The other argument that fails is that the Dems needed to get back to work on passing Biden’s agenda.
Yes. What on earth?!? I made sure that the trial wouldn’t happen before the end of his term, so I wouldn’t have to make a decision.
Burr-Not a complete asshole.
Burr is up for re-election in 2022 in a purple state. I figure that had something to do with it. And Toomey’s retiring rather than run for re-election in 2022, so no career on the line there.
you know the mid term elections are gonna be a bloodbath as every rep senator is gonna get this thrown up every minute of them trying to get re elected and lets hope the public even votes more of them out …
It’s a moot point now, but yes, he could have plead the 5th. He is potentially facing serious criminal charges, which could put him in prison for the rest of his life. Anything he says could be used in evidence.
I believe Burr has announced he is retiring in 2022 and will not be seeking re-election.
And you’re assuming this witness nonsense wouldn’t have dragged on for longer than a week.
There are reports that Trump’s attorneys were not willing to continue past today. What would have happened had they quit mid-trial? How long for Trump to get new lawyers onboard and up to speed?
Then the witness pissing contest. How many witnesses? How long to depose them, then arrange for them to be heard? What would they say on the stand?
Really, the witness thing was a Pandora’s Box of uncertainty. The greatest uncertainty was how long it would drag out the proceeding.
Right - so rather than set (or reaffirm) a precedent that impeachment can be post term, he’d prefer to establish a post-election free zone.
Though right now he seems to be encouraging a criminal or civil solution.
I wonder if we will be seeing resignations from the over 400 staff that asked for the senator’s not guilty votes.
It was possible that they’d do the right thing only in our fantasies, never in reality.
They were hoping for another Watergate, another Iran-Contra. It’s 2021, not 1974 or even 1987. It’s hard to get the public’s collective attention nowadays. That’s one of the reasons why I’ve been saying we may need to regulate social media, not because I trust government to regulate speech per se, but if nothing else to use backdoor measures to encourage these companies to be responsible actors. If people are going to live in information bubbles, then there has to be a mechanism in place that forces (or at least strongly promotes) people to live in a world of facts. We can talk about ‘freedumz’ but I don’t see how we continue to be a democratic and free society while living in a post-truth or post-facts society. These are incompatible with each other.
At least we don’t have to put up with Trump crowing about “vindication!”, with no Twitter and no power to call press conferences.
No, trump was obviously a liability to the GOP. They wanted him never to run again.
But there’s that prisoners dilemma. If they all rose in solidarity, it would be OK, but look at what is happening to those brave 12 Republicans in the House.
That may be the reason. But it’s no excuse.
He can go on Fox. “Total vindication!” Of course, most of us don’t look at Fox. But then we never looked at his tweets. He will get an audience. The only way to silence him is to put him in prison and take away his phone.
Agreed. What the hell?
He voted Trump not guilty.
Then gives a speech outlining how Trump is guilty as hell.
What in God’s name is that about? My guess is that he wants it both ways.
What in God’s name it’s about is that MITCH MCCONNELL IS A BITCH. There’s absolutely nothing surprising about any of this.
Yes, I think it’s this.
He already put out a statement in which he blamed Democrats for (among other things) “defaming law enforcement, excusing rioters and cheering mobs.”
Basically blaming them for what he himself just did.