Moscow Mitch has promised a sham impeachment trial with no witnesses and absolute coordination with the White House. But what if he never gets the chance?
David Gerrold posted a suggestion on Facebook (which, unfortunately, I can’t link to) that the House should pass the Articles of Impeachment — but hold off on sending them to the Senate until that body agrees to hold a fair trial. As David points out,
This would put Trump in the worst possible position. Impeachment hanging over his head, but no chance of acquittal.
MM will never agree to any process that is close to fair, in particular one that puts his caucus in the position of having to vote on anything. But this action would let the Democrats remind the country every day the damage MM is doing to the rule of law and due process. Every week at her press conferences, the Speaker can say she will send the Articles to the Senate just as soon as they agree to a fair trial. I can even see a few Republicans forcing MM to go along so they can get the Democrats off their backs.
And while she’s at it, she can keep reminding the country — as she has been — that the House has passed over 400 bills that MM is sitting on. If they play the message right — admittedly, a big if — they can sell the country that it’s the “do-nothing Senate” that has been the bottleneck all along.
David points out one other advantage: The House can keep investigating and add new articles as necessary, particularly when Trump commits new crimes (and he will, he can’t help himself).
He also suggests that if all else fails, the Speaker can send the Articles over in the middle of the campaign, like October. I’m not so sure that would work, but it might.