GOP Senators Pan Performance of Trump Impeachment Team
Trump’s legal team was so bad that GOP Senators Pan Performance.
In an afternoon session dedicated to the question of whether the trial was constitutional, Trump lawyer Bruce L. Castor Jr. had a rough start: He introduced himself as the “lead prosecutor,” before clarifying that he was Mr. Trump’s lead counsel and assuring senators: “I do understand the difference.”
In about 45 minutes of remarks, Mr. Castor veered from the fall of Rome and Greece to the trade-off between liberty and security, occasionally referencing his relationships with some senators while only briefly addressing the core questions of the case.
Sen. John Cornyn (R., Texas) said Mr. Castor “just rambled on and on and on and didn’t really address the constitutional argument.” Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) said he didn’t think Mr. Trump’s lawyers did “the most effective job.”
“The [Democratic] House managers were focused, they were organized,” Sen. Bill Cassidy (R., La.) told reporters. “President Trump’s team were disorganized. They did everything they could but to talk about the question at hand.”
“If I’m an impartial juror, and I’m trying to make a decision based upon the facts as presented on this issue, then the House managers did a much better job,” Mr. Cassidy said.
No Idea What They Were Doing
‘There is no argument – I have no idea what he is doing,’ @AlanDersh on Trump’s defense lawyer Bruce Castor ‘talking nice’ to U.S. Senators – via Newsmax TV’s ‘American Agenda.’ https://t.co/VlT7z8drtO pic.twitter.com/7P7uVk5X19
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) February 9, 2021
Alan Dershowitz, an attorney who defended former President Trump in his first impeachment trial, commented “There is no argument. I have no idea what Castor is doing.”
Bill Cassidy Switches His Vote
Here’s Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy going in on the performance of Trump’s legal team pic.twitter.com/BT0EiPMW1U
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 10, 2021
Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy switched his vote to saying the impeachment trial is legal.
Cassidy (R-LA): “The House managers had much stronger constitutional arguments. The president’s team did not.”
— Craig Caplan (@CraigCaplan) February 10, 2021
Murkowski Stunned
Murkowski:”I was really stunned at the 1st atty (Castor) who presented for fmr President Trump.I couldn’t figure out where he was going. Spent 45 mins going somewhere, but I don’t think he helped with us better understanding where he was coming from on constitutionality of this.”
— Craig Caplan (@CraigCaplan) February 10, 2021
Murkowski was stunned but 44 idiots or liars were not.
Only 6 out of 50 Republican Senators agree to respect and obey the Constitution.
Only 6 out of 50 Republican Senators respect the precedent firmly set by the Founders.
44 Republican Senators are disloyal to the Constitution and have disavowed all claim to being Originalists.— Geoffrey Tobin (@grdtobin) February 10, 2021
6 Republican Senators voted Yes with all Democrats: Cassidy (LA), Collins (ME), Murkowski (AK), Romney (UT), Sasse (NE) & Toomey (PA). Leahy presiding announces: “Senate shall proceed with the trial.”
Only 6 out of 50 Republican Senators agree to respect and obey the Constitution.
This was a very sad display by Senate Republicans.
Mish
There is no defense for this. It was all there for everyone to see. The people in the Senate and House who didn’t vote to impeach or convict should themselves be removed from office. Their workplace was attacked and initiated by Trump. I predict criminal state and federal charges on Trump and his family when all is said and done. Public prosecutors at DoJ and state level aren’t going to let this go and shouldn’t.
States will be problematic. Can Georgia get Florida to arrest and extradite him? Can New York?
Three acts
Dec 29:
Proud Boys announce coming to 1/6 events
Dec 31:
Oath Keepers announce coming to 1/6 events
Jan 1:
Trump responds to rally organizer tweet saying “The calvary[sic] is coming, Mr. President! January 6th” Trump tweets, “A great honor!”
The biggest problem I see in letting Trumps behaviors go unpunished is that he will have succeeded in lowering the bar in terms of future presidential behavior. Let’s not forget he has spent the last 3 months screaming election fraud, pressuring elected officials to act illegally and winding up an angry crowd to go March on the senate. Shameful and most unpresidential.
