I apologize some more for not writing. I’ve been very ill since I wrote the last post. Doctors think I will be fine, but when is a question. The meds I’m taking are making me dizzy.
Anyway — the issue at hand is that Democrats want a real Senate trial, and Republicans, or the loud ones anyway, do not. Chuck Schumer’s proposal includes calling witnesses not yet heard from, including Mick Mulvaney and Johhn Bolton. Further,
Mr. Schumer also called for the Senate to subpoena documents that could shed light on the events at the heart of the charges against Mr. Trump: his campaign to enlist Ukraine to investigate his political rivals. And he set forth a specific timetable for each side to present its case, modeled on the one used when President Bill Clinton was tried in 1999. Mr. Clinton’s trial lasted about five weeks.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) could, after the House vote on the articles, decline to send over the articles until such rules for a real trial can be agreed upon. Give McConnell, say, 30 days to get this right. While the House makes clear that impeachment is urgent, there is no remedy for a clear and present danger in a farcical non-trial. Pelosi’s time frame could raise pressure on McConnell, further unhinge Trump and give Democrats a chance to get out there, as they have failed so far to do, with a full-blown ad campaign to convince voters of what is at stake.
I don’t know why there should be a 30 day deadline. John Dean — yeah, that John Dean — had a similar idea with no time limit —
Dean, you’ll recall, was Richard Nixon’s White House counsel. Caught up in the early days of the Watergate cover-up, Dean became a whistle-blower — initially to his boss, and eventually to the Senate and the nation, and in the 21st century he has burnished his reputation both as a truth-teller and sage commentator. A frequent analyst of Trump’s foibles, Dean is now promoting an outside-the-box solution to the impeachment quandary.
“Let’s impeach him now and NOT send it to the Senate rather keep investigating in the House, and add such supplemental articles as needed!” Dean wrote on Twitter this weekend. “Just let it hang over his head. If the worst happens and he is reelected, send it to the Senate. But keep investigating!!”
Or, let McConnell know that the articles of impeachment will stay in Nancy Pelosi’s purse until he allows a real trial with witnesses and documents the White House has been withholding.
Some columnists have proposed that there may be enough Republican votes in the Senate to override McConnell and force a real trial, but I am not holding my breath.