Column: No witnesses, no documents, no justice in the Senate (via latimesopinion)
In Act III of “Hamlet,” King Claudius is desperate to stop the show that reveals he murdered his brother. He doesn’t want his rank offense — which “stinks to heaven” — exposed to the world. But he also can’t face seeing the truth himself.
Defying all reason, Republican lawyers have claimed the president wasn’t lawfully impeached. They hammered the character of the House managers and delivered serpentine, bad-faith arguments that make Iago, from “Othello,” look like a straight shooter.And, on Friday evening, the Senate voted 51 to 49 against a motion to hear new witnesses in the trial. The vote was mostly along party lines, with only two Republicans, Sens.
The night before, Sen. Lamar Alexander had spelled it out. Yes, yes, Trump was guilty of pressuring Ukraine to advance his reelection. House Democrats had “proven” their case. That was Alexander’s word: “proven.” But.Guilty as he believes Trump is, Alexander wouldn’t vote to remove him. He wouldn’t vote to hear witnesses. He wouldn’t consider further evidence. Trump did it, but he shouldn’t have been impeached for it.
And that’s a wrap. The vote to acquit Trump is now nearly inevitable, though that Barnum and Bailey result will in reality convict the GOP of obstructing justice. Fifty-one cowardly senators missed the chance to cast what former Republican Rep. David Jolly of Florida calls a “sleep-well-at-night vote.”
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