Here’s a little historical tidbit that you may or may not know... Adolf Hitler, the Austrian-born leader of Nazi Germany who hated Jews and promoted the farcical “Aryan superiority” (even though he was far from it), never personally gave the order for mass genocide. That decision was actually made by his underlings, in a private meeting far from where he was. The only connection of the Holocaust to him was when one of his underlings mentioned “that thing” that was never said specifically, of which he approved.
Doesn’t matter, though. He’s still responsible for it. Him and all of his ministers and generals and foot soldiers and all of the people that enabled that fascist gang. In fact, we’re still holding them responsible for it, even generations later!
But imagine what would have happened if Hitler never committed suicide and was instead captured and brought to trial in Nuremberg with the rest of his cohorts. You know that the first thing he would do would be to throw his underlings under the bus. He’d claim that he never personally authorized genocide. He wasn’t the one that ordered the camps or the starvation or the death showers or the crematoriums. No, that was the fault of his ministers and generals and soldiers who all “acted on their own”, even though they were all saying they were just “following orders” from him.
Of course, he’d still be found guilty. You know it, I know it, and history knows it. He was just as guilty for the atrocities of World War II as Saddam Hussein was for Kuwait and the Iraq War, and as Osama Bin Laden was for the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. And just like a certain former U.S. president who will soon face trial.
Narcissist former-President Donald John Trump is facing his second impeachment trial in just a few days from this column on the singular charge of inciting an insurrection. Of course his team of “lawyers”, along with his myrmidons and enablers, are claiming that he didn’t incite the insurrection on January 6th that cost the life of a police officer and several others. They claim that he just told his cult followers to march over to the Capitol Building and “be strong” and “urge them” to overturn the election for him. He supposedly didn’t tell them to storm the building, wreak havoc, build a scaffolding with a noose, and try to kidnap and/or kill members of Congress. No, no, no, that just happened spontaneously. Just a bunch of bad actors... “on both sides”, as he likes to claim... and maybe it was that dreaded “Antifa” in disguise.
As of this column’s posting, the details of the impeachment trial are still being haggled over. That includes whether or not witnesses should be called, or if it would be a repeat of last year’s impeachment trial, which was a farcical travesty that was rigged worse than professional wrestling. This time, though, the Democrats are in the majority, which should mean that they would set different terms for this trial than from last year’s joke.
They should… but it seems that some of them don’t want to.
There are those that think that the orange-skinned criminal mob boss shouldn’t even be tried. That it’s supposedly “unconstitutional” to try someone no longer in office. Sorry, no. They are categorically *wrong*. Nixon v. United States gives legal precedence. Plus there was the case of former Secretary of War William Belknap, who was impeached by the House of Representatives in 1876 but claimed that he resigned from office two hours before the articles of impeachment were passed. Didn’t matter. He was still impeached and the Senate still tried him, even though they failed to get the two-thirds majority needed for conviction. There were still a majority of senators that said that it was constitutional and within their authority to try someone who was no longer in office. So there is precedence. It is constitutional. Any red-hat who thinks otherwise needs to surrender their little pocket copies of the Constitution they love to waive about.
There are some that are suggesting that the House Managers shouldn’t even try to call witnesses; that they should simply “let the experiences from that day be enough”.
Are you goddamned kidding?!?
These are the same members of the Senate that just tried and failed to have the second impeachment dismissed outright for the delusional claim that it was “unconstitutional”. The same group that continued to peddle the false claim of “voter fraud” even immediately after the insurrection ended and the dead bodies were still warm and the debris and human feces were still littering the halls! Never mind the fact that certain members of that faction have no business serving as “jurors” for this impeachment hearing and instead should be charged with aiding and abetting the insurrection.
Then there are those that say that they should just get the trial over and done with because we all know that the Trump Party faction of the U.S. Senate will never, ever, convict their messiah. That there will never be a two-thirds vote to convict, and that those cult followers would rather tear out their own hearts rather than vote to convict. Yes, that’s outright perjury of their own oaths not only as member of the Senate but also as supposed “jurors” in the impeachment trial, but who cares?
This commentator says bullshit to all of that.
Let’s get brutally honest here… the House Managers should push for all of the witnesses. All of them. That includes the “Q-anon Shaman” and his sensitive stomach and the guy with the Confederate flag and “Captain Zipties” and anyone else that were there that are willing to say they were there because of their orange-skinned leader. And air all of the video as evidence. All of it. No matter how graphic. All of the stuff that we had to see live on TV and online.
Yes it will drag out the trial. But it needs to happen.
Not necessarily for the trial inside the Senate, but for the other trial going on. The trial in the court of public opinion. And there, Narcissist Trump is not the one on trial, because he is already guilty. Rather, the members of the U.S. Senate are the ones truly on trial outside of the Senate chambers.
Have all of the witnesses testify. Have all of the video aired. Instance after instance of the incitement to riot, the endless false and slanderous claims of “voter fraud” going back to last summer, long before a single vote could be cast. The testimony from Capitol Police officers who were assaulted, the family members of those who were killed, the video footage of all of the rallies. The proof of the destruction and desecration of that building. Evidence so overwhelming that even Satan would scream “guilty” from the depths of Hell.
If, after all of that, those biased members of the Senate fail to convict, willingly damning their own eyes and ears, then the court of public opinion will find them guilty of complicity. Even if they are not voted out of office later on, history will damn them for all eternity for their role in aiding and abetting the worst president in America.
And don’t think for a moment that this impeachment trial would be the end of the narcissist’s troubles. He is still facing plenty of civil and criminal charges for his past actions. Charges that he can no longer hold off or claim immunity. The Muller Report itself has plenty of charges just waiting for a prosecutor to pick up and go after the narcissist with now that he is no longer in office.
Adolf Hitler may have never specifically ordered the Holocaust, but he was responsible for it. Saddam Hussein may have never personally carried out the atrocities of Kuwait and the Iraq War himself, but he was responsible for them. Osama bin Laden never flew any of the planes on 9/11, but he was responsible for it. Narcissist Donald John Trump may never specifically ordered the insurrection of January 6th, but he is and needs to be held responsible for it.
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