Dear John,
As Impeachment moves to the Senate, NDN believes that there are three things which are going to make it far more difficult for the Senate to acquit the President than is understood today. We write about them below, and also send along other recently published pieces about Impeachment, our Mad King, his crimes, and his co-conspirators.
McConnell’s Three Challenges
The President is clearly guilty, and the evidence is overwhelming - A reminder that every witness who has been called works/worked for the President, including Lev Parnas; the House investigation began only after two Trump appointees, the General Counsel of the CIA and the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community, raised alarms about what the President had done, labeling it a matter of “urgent concern;” and the current SDNY/FBI investigation which arrested Lev Parnas was launched by another Trump appointee, US Attorney Geoffrey Berman.
The scandal was discovered by people who work for the President; the investigations were originated by people who work for the President; every witness has been someone who works/worked for the President. All the House has done is let these people talk and tell their story – and a damning story of lawlessness and criminality it is, without peer or precedent in our history. In that regard there is no such thing as Democratic or Republican witnesses – there are only witnesses. And remarkably the President has yet to produce a single witness capable of rebutting the testimony of the cascade of Administration officials who have already testified. They may have people who can talk about things unrelated to the scandal but it would be wrong to call them witnesses to the crimes the President has been charged with.
Trump and “innocence” can’t be used in the same sentence – It remains difficult for us to understand what explanation a Senator will be able to use if they vote to acquit…..was the President innocent of the charges? Is it okay for a President to use the awesome power of the Presidency to threaten and shake down a foreign leader for his own political advantage? Did the Senator not believe the eyewitnesses including Ambassador Sondland who said it was a quid pro quo? Why did the President block documents and witnesses – and refuse to testify himself, as Bill Clinton did – if he was innocent? How could this man, already an unindicted co-conspirator in 2016 felony level election law violations, be considered “innocent” when 3 of his top aides – Flynn, Gates and Stone - will be joining Paul Manafort and Michael Cohen in being sentenced to jail; two more – Parnas and Fruman – were arrested; and there are at least two federal investigations looking into Rudy Guiliani?
As long time political players, it is really really hard to understand how one gets to “innocence” when talking about Donald Trump and what happened here; and we are sure that all the GOP Senators have taken note of how ineffective the President has been in recent weeks of convincing the American people about Impeachment and his recent skirmish with Iran, something we review in this new analysis.
The SDNY/FBI Parnas Investigation will make it impossible for McConnell to make the Ukraine scandal disappear – Last fall SDNY/FBI launched a new formal investigation into Trump and Ukraine that, like the President’s activities in 2016, has once again begun arresting his current set of his aides. The man at the center of this investigation, Lev Parnas, let it be known last night that he believes that not only was Trump directing the illegal shakedown of Zelensky, but Rep. Nunes, Pence, Pompeo, Barr, Rudy, and other top White House officials were involved in the illegal conspiracy too. What this means is that this SDNY/FBI investigation has become a federal investigation into the President and most of his senior team, including the Vice President; and even if acquitted, the President will be running for re-election while under another federal investigation which could at any moment begin arresting or indicting potentially dozens of people involved in these illegal activities including some of the most important leaders of the Republican Party.
Imagine voting for acquittal and then see Mulvaney, Nunes, or Pompeo indicted? How do you explain that to your voters?
-Simon Rosenberg, Jan 16th, 2020
NDN’s Published Materials On Impeachment
Impeachment, Biden Leads, McConnell's Carnage - Simon Rosenberg, NDN, 1/13/20 - In his weekly take on the 2020 election, Simon takes a deep dive into recent polling on Impeachment and the President's handling of Iran, and challenges Mitch McConnell to honor our Senate and democracy by convening a fair trial.
Iran, Our Mad King, And Impeachment - Simon Rosenberg, NDN, 1/6/20 - The President's wild and reckless behavior these past few weeks has strenghtened the case for his removal, and is making it far harder for any Senator to claim this desperate man is "innocent" and fit to serve.
Acquitting Trump Will Be Harder For The Senate Than It Appears - Simon Rosenberg, NDN, 12/21/19 - McConnell's hand is far weaker than it appears, and a renewed focus on the unprecedented criminality of the President is going to make it impossible now for the Republicans to assert "innocence."
NDN Calls On The House To Conduct A Broad Security Review - Simon Rosenberg, NDN, 12/21/19 - As the Senate takes up Impeachment, the House should launch a formal security review of the President's foreign policy, helping create a better understanding of the damage done to our standing in the world and our national security.
The House Should Consider Breaking Impeachment Into Three Parallel Tracks - Simon Rosenberg, GEN, 12/1/19 - In a new essay, Simon makes the case that the Impeachment process should be broken into 3 parallel tracks: 1) the crimes 2) the co-conspirators 3) A security review.
Tariffs, Trump, And Tyrants - Simon Rosenberg, NDN, 5/31/19 - More Mad King than President, Trump's refusal to honor the laws, rules and norms which make democracies work is the greatest High Crime of all. His ill-considered, whimsical tariffs are just the latest example, and should be forcefully challenged by Congress.
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