Conrad Black
The Democrats will have to give up their pretense of playing moral custodians of the national virtue against a monster who has usurped and abused power. They will have to try to find a presentable nominee from the puny harvest of their declared candidates to run against the incumbent fair and square."This most absurd and irresponsible of all assaults on the presidency in America’s rich history of low political chicanery is now down to a desperate gamble by the Democrats.
Democrats cannot possibly sustain the argument that they should have witnesses, whom they failed to call among the 17 they had in the House of Representatives (which they control) but the Republican Senate majority cannot call witnesses on behalf of the president.
"Peggy Noonan, the most believable of the media Trump-bashers because she is such a generally fair-minded person, proposed on January 25 in the Wall Street Journal that the Democrats call John Bolton, who they know would be a hostile witness against the president, and Mick Mulvaney, who could continue to explain his unforgivable butchery of an answer to a reasonable press question about political influence on foreign aid. In return, Noonan offered generously, the Republicans could call Joe Biden—who would then complete his flameout as a candidate or make a brilliant defense and clinch the nomination—and Rudy Giuliani, so the Democrats could try the Lev Parnas case for their own delectation. (Parnas is an indicted former associate of Giuliani negotiating his plea bargain.)
"This is fairness according to Peggy Noonan: a perfect bipartisan solution of four home-run witnesses for the Democrats and four prearranged strikeouts for the Republicans.
"Not even such a fatuous scenario as this would alter the outcome: there is no probative evidence that the president did what he is accused of doing, and what he is accused of is not illegal, not impