{"id":43331,"date":"2019-11-21T12:29:24","date_gmt":"2019-11-21T20:29:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=43331"},"modified":"2019-11-21T13:16:54","modified_gmt":"2019-11-21T21:16:54","slug":"trump-keeps-whining-about-impeachment-so-why-doesnt-he-offer-a-defense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=43331","title":{"rendered":"Trump Keeps Whining About Impeachment, So Why Doesn’t He Offer a Defense?"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of Donald Trump’s most frequently articulated complaints is that the impeachment hearings are being conducted in a manner that is unfair to him. He grumbles daily (hourly) about due process and wonders why his attorney isn’t allowed to cross-examine the witnesses. Nevermind that everyone knows that “defendants”<\/em> are not permitted legal representation during an investigation. That right kicks in at trial.<\/p>\n

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Apparently Trump believes that police detectives must drag the suspect’s lawyer around with them when they conduct interviews. He has surely been told that that isn’t true, but he clings to this absurdity anyway. He also must know that Congress is in an investigatory phase of impeachment. His perspective is already being presented by the Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee. But if he is concerned that fact witnesses who support his positions aren’t being heard, it’s only because he has refused to allow them to testify. What’s more, there is nothing preventing him from testifying himself. He often says that he is his own best spokesman. However, on this matter he is clearly afraid to speak on his own behalf under oath.<\/p>\n

Consequently, Trump resorts to his favored mode of communication: his Twitter machine. On Thursday morning he pounded out seventeen (17!) tweets mostly obsessing about impeachment and the raw deal he thinks he’s been dealt. And the one thing they all have in common is that they completely avoid any substantive defense for his actions. Not a single time does he provide any exculpatory evidence or even an argument that contains some rational account of his innocence.<\/p>\n

For the most part, Trump’s tweets focus on attacking either the press or his perceived enemies in Congress. Chief among his targets is Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, who Trump, in his infantile way, likes to call Adam “Schitt.”<\/em><\/a><\/strong> But more to the point, his rage-tweeting included this lament that his fantasies aren’t aligned with the real world:<\/p>\n

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I never in my wildest dreams thought my name would in any way be associated with the ugly word, Impeachment! The calls (Transcripts) were PERFECT, there was NOTHING said that was wrong. No pressure on Ukraine. Great corruption & dishonesty by Schiff on the other side!<\/p>\n

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 21, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n