” …. he will have succeeded in lowering the bar in terms of future presidential behavior. “
More so, embolden those who emulate him.
Millions have taken his tactics as symbolic of what it takes to be successful, oblivious to the fact that Trump has serially bankrupted businesses for decades at the expense of anyone willing to invest in his schemes.
Using anger, overconfidence to mask ineptitude, not a good business model.
At the end of the day, the GOP simply doesn’t care. They know the Democrats don’t have the vote. The more they make it insignificant the better for their side. At any rate, I am sure that OAN and Newsmax said that the GOP’s presentation was convincing and better than what Lincoln would have said.
GOP for states right, until they are not. GOP originalists until they are not! The thing to understand is that this is two wasted weeks — Trump will be acquitted, Biden loses two legislative weeks, no one is really paying attention, and those who need to pay attention don’t care.
What is going to be interesting is to find out who the players were that ensure that the police and national guard were not able to deploy or were hampered in their efforts, who told the mob where the private offices of Senators were located? That was more than blind luck…there was a plan there
As KidHorn explained above, even if Trump is not convicted, this is not wasted time. It will enrage and empower the Trump supporters, assuring that he will retain power post Presidency, and will insure that the Republican Party continues to fracture. It actually makes sense. If the Democrats want to push through their most liberal agenda, they need Trump to stay a force. That’s the only way they can unite with a single will liberal Democrats, moderate Democrats, conservative Democrats, moderate Republicans, and the true Conservative Republicans. All of those groups oppose Trump, and will unite behind the Democrat banner, so long as Trump is around. Once he is gone, that group will fracture back into their own subgroups.
An acquaintance tells you what you want to hear.
A good friend tells you what you don’t want to hear.
In business, it’s always good to listen to criticism, to look back on fails and learn from them.
Trump’s model defies all the above, has spent a lifetime of ejecting good advice, surrounding himself with yes men.
For Trump, I could care less, the real problem is he’s made himself a role model for millions, they then act accordingly.
This has been the source of real life stress for me recently, I’m absolutely sick of it.
The Queen of England wants to inform you that the proper phrase is “I could NOT care less”, not “I could care less”.
I could care less.
So, you care some? Or did you mean to say “I couldn’t care less” to indicate you don’t care at all?
Sorry, but I just thought that video was very funny. In truth, I couldn’t care less, if you choose to say “I could care less”.
Yeah, it was funny, like “aluminium” he at least pronounces that correct and admits it’s an English thing … then, he opts to break out a graph to demonstrate the level of “care” one might be asserting when they state “I could care less”, to wit I say, get over it man, it’s what we say in America.
Seriously, I could care less.
Is this how the democrats and Biden are going to bring the country back together? If so, it’s an indication that we’ll have god awful leadership for the next 4 years.
What’s the point of this? It’s like trying a dead person. The only explanation is the dems will do anything to smear Trump. I guess after 4 years, it’s hard to stop.
“What’s the point of this? It’s like trying a dead person.”
Bullshit. The history of authoritarian fascism is that coups fail initially, but if the perps aren’t held accountable and punished, they often come back and succeed on subsequent tries. Nazi Germany was a prime example, and there are many others.
Dems understand the history here. They also understand that the R Senators have absolutely no shame or patriotism anymore, putting party over country, and will vote to acquit in spite of the overwhelming evidence. You do not just “move on” and expect things to get better. That just emboldens insurrectionists and seditionists.
These are reasons that you will see subsequent prosecutions of trump at state levels and possibly federal too, and that the main instigators of the attempted Jan. 6 coup will be given serious criminal sentences.
The biggest problem is that the GQP is now filled with ignorant conspiracy nuts who fall for the lies and propaganda spewed by all of the right wing networks and internet groups. Trump is a liar, his media outlet supporters are liars (see their retraction statements on live TV of their lies, forced on them by lawsuits of the wronged parties), and the willingly ignorant fall for it because it’s their tribe. Q Anon – WTF? Sheer idiocy and nonsense.
This is not a game. It is the defense of democracy against budding authoritarianism that has no regard for anything but its own power at any cost.
