Slamming the door on any involvement in the House impeachment hearings, 73-year-old President Donald Trump left no doubt that he will not dignify Democrats’ attempts to charge him with high-crimes-and-misdemeanors. Trump has said from the get-go that there’s nothing impeachable about his July 25 phone call with 40-year-old Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Whether or not Trump asked Zelensky to investigate 77-year-old former Vice President Joe Biden or his 50-year-old son Hunter, the White House believes the president was within his Article 2 rights. Democrats hoped they’d have impeachable offenses after the 22-month, $45 million Special Counsel investigation, only to watch former FBI Director Robert Mueller find March 23 that no one in Trump’s campaign—including Trump—had conspired with the Russians in the 2016 presidential election.
Trump called the Mueller investigation a “witch-hunt” and “hoax,” accusing Democrats of attempting a “coup d’etat,” attempting to reverse the outcome of the 2016 presidential election. Holding closed-door and open hearings over the last month, Trump watched Democrats parade witnesses before the House Intelligence Committee, making the case that Trump tried to dig up dirt on the Bidens, in exchange for releasing Ukraine’s military aid. Trump insists his motive was not to interfere in the 2020 presidential election but to find out the extent of Ukrainian corruption. “This baseless and highly partisan inquiry violates all past historical precedent, basic due process rights, and fundamental fairness,” White House counsel Pat Cipolione wrote to House Judiciary Chairman Jerold Nadler (D-N.Y.). Cipolione lets Nadler know that Trump or his counsel will not participate in Judiciary Committee hearings.
Nadler invited Trump to testify Nov. 25, setting a deadline for Trump to respond or waive his right to due process. Cipolione contends that the House impeachment hearings violate Trump’s due process, announcing in advance Trump’s guilt over high-crimes-and-misdemeanors, the necessary condition for impeachment. House Speaker 80-year-old Nancy Pelosi has said publicly that Trump’s guilty as charged by Democrats of high-crimes-and-misdemeanors before hearing any testimony. Cipolione understands that Trump cannot participate in Democrats rush to judgment to see the president impeached to help Democrats’ chances in the 2020 election. “Our first task is to explore the framework put in place to respond to serious allegations like those against President Trump,” Nadler said. Nadler already has prejudged Trump, stating emphatically in public that Trump committed high-crimes-and-misdemeanors.
Nadler’s “first task” is to take a square peg [alleged crimes] and shove it into a round role [impeachment]. Nadler has no intent other than taking House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff’s (D-Calif.) report and concluding that Trump committed high-crimes-and-misdemeanors. Since Mueller couldn’t find anything criminal—or impeachable—Schiff and Nadler have spent months trying to cherry-pick the Mueller Report to find anything impeachable. They insisted for months that Trump “obstructed justice,” even though Mueller’s team of 19 seasoned prosecutors found no evidence of obstruction or any other crime. Only after Mueller issued his Final Report March 23 did Democrats open up new hearings to accuse Trump or criminal behavior. When nothing credible turned up for Schiff and Nadler, they found a “whistleblower” who said he heard that Trump tried to pressure Zelensky.
Zelensky said publicly Sept. 25 that Trump did nothing to “push” him to dig up dirt on the Bidens in exchange for military aid. Yet Democrats insist that Trump engaged in a quid pro quo, withholding military aid until he received dirt on the Bidens. Schiff and Nadler haven’t been engaged in fact-finding, they’ve concocted their own facts. Schiff insisted he or his office had no contact with the “whistleblower” when he released his complaint Sept. 25. Yet Schiff admitted Oct. 2 he had, in fact, contact with the “whistleblower’ before he filed the complain Sept. 25. Republicans want to know whether or not Schiff wrote the “whistleblower” complaint himself or, at least, wrote the complaint for the anonymous “whistleblower.” Republicans want Schiff to testify in Nadler’s hearings, something he rejected out-of-hand Nov. 15. House Democrats have already tried-and-convicted Trump.
Battle lines are drawn in the House impeachment hearings along partisan lines. If there were any substance to Democrats impeachment hearings, at least some Republicans would agree with the findings. “The problems is Jerry Nadler and the rest of them [Democrats] have already got in their mind they’re writing articles of impeachment,” said Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.). Collins considers the hearing a “waste of time,” since Democrats have already made up their minds. “We do have the constitutional responsibility to serve as a check-and-balance on potentially out-of-control executive branch,” said Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.). Democrats have stacked the deck against Trump, realizing it’s their best chance of beating him in the 2020 election. They know they lack the votes in the U.S. Senate to remove Trump from office, figuring impeachment is the worst publicity before Election Day.
