Between House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and House Judiciary Chairman Jerold Nadler (D-N.Y.) both took a sledgehammer out and destroyed any chance of calling new witnesses or subpoenaing documents. Schiff and Nadler let their blind hatred toward Trump destroy their impeachment case, if they had one, insulting Republican Senators. Yesterday, Nadler said that if Republicans didn’t permit more witnesses and documents, they were guilty of a cover-up just like 73-year-old President Donald Trump So, if you follow Nadler’s logic, all Republicans that don’t agree with him are guilty of high-crimes-and-misdemeanors. Nadler’s crude remarks, essentially calling Republicans “liars,” prompted a rebuke by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. But things went from bad to worse when Schiff’s closing remarks insulted GOP Senators saying they wouldn’t get re-elected.
Schiff’s closing statements were so tone-deaf, so oblivious, so lacking good salesmanship, so bereft of common sense, he expects GOP Senators to agree with him or face hell at the ballot box. Whatever Democrats hoped-and-prayed about so-called fence-sitting Republicans like Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Ut.), Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) or Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) to join Democrats after opening arguments to call more witnesses and documents, it’s gone-with-the wind. While Pelosi visited Nazi death camps in Poland, she watched from afar as Schiff and Nadler imploded whatever impeachment case Democrats thought they had. Based on Schiff and Nadler’s mouthful of insults, Democrats guaranteed a swift end to a questionable impeachment trial. When emeritus Harvard Law Professor gets done presenting his Constitutional arguments, Democrats won’t have much case left.
But Schiff and Nadler made Dershowitz’s job a lot easier, alienating remaining fence-sitting Republican Senators considering allowing Democrats to call new witnesses and ask for more documents. Based on Schiff and Nadlers’s slap in the face, Trump’s impeachment trail will likely end next week after the GOP finishes its case, concluding a perfunctory question-and-answer session. Once that’s done, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) will hold a vote whether or not new witnesses and documents should be allowed. It’s now highly doubtful than even one Republican would vote with Democrats, noting Schiff and Nadler’s insults. “CBS News reported last night that a Trump confident said that key senators were warned, ‘Vote against the president and your head will be on a pike.’ I don’t know if that true,” Schiff said, spraying gasoline all over his impeachment case.
Schiff and Nadler got too big for their britches, thinking they could browbeat Republican Senators into accepting their spurious impeachment case against Trump. Telling Republican Senators they were colluding with Trump’s high-crimes-and-misdemeanors was reason enough to reject the Democrat case. Not only have I never heard the ‘head on the pike’ line,” Collins said. “But also I know of no Republican senator who has been threatened in any way by anyone in the administration. “That’s when it lost me,” said Murkowski’s spokeswoman, hinting that Schiff had alienated her from granting any remaining Democrat concessions. When Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Schiff was well-spoken Jan. 22, it was tongue-in-cheek. He was trying to pay the lead House impeachment manager a compliment, knowing his presentation was barely digestible to GOP Senators.
Schiff and Nadler couldn’t contain their hatred of Trump, ultimately hurting their case when they went too far insulting GOP senators. If they presented their case like 72-year-old Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), it would have stood at least a chance of getting through to fence-sitting GOP Senators. As it stands now, Republican Senators can’t wait to start hearing Trump’s case tomorrow, presented with what Trump calls “Death Valley” when it comes to TV ratings. Since most folks watch other things on the weekend, the Trump team won’t spend too much time presenting their defense tomorrow. When Trump’s case resumes Monday, Jan. Jan. 27, both sides of the aisle will have to listen to Dershowitz present a compelling Constitutional case related to impeachment. Whatever Trump did July 25 in his call with Zelensky, Dershowitz does not think it rises to high-crimes-and-misdemeanors.
Trump’s case will no doubt be rejected by Democrats no matter how compelling the Constitutional arguments. House Democrats believe they can reinvent the Constitution to fuel their obsession to get rid of Trump. But regardless of the legal substance, Schiff and Nadler did enough damage to their case to guarantee that Republicans vote unanimously, all 53 of them, to stop Democrats from getting new witnesses and documents. GOP Senators have heard enough insults from Schiff and Nadler to vote along Party lines to end what they see as an illegitimate impeachment trial. Whatever the president did in his call with Zelensky, it wasn’t enough to impeach him with high-crimes-and-misdemeanors. “That’s insulting and demeaning to everyone to say that we somehow live in fear and that the president has threatened all of us,” said Sen. James Lankford (R-Ohio), signaling the trial ends next week.