“This is not a game. It is the defense of democracy against budding authoritarianism that has no regard for anything but its own power at any cost.”
Worth repeating
Oh brother. What hyperbole. This is all about vengeance against Trump. Nothing else. Even if the senate gets 67 votes, what difference would it make? If anything it would incite Trump supporters even more. The ones in your imagination that are trying to overthrow the gov’t.
No, it’s not about punishing Trump; it’s about right wrong. Sometimes it is easier to see right and wrong if you change who is wearing the shoes. Imagine that four years from now, Biden is dead, Harris is President, and loses her bid for re-election, and then stages a coup attempt with thugs from BLM and Antifa? No problem that’s OK, right, since that’s the new American way?
The only thing that I have been puzzling over is why the Democrats would want to take Trump out of action. Trump is the biggest gift to the Democrats ever. Never before in history have Democrats won without veering to the mainstream for the election. The last Democrat not to veer to center was McGovern in 1972, and we all know how that turned out.
So long is Trump is around, Democrats can veer at far left as they want, and they will still win. Thanks to Trump, the green agenda, unlimited immigration, reparations, and other liberal talking points will be the future. Trump has pushed all the moderates and all the true conservatives out of the Republican Party, and they are now on a fast track to nowhere. Therefore, it only makes sense for Democrats to do anything they can to empower Trump, to make him a lasting force (for destruction) in the Republican Party.
If you are right that this impeachment will enrage and empower the Trump fans, that explains a lot. Now it makes perfect sense why the Democrats would do it.
“The only thing that I have been puzzling over is why the Democrats would want to take Trump out of action. Trump is the biggest gift to the Democrats ever.”
I don’t think it’s a politically motivated strategy, more that these people just survived a harrowing ordeal and want to remedy any precedent set that could recur in the future.
Trump used insinuative language to provoke the attack, they want some modicum of accountability, they want limits to prevent this in the future.
Just remembering Gabby Giffords, and all the incendiary hate speech with insinuations of 2nd amendment solutions at the time.
Newsflash: we already live under authoritarian fascism.
Well said.
The party of personal responsibility (for everyone else, that is).
The Consitutional party (except when it is inconvenient).
The law and order party (except when it is time to move on).
The party of morals and ethics (except when we do it).
Is applying the rule of law divisive?
You can’t have consequences because people may not like the consequences?
By your reasoning–why try anyone for anything? The deed is done. It is what it is. The criminal has moved on, so why can’t everyone else?
Well, if only one thing, and not a big thing at that, it has shown what a c@nt you are. I’ll take what I can get. Good job Democrats.
I find it interesting that Dershowitz is always there on behalf of Trump yet when asked says he’s not on any side and merely represents “the constitution”. Clearly he’s a surrogate and possibly an advisor
What he is…is a shill.
Dershowitz has a grift going on even if we’re not 100% sure of what it is
…Dershowitz, 81, is being sued for defamation by Virginia Giuffre, who alleges that, when she was underage, she was repeatedly directed by Epstein to have sex with Dershowitz. Dershowitz has aggressively defended himself, attacking her on Twitter and in other media for years…Giuffre “asserted that she’d had sex with Dershowitz at least six times, in Epstein’s various residences, on his island, in a car, and on his plane,” Bruck writes….
…Dershowitz met Epstein in 1996, and apparently became part of his “collection” of famous and well-connected friends. According to Bruck, the two flew together that year to a party at the Ohio estate of billionaire Leslie Wexner, Epstein’s only publicly-known client. “I was Jeffrey Epstein’s intellectual gift to Leslie Wexner,” Dershowitz said.
Dershowitz later told the Harvard Crimson that Epstein was “brilliant,” and that the money manager was the only person outside his family he trusted to read drafts of his books. Epstein also helped Dershowitz invest some money in a hedge fund, and when the fund lost money, he pressured the fund’s founder to recoup Dershowitz’s losses, according to Bruck….
