REIGN OF TERROR
The Democrats ended their impeachment presentation on a positive note. Adam Schiff was emotional, powerful, and convincing. “President” Donald Trump’s team, as Schiff predicted, began with a series of lies. CNN fact-checked their opening statement, which began with the claim that the “transcript” revealed no quid-pro-quo. That’s no surprise, given that the “transcript” is merely a summary prepared by Trump’s White House and is far from a real transcript.
They justified this lie by claiming that the held military aid was “a different issue.” According to Trump’s team, Ukraine’s military aid was held because of “fears of corruption.” Whose? Trump’s? Corruption in Ukraine was not a factor when Trump determined to hold up aid that had been approved by Congress. He asked Zelensky for “a favor though.” We all know what the favor was: the announcement of an investigation into the Bidens and the debunked claim that Ukraine interfered in the 2016 election. We’ve all heard this so many times that we can recite it in our sleep. That still doesn’t make it true.
Trump’s team did, however, have a new lie: Zelensky and Ukraine knew nothing about the hold until August. CNN points out that “there is evidence that some of them suspected there was an issue with the funding as early as July 25,” which is the day of Trump’s call with Zelensky. Indeed, the New York Times reported on December 3 that the Ukrainian government was well aware that the aid was being held “at some point in late July.”
Trump’s team also leans on the point that no witnesses testified that Trump acknowledged his blackmail. Well, duh. The man does nothing but lie. Why in the world would he admit that any of his criminal activities were criminal activities? In fact, Gordon Sondland testified that Trump did, in fact, engage in quid-pro-quo. Why would he lie? He had his job because of Trump. The only reason he came clean is because William Taylor contradicted him.
Possibly one of their worst lies is their claim that because Ukraine never launched any Biden investigation yet still received the aid, there was no scandal. This claim is laughable at best. The aid was only released after the whistleblower blew the whistle. Once the holdup was discovered, the Pentagon’s acting comptroller began preparing impoundment paperwork. It was released because Trump had been found out. The lies continued, including the claim that Trump wasn’t allowed a defense in the House hearings. Again, they were invited to participate and declined. So, whose fault is that?
After everything that has transpired, Trump thought it prudent to threaten Adam Schiff on Twitter yesterday. In response to Trump’s over-the-top tweet, Schiff called Trump “wrathful and vindictive,” both true. Schiff further took Trump’s comment that Schiff “has not paid the price, yet,” as a threat, as he should. Trump wants to be a mob boss, but he doesn’t have the balls for the job. He’s merely a bully. You can say he has a lot of nerve, but his behavior is so far beyond mere nerve. No one is more corrupt than Trump, and he must go. The Senate won’t do it, but we will in November. Enjoy your reign of terror, Trump, while it lasts.
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years