The Truth Will Out

Regardless of the Trumplican-controlled Senate which is refusing to hear witnesses or subpoena key documents in the Trump sham impeachment "gathering" (it's hardly a trial), the truth about this president's illegal acts ultimately will be revealed. While it will be too late for the see-no evil, hear-no evil Senate to consider those revelations, it will be in plenty of time for the American people to render their verdict on Election Day, November 3, 2020. After all, that's what the Republicans have constantly demanded, saying Donald John Trump's impeachment by the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives was an act of blatant partisanship when the general election is only months away. Well, they will get their wish. The duplicitous actions of Senate Republicans and the Trump administration are, however, nearly too incredible to behold. Consider this: Trump's Justice Department, in a midnight filing after the Senate's vote against hearing witnesses, revealed that two dozen emails shielded from Congress detail Trump's decision to withhold military aid from Ukraine. Democrats unsuccessfully sought to subpoena those documents. The filing contains the most detailed description yet of those documents, which reveal why he justified withholding nearly $400 million in security assistance to Ukraine. But they will not be available to the Senate to consider. And, consider the statements of two swing-vote GOP senators, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, whose twisted logic led them to vote against hearing such witnesses as John Bolton. Trump's former national security advisor, Bolton stood ready to testify that Trump told him he was withholding aid to Ukraine until they investigated the Bidens -- a quid pro quo that Bolton has labeled "a drug deal." Murkowski, in a statement released to the media, said, in part, "“Given the partisan nature of this impeachment from the very beginning and throughout, I have come to the conclusion that there will be no fair trial in the Senate. I don’t believe the continuation of this process will change anything. It is sad for me to admit that, as an institution, the Congress has failed." To make the "trial" fair, it doesn't take a legal scholar to understand that witnesses must be heard -- especially witnesses with direct incriminating evidence against the defendant like Bolton. So, Murkowski voted against hearing those witnesses, ending the possibility of the "fair" trial that she apparently sought. Alexander, who is retiring from the Senate at the end of the year, also opposed hearing witnesses and said he will vote to acquit. Combined, their votes sealed the deal for Trump and his supporters. "If you have eight witnesses who say someone left the scene of an accident, why do you need nine?" he reasoned. "I mean, the question for me was: Do I need more evidence to conclude that the president did what he did? And I concluded no." Alexander said the House had proved that what Trump did with regard to Ukraine was wrong, that it was "inappropriate." But he bought the White House claim that, even so, it was not an impeachable offense. When asked who should render the ultimate verdict on Trump, Alexander replied: "The people. The people is my conclusion." Well, that's exactly what will happen. The people will decide. Count the days.