Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    
Nixon at least had the decency to know that he was doing something
wrong, which is why he denied it and tried to hide it. Trump did
everything he did in broad daylight. He was a walking, talking
smoking gun. And it worked.
  

    
That's the worrisome bit.
  

    

>During Trump's second impeachment trial, there may not be enough
 time for this Century's "smoking gun" to be revealed...


Haven't there been enough smoking guns already? How many do there 
have to be?  I wish I believed further revelations would turn 
anyone against him, but I don't.
  

    
It's not about evidence.  It's about power.  
  

    
Reuters has a piece on the question of constitutionality of
impeachment of an ex-president:
<https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-impeachment-constitution-ex-idUSK
BN2A21AM>

No conclusive answer, there's legal disagreement. But there does
seem to be precedent.
  

    
Briefs from the House managers and from Trump's lawyers land today.
I thought the lawyers had been ordered to argue that he won, but it
looks like they are going with the "this is unconstitutional since
he's not in office any more" argument. They are also complaining
about plans to show video and call witnesses.
  

    
Perhaps Trump had to drop the baseless argument that he won in order
to find any attorneys who would work with him.
  

    
With one day left before the trial, it appears that the Republican
stance is that any President should get a free pass when a lame duck
after losing an election, even if the President shoots someone on
5th Avenue.
  

    
Heather Cox Richardson had a nice write-up on some twists inside
that -- that it isn't as straight-forward as it appears.  Trump
losing his access to his audience via social media means his base
may be up in the air, and his money-raising efforts are also dulled.

<https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/february-7-2021>
  

    
A well-connected conservative lawyer has "dismissed as illogical the claim
that it is unconstitutional":

<https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/02/08/us/trump-impeachment#top-conservative-
lawyer-says-trump-can-stand-trial-in-break-with-gop-argument>

        One of Washington's leading conservative constitutional lawyers
        publicly broke on Sunday with the main Republican argument against
        convicting former President Donald J. Trump in his impeachment
        trial, asserting that a former president can indeed be tried
        for high crimes and misdemeanors.
  

    
That was a significant break, but I don't think it will change the
outcome. It's too hard for the Republicans to admit they were
complicit, and that's what a guilty verdict would mean.
  

    
Trump's defense paints a picture of a President horrified by the
assault on the Capitol, acting quickly to restore peace.

That's not what many people say was going on though.

<https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-actions-capitol-attacks/2021/02/
09/6dada250-6a3b-11eb-9ead-673168d5b874_story.html>

"By 1:49 p.m. — nearly an hour after the Capitol Police chief had
urgently requested backup from D.C. police — Trump remained focused
on his recently concluded speech.

He tweeted a video of his own remarks, adding the caption, "Our
country has had enough, we will not take it anymore, and that's what
this is all about.""
  

    
The trial is opening right now with four hours of debate on whether
an impeached former president can be put on trial.
  

    
And we're moving ahead with the trial. So we'll see what the
managers come up with. I've heard they're going to skip witnesses,
which I think is a mistake.
  

    
I think it's definitely a gamble to call witnesses. I think it was
Graham who threatened to call every anti-Dem witness on earth, and
this isn't about truth, it's about presentation.
  

    
The Republican Senators are screwed either way. I don't know how
they come out of this unscathed. 
  

    
I think witnesses would be fine. The Rs have nothing to offer but bullshit
and character assassination.
  

    
And the Republicans aren't running the trial.
  

    
The House Managers are doing a fine job, IMO.
  

    
While the #GOP scumbags pretend not to be listening/looking.
  

    
The House managers are doing a superb job. I sure wouldn't want to
be Trump's lawyers sitting there listening to their presentation in
person in real time. 
  

    
It kills me that this is all for nothing. 

At least the historical record will show what happened. Okay, so not
nothing, anyway.
  

    
This presentation has been so powerful, I hope it will energize
Republican constituents who are not rabid Trump supporters. They
need to call their Senators and be sure that these Senators are
hearing not only from Trumpists but for actual Republicans who are
motivated to get their party back from Trump's control.
  

    
There were some seriously close calls there, and the mob was out for
blood.
  

    
The hard part is to connect the dots and drive home undeniably that
Trump intended this.