Happy Impeachment! Next step is removal. (Trump thread 98)

[TheClaws]

In the last thread, Trump was impeached by Congress. Now the question is when the articles will be sent to the Senate for Trial, as - at this stage - there is no guarantee from Mitch McConnell of a fair trial. Trump clings to his belief that his call to Zelensky was “perfect”.

Previous thread: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3732056-Trump-and-the-Giant-Impeachment-Trump-thread-97

He will be cleared and he will win in November
depressing but true

And Romney stands alone in believing it is right to stand by one's convictions. Although he did side with his party on count 2.

I can't say I care for the man, but I respect him for at least voting his conscience on count 1. He's in for a rough ride in the Senate for the next 4 years. He isn't up for reelection until 2024.

Listening We can't be that defeatist. That's how apathy is born and how evil wins. We have to resist and keep on resisting until the very last second. I won't give up until the morning after the election.

So, as expected.

Well, Mitch McConnell, running the trial, said beforehand he intended to breach his oath to serve impartially, and to work on the behalf of the accused. And he was as good as his word, blocking witnesses.

So any other result would have been pretty surprising.

But this isn't the end.

Absolutely not.😃

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/feb/05/donald-trump-acquitted-senate-impeachment-trial

Acrossthepond
Trump will be President, but who will control both houses?

www.nytimes.com/2020/02/05/opinion/trump-senate-acquittal-impeachment.html

'In Private, Republicans Admit They Acquitted Trump Out of Fear

...History has indeed taught us that when it comes to the instincts that drive us, fear has no rival. As the lead House impeachment manager, Representative Adam Schiff, has noted, Robert Kennedy spoke of how “moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle.”'

www.rawstory.com/2020/02/it-sucked-trump-gets-ripped-to-shreds-for-congratulating-himself-for-wonderful-reviews-of-sotu-address/

Mitt Romney is being ripped to shreds on Twitter by Republicans and right-wing pundits. Even right-wing pundits that dare to say that it’s okay for Romney to represent his State, and not always vote on partisan lines, is shouted down. (Shapiro’s tweet had horrifying comments.) Examples:

Dan Bongino @dbongino 1hr

Romney couldn’t stand to be out of the spotlight today because he’s an attention-seeker and a world-class FRAUD. He’s a charlatan, a fake, a phony, and a second-rate carnival act. It’s all an act with Romney, he’s slick with his bullshit routine. He’s practiced it many times.

Ben Shapiro @benshapiro 1hr

Romney is a Senator elected by the people of his state; his independent judgment is as legitimate as that of anyone else. Even though Trump's Ukraine behavior was thoroughly bad and stupid, Romney is wrong about impeachment. But that's about it. He is not a traitor or a buffoon.

Conway (behind the paywall bit worth seeking out):

www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/02/05/george-conway-trump-i-believe/

'I believe the president, and in the president.

I believe the Senate is right to acquit the president. I believe a fair trial is one with no witnesses, and that the trial was therefore fair. I believe the House was unfair because it found evidence against him. I believe that if the president does something that he believes will get himself reelected, that’s in the public interest and can’t be the kind of thing that results in impeachment.

I believe former national security adviser John Bolton has no relevant testimony because he didn’t leave the White House on good terms.

I believe the president’s call was perfect. I believe he is deeply concerned about corruption in Ukraine. I believe the president can find Ukraine on a map.'

Time will tell.

www.motherjones.com/impeachment/2020/01/senate-republicans-impeachment-lamar-alexander-witnesses/

I was working in the USA during 2012, and Romney struck me as a typical corporate moderate Republican with a side of religion. Decent enough but no chance compared to Obama.

He has just shown himself as the last real Republican. He’s been awfully quiet since the election, possibly due to a mistaken duty to his party to keep his reservations to himself. He has a chance to consolidate today and become the real moral leader of the party. That would be a legacy worth having. I could also see him being hounded out of the GOP and becoming independent or starting a new “centre right” (US definition) movement.

TWT whether this was a momentary blip of concurrence and he sinks back into a comfortable background role, or whether he’s got a spine and the will for the fight.

That's an interesting thought, funnel.

Concerning news re: Barr. (Apologies - the memo is poor quality.)

Olga Lautmann @olgaNYC1211 3hr

According to @maddow Barr sent out a memo today stating that only he can approve or disapprove an investigation into the President and VP. Looks like the Trump regime has been given green light by his corrupt AG to commit whatever crimes he wants and our agencies cant do a thing

WTF! That memo from Barr!

If that's genuine, that's very worrying indeed.

If it is no investigation of a declared Presidential candidate, which is what it says, that means no investigation of Joe Biden would be allowed, under Barr's rules.

Is this so that they cannot investigate and exonerate him?

I thought that on first glance too, but what it actually says is no investigation without permission from the Attorney General, viz W Barr Esq.

So Barr gets to block investigations he doesn't like, while green-lighting those he does.

The memo also specifically covers investigations into illegal campaign contributions and foreign donations.

Can't see from that extract whether, on that point, the memo requires the Dept of Justice merely to notify people, or whether it's requiring the DoJ to seek permission from Barr.

They must seek Barr's permission. So Scrotus has his get out of jail free card.

In which case we must hope that when Trump goes and Barr goes shortly thereafter, an investigation into both of them is high on the agenda of his successor. Oh, and into Kavanaugh and lying under oath.

From your lips to God's ear!

I'd better read my post aloud, hadn't I.

(quickly reading my post aloud)

theintercept.com/2020/02/06/border-wall-construction-organ-pipe/

'CONTRACTORS WORKING FOR the Trump administration are blowing apart a mountain on protected lands in southern Arizona to make way for the president’s border wall. The blasting is happening on the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, a tract of Sonoran Desert wilderness long celebrated as one of the nation’s great ecological treasures, that holds profound spiritual significance to multiple Native American groups.'