I see CNN is reporting that there will be no witnesses & evidence presented at the impeachment trial, and Trump’s acquittal – dubious, in my view – is inevitable.
One of the pivotal Senators of whom I was unaware is Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN). Steve Benen describes him as an institutionalist with a variety of posts under his belt, and is retiring at age 80 with little to fear from Trump, politically speaking. Still …
As Alexander sees it, Trump did what he’s accused of doing. Indeed, while the president continues to describe his antics as “perfect” and “beautiful,” the Tennessee Republican conceded that Trump’s actions were “inappropriate” and that the House impeachment managers successfully proved their case.
Alexander just doesn’t much care. He read the call summary, heard the arguments, weighed the evidence, and concluded that Trump is guilty – of an offensive that isn’t especially important. It’s why, in the senator’s mind, there’s no need for any kind of accountability. …
And his conscience led him to disregard the misdeeds of a president whose guilt he considers obvious. Alexander not only won’t vote to convict Trump and remove him from office, he believes the right course of action is to make this the first impeachment trial in American history in which the Senate doesn’t even hear from witnesses.
Thing is, Benen shouldn’t be surprised at Alexander’s poor judgment. After all, it was Senator Alexander, possibly exhibiting signs of dementia, who said
“Better to get your news directly from the president,” Smith said. “In fact, it might be the only way to get the unvarnished truth.” [Vox]
Which all leads me to formulate a reporter’s question:
Senator Alexander, in view of the indisputable fact that the Senate, and therefore Congress, has now ceded to the Executive yet another power assigned to it by the Constitution, is there any point in having a Congress? And how do you think this will look in your legacy?
That’s just off the cuff. I’m sure readers can come up with more insightful questions for the good Senator.
Pushing Congress towards the Museum Of Useless Relics.
And that’s not to say I have lost faith in Speaker Pelosi planning to use this outcome to win the Senate and the Presidency in November. But this is a precedent, and I can only hope the next President repudiates it.
