Trump Cannot Change History
FRED WERTHEIMER’S WEEKLY NOTE | DECEMBER 19, 2019
“The arrogance and disdain for the American people reflected in McConnell’s turning over the Senate impeachment trial to the very subject of the trial, President Trump, is stunningly irresponsible.”
Yesterday, President Trump became the third President in the history of the United States to be impeached. He will carry that “I” with him for the rest of his life and into the history books.
The evidence is overwhelming that the President grossly abused the powers of his presidency for his personal political benefit and conducted a government-wide obstruction of the House efforts to carry out its impeachment powers.
The overwhelming evidence, however, was not enough to break the iron-grip that President Trump maintains on congressional Republicans.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has made clear he plans to conduct a sham trial in the Senate when they get the Impeachment Articles from the House. He announced on Fox News that he would “take [his] cues” from the White House in shaping and conducting the impeachment trial.
The arrogance and disdain for the American people reflected in McConnell’s turning over the Senate impeachment trial to the very subject of the trial, President Trump, is stunningly irresponsible.
Following the House votes yesterday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, “We cannot name managers [to present the Impeachment case in the Senate] until we see what the process is on the Senate side. … So far we haven’t seen anything that looks fair to us.”
What happens next, including when the Articles will be sent to the Senate, is unclear.
House Democrats have a balancing act to carry out. They can delay for a while sending the Impeachment Articles to the Senate, in order to pressure McConnell to enter an acceptable deal with Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer on the trial procedures. But the House Democrats cannot delay for too long without it potentially backfiring on them with the public.
Meanwhile, the President will continue to rant, rave, and lie about his impeachment, as he demonstrated yesterday at a Michigan rally.
What President Trump cannot do is change history.
This fight goes on.
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Fred Wertheimer is the Founder and President of Democracy 21, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works to strengthen our democracy and ensure the integrity and fairness of government decisions and elections. See previous Notes from Fred here.
