Ted Lieu talks Donald Trump and prison

| 10:45 pm EST January 23, 2020
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Democratic Congressman Ted Lieu, a former military prosecutor, would probably be one of the House impeachment managers right now if not for his recent heart surgery. But Lieu is still chiming in from his Twitter account, and as per usual, he’s calling it precisely like he sees it, and he’s not holding back.

Throughout the day today, Donald Trump’s lawyers and Republican apologists have insisted that the articles of impeachment don’t actually accuse Trump of a crime. This of course doesn’t matter, as impeachment’s “high crimes and misdemeanors” don’t require a statutory violation of the law. But Ted Lieu was nonetheless quick to point out that Trump very much has committed a crime. In all caps, he tweeted this tonight:

CAN WE PLEASE SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT. SOLICITING A FOREIGN GOVERNMENT TO HELP YOUR RE-ELECTION CAMPAIGN IS A CRIME. IT IS ILLEGAL. PRISON IS ONE OF THE PUNISHMENTS.

This is a crucial reminder, because while impeachment isn’t a criminal trial, this impeachment trial is a direct result of Donald Trump having committed a felony. If this were a criminal trial, he’d be going to prison if he’s convicted. This is also a reminder that if Trump loses the 2020 election, the post-Trump Department of Justice will all but certainly arrest and try him on criminal charges related to his Ukraine scandal. This is in addition to the New York grand jury that’s currently targeting Trump on financial crimes. The minute Trump is out of office, he will be arrested; the only question will be who gets to arrest him first.