…In 1997, Dershowitz argued against statutory rape laws, saying the age of consent should be 15, Bruck reports. “There must be criminal sanctions against sex with very young children, but it is doubtful whether such sanctions should apply to teenagers above the age of puberty, since voluntary sex is so common in their age group,” he wrote in a Los Angeles Times op-ed….
Dersh is disgusting. Truly embarrassing, I wonder what he would have to do to get Harvard to disown him. Dersh is defending Trump because Jeffrey is no longer alive, I guess he needs something to do.
OT….the dollar is at an interesting point this morning. Most of the gains of the last daily cycle have now been given back….the DXY is at 90.32 this morning…..a drop below the previous cycle low of 90.13 (made on Jan 21) will signal a broken cycle in the dollar…this portends more downside to come.
This is not expected…..the dollar will probably turn back up….we are definitely in the timing band where it should….but I’ll have to say that the dollar strength coming up out of the January low is pretty underwhelming.
I will buy metals if the dollar doesn’t hold above the previous low. Gold and silver are trying to spike this morning…but if the dollar reverses to the upside…. I’d expect gold and silver to fall.
Bitcoin Eddie, Bitcoin, that ‘s the future! Don t know how they can even afford it but moneyburning Tesla is in Bitcoin too now with 1,5 bln $. Apple is expected to follow suit. It seems like a bln $ is merely a handful of peanuts these days. So lets all put our chips on Bitcoin and make it a bit more of a self fulfilling prophesy….and when you come to think of it, if everybody is insane, nobody actually is…..
I would expect bitcoin to have its day. But at my age it makes no sense for me to put money into such a highly speculative asset.
I have owned bitcoin and a number of good alt coins….but crypto is a manipulated casino……good luck. I like tangible assets. I am done with bitcoin….
You are definitely a “buy the rumor sell the news” guy. lol.
I made a 100K in MJ stocks in 2018….not my worst year…I do expect the new administration to be good for cannabis….but it’s a volatile space to trade in. Good luck.
I wasn’t familiar with MJ…..haven’t been following cannabis closely for a while.
Turns out it’s an ETF that holds 25 or so different stocks, including some of the best known cannabis companies…..but they also own stock in at least five tobacco companies….and they own GW Pharma, which is up big on a recent buy-out. They make Epidiolex, which is the only FDA approved cannabis drug…..although it’s not that good, from what I know of it.
MJ has doubled in a month…..maybe the Reddit kids are driving it up….it’s only a 1.5B market cap.
I don’t like ETF’s in general, and I wouldn’t buy this one personally, although I get that it could have a run based on mania buying…. Maybe you can flip it like you did silver. Imho, that would be the way to play it. Not my style.
Looks like the DCL is probably in on the dollar. It looks to have formed a swing low off last nights low. Today’s candlestick is a bullish hammer, for what that’s worth. Not a confirmed bottom, but likely.
That would mean the dollar is still in its uptrend….but just not as strong as it looked a couple of weeks ago. For now I’m staying with my “strong dollar=weak gold and silver” thesis…
I see at least one of my mentors is arguing that the dollar will still break lower and gold will breakout above the 50day MA…..we will see. The dollar is the chart to watch, in either case.
Kind of makes a mockery of the oath the senators have sworn……
Form of oath to be administered to the members of the Senate sitting in the trial of impeachments:
“I solemnly swear (or affirm, as the case may be,) that in all things appertaining to the trial of the impeachment of , now pending, I will do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws: so help me God”
Trump said he would “surround myself only with the best and most serious people” – adding: “We want top-of-the-line professionals.”
It continues on…
He hasn’t picked up on the fact that only hacks and toadies are attracted to work for an unstable genius who requires constant coddling.
This is recommended reading for all regarding the last days in the bunker…
“Genius”?
After Castor said his team switch opening lawyers and congratulated the house impeachment managers on a fantastic opening I thought he was going to ask to switch sides and say “i want to work with you guys”
You know it really bombed when they are roasting Trump’s lawyers, especially Castor on Right wing media. But in fairness, its a losing case, the best lawyers won’t work for Trump and he fired the previous team giving Castor and Schoen under a week to prepare.
Marsha Blackburn probably missed it and was reading her book, which she famously did during the first impeachment trial