46:52 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Schiff: “’Thank God,” Putin said. 'Nobody is accusing us anymore of interfering in U.S. elections. Now they're accusing Ukraine.' Well, you've gotta give Donald Trump credit for this … He has made a religious man out of Vladimir Putin."
There’s a nice clip for the evening news.
Thursday, Jan 23, 2020 · 8:55:07 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
The May 10 letter from Giuliani to Zelensky is a key piece of evidence. Giuliani’s initial claim in the letter—that he’s representing Trump to the head of a foreign state as a private citizen—should itself be enough to instigate impeachment, before another word is written.
Thursday, Jan 23, 2020 · 9:04:36 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Schiff has essentially done his introductory speech to this topic—the rule of law, abuse of power, and Trump’s motivations—in the middle. Not clear why they’e arranged things this way, other than it does put their strongest speaker closer to the time when people might be getting home.
Thursday, Jan 23, 2020 · 9:14:30 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Anyone who thinks that 24 hours of House managers presenting an impeachment case before the Senate cannot be compelling, must-watch television, has not tuned in for a moment of this trial.
But there's still time. Tell everyone you know to call their Senators, but first tell them to tune into this presentation.