It Ain't Over Til It's Over

And this will never be over.

(The Scream by Edvard Munch)

Some reflections on the Impeachment Show.

Here are some brief thoughts on the Impeachment Trial itself along with what it tells us about the Democrats.

1.  To those who keep asserting that if there is some personal motive or gain then that makes an otherwise legal/unimpeachable act illegal/impeachable: My guess is that every official act/vote by the senators is done in part for personal gain or other personal motive (most likely for better re-election chances).  The actions of senators may be done for other reasons as well (to further policy they believe in & on which they campaigned for example) and the acts then are constitutional but to follow the reasoning of the Schiff crew, the fact that a senator might also place him/herself in a better position for an upcoming election would make the acts impeachable.  Essentially, to follow their logic, the entire Congress, both chambers, should all be impeached.

2.  Does no one understand how our system of justice works?  In a trial the prosecution or plaintiff brings a complaint.  If that complaint is insufficient, the case will be dismissed.  If after discovery (investigations, depositions of witnesses, etc.) the case is still insufficient to state a claim, then it will be dismissed.  During the period of discovery, some subpoenas as well as other discovery requests and even specific questions may be challenged and decisions on those challenges may be appealed.    Asserting one’s right to question the legitimacy of a discovery request is not an obstruction against the body that made the request. It is not some sort of cover-up.

Justice requires time and patience; its goal is to get it right, not to meet some deadline favorable to an upcoming election.

It is not the duty of the deciding body to find the witnesses and do the investigation.   Some trials will be decided on the pleadings and discovery alone.  Contrary to Ms. Pelosi, witnesses are not required at the trial for it to be a “real” trial.  When a case reaches its conclusion, with or without witnesses, if there is a decision that the defendant is acquitted, then that is a valid decision.

In this case, the House did its investigation, called its witnesses, etc. and determined they had an “overwhelming case” for impeachment.  They brought that to the Senate where, for the first time, the President was able to present his position.  It became clear that the House did not have even an arguable case.  It further became clear that new witnesses, while they might dislike the President and have negative things to say about him or his policies, had no relevant information about the charges brought to the Senate by the House.  Their testimony would be nothing more than a waste of time.  This is not some sort of cover-up, much as the Democrats would like it to be, but is simply an appropriate decision about their case.

3.  It ain’t over til it’s over, and this will never be over.   The Democrats will refuse to accept the acquittal just as they refused to accept the very through investigation and conclusions of the Mueller report, just as they refused to acknowledge evidence that disproved their 11^th hour me-too assault on Justice Kavanaugh, just as they have refused, since November of 2016, to accept Donald J. Trump as the duly elected and legitimate President of the United States of America.  They have yet to understand that their hatred of President Trump does not make him illegitimate, just as it does not make his policies with which they disagree illegal or his manner and leadership style in effectuating those policies unconstitutional.   

Yet, it is clear from the Democrats and their supportive media that they will continue to dig and dig for dirt that will give them the opportunity to try once again to remove the people’s choice from office.  They would rather do that than the business that they were elected to conduct.

4.  In the end, it’s the People’s decision.  You cannot impeach a President just because you don’t like him and you fear that he will continue to act in a manner you don’t like.  The way to fix that is to present an alternate candidate at the next election and let the People decide.  The Democrats seem to think that they know better than the voters who should be president and they are willing to usurp the People’s voice in order to install their choice into the Oval Office.  That is simply un-American.  It is indeed a coup attempt. 

5.  For this country to work, we must both understand and respect our Constitution and our laws.   As a lawyer I have been and continue to be appalled by the Democrats’ continuing disregard for our Constitution, our legal system, and this country’s core principles of justice.  They, of course, are doing it for very political reasons, all of which extend from their desire for power.  But even more appalling is that so many are willing to accept their distortions about our core principles and values, to accept their contempt for our Constitution and system of justice.  In part I blame this on a lack of education about these things; that, combined with a mainstream media that presents and supports the Democrat agenda rather than objective facts places our democracy in a precarious position indeed. 

I can only hope that as the dust from this ridiculous impeachment settles that the People will begin to realize what a farce it really was.  I can only hope that the People will begin to demand that their representatives begin doing their business rather than continuing to pursue their jihad of hate against the President as they seek to grab for themselves what is the People’s power.