Gearing up for his Senate impeachment trial, 73-year-old President Donald Trump has lawyered up, pulling out big legal guns in his impeachment fight with Democrats. House Democrats led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), House Intelligence Committee Director Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and House Judiciary Chairman Jerold Nadler (D-N.Y.), accuse Trump of (1) abuse of power and (2) obstruction of Congress. All three claim they want a fair trial but robbed Trump of due process in 12 weeks of impeachment hearings, refusing to allow Trump’s lawyers to cross-examine a group of cherry-picked witnesses all saying that Trump engaged in a quid pro quo with 40-year-old Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Schiff produced a so-called “whistleblower” who claimed he had second-hand information about a July 25, 2019 phone call Trump had with Zelensky.
Schiff’s “whistleblower” claimed Trump withheld $391 million Congressionally-approved military aid in exchange for information on former 77-year-old Vice President Joe Biden and his 50-year-old son, Hunter. Hunter got a job on Ukraine natural gas company Busima Holdings’ Board while Joe ran former President Barack Obama’s anti-corruption task force, earning from $50,000 to $150.000 a month, making millions over a three year period. Pelosi, Schiff, Nadler and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) all demand that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) allow new witnesses and documents, accusing McConnell of bias for saying he was “coordinating” with the White House Dec. 13 on impeachment matters. House Democrats know they met their burden of proof in 12 weeks of impeachment hearings against Trump with extreme prejudice.
Sworn in as jurors Jan. 18 by Supreme Court Justice John Roberts, Senate Democrats and Republicans promised to uphold the U.S. Constitution, something that doesn’t rule out political bias.. Unlike a normal criminal trial, Senate Democrats and Republicans aren’t screened by the presiding judge in what’s called voir dire, or questioning to rule out bias in prospective jurors. All Democrats and Republicans carry extreme bias into the impeachment proceeding with most, if not all, Democrats wanting Trump convicted and tossed out of office. Most Republicans, on the other hand, want Trump acquitted. Everyone knows this but Pelosi hammered McConnell as “biased” because he said he’s “coordinating” with the White House. McConnell isn’t the one picking Trump’s counsel to defend him in next week’s impeachment trial, slated to begin Tuesday, Jan. 21.
Trump’s legal team will be headed by his chief White House counsel Pat Cipollone, who’s more backstage detail-oriented lawyer, not the P.T. Barnum showman expected to cross-examine Democrat witnesses. Trump plans to have his media-savvy private lawyer Jay Sekulow, emeritus Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz, former Clinton Special Prosecutor Ken Starr and Florida Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi take the lead in the Senate for oral arguments, while Miami-based criminal defense Atty. Jane Raskin works behind the scenes. Letting Sekulow and Dershowitz play to the cameras gives Trump the best chance of vindication in the public’s eye. “He’s been impeached forever. They can never erase that,” Pelosi said gleefully Jan. 15. Pelosi hasn’t had her impeachment case subjected to scrutiny, getting the mainstream press to rubber stamp her case against Trump. Her “ironclad” case is about to be tested.
House managers, led by Schiff, have already presented their case to press and American public for the last three months. There’s nothing new that will be presented in Trump’s impeachment trial, even if House managers get new witnesses and documents. All new testimony and documents only corroborate the House’s case against Trump, but add nothing to the bottom line: Did Trump commit high-crimes-and-misdemeanors. Republicans believe that Trump did not commit high-crimes-and-misdemeanors in his July 25, 2019 conversation with Zelensky. Democrats used their Article 1 authority to lower the bar on impeachment, voting out two articles that don’t meet the Constitutional test for impeachment. Democrats have not accused Trump of “treason, bribery or other high-crimes-and-misdemeanors” as specified in the Constitution, in effect weaponizing the House impeachment process.
Trump’s legal team plans to mount a vigorous defense, challenging every fact in Democrats’ impeachment case. Pelosi and Schumer want to introduce new witnesses, including Lev Parnas, a Ukrainian-Soviet-born businessman who worked for Trump’s personal attorney, former N.Y., Mayor Rudy Giuliani trying to ascertain Ukraine’s involvement in helping former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in the 2016 election. Parnas and his partner Igor Fruman were arrested Oct. 9, 2019 for trying to bribe politicians to influence U.S.-Ukraine relations. Seeking Parnas’ testimony shows how desperate House Democrats are to prove their case. House managers want former National Security Adviser John Bolton, Chief of Staff Mick Mulaney and OMB official Michael Duffey to testify Whether that happens or not, Trump’s dream team is waiting to pounce on Democrats’ impeachment case.
