This is just embarrassing
We all knew going in that the Senate trial of “president” Donald Trump would be neither fair nor non-partisan. We did not, however, know how inept Trump’s lawyers would be. Pat Cipollone spent a mere three minutes of his allotted hour to utter the tired, worn out mantra of “Trump has done absolutely nothing wrong,” according to Yahoo News. Then, Adam Schiff lit into his own eloquent, historically based opening argument, which Yahoo reports made Republican Senators visibly nervous. Why would they be nervous since Trump did nothing wrong? They’re nervous because they know they’re nothing more than a bunch of partisan hacks.
As if that’s not bad enough, Cipollone returned to the podium to, once again, utter the lie that Trump’s team was not allowed to participate in the House impeachment depositions. Obviously, they belong to the school of “if you tell a lie long enough and loudly enough, everyone will believe it.” Don’t count on it. Most Americans are smart, capable people who can see right through this sham.
Rather than arguing the merits of their case, Trump’s impeachment managers spent their allotted time attacking Democrats. In all fairness, it’s tough to argue merits when there are none. To display their complete ineptness and lack of preparation, Washington Post shared a lengthy, nonsensical quote from Jay Sekulow about “lawyer lawsuits,” whatever that is. According to the Post, Sekulow completely misunderstood Val Demings, who referred to “FOIA lawsuits” in her portion of the case. Nonetheless, the White House stood by Sekulow’s glaring error. Thank you, “president” Trump, for your continued dumbing down of your followers.
Where this trial is headed is clear to everyone: Trump will be acquitted. The Economist makes the comment that “this time the trial looks likely to be swift and partisan.” The outlet makes note of a man standing outside of the proceedings with a sign: “God is watching.” He most certainly is, and so are we. This event is going to blow up royally in the republicans’ faces. That’s a good thing, as our government will certainly be better off without them. The Economist points once again to Sekulow’s lies that Trump “was denied the right to cross-examine witnesses” during the House inquiry, which is patently untrue. They declined to participate. He went on to say that “Republicans were denied access to a secure room where Mr. Schiff held a hearing,” another falsehood as 100 Republicans were allowed inside the hearing. Then, the final insult, Sekulow reused the lie that Adam Schiff “manufactured a false version” of Trump’s July 25 phone call. This lie has been debunked so many times that it’s tiresome. Lie long enough and loudly enough, and everyone will begin to believe you. Not.
The current impeachment process will go down as America’s shame. It is not enough that we have had to endure a hatemongering, lying, criminal “presidency.” We must also deal with his lying, criminal colleagues. This sham process is now going to result in what Republicans want. Sure, Trump will remain in office to do more damage, but everyone knows in their hearts that this process will not clear Trump, just as the Mueller report didn’t exonerate Trump. He can cry “acquittal” all he wants, but he will not be acquitted. He can merely claim yet another instance of government-sponsored coverup for a completely useless, inept embarrassment of a “president.”
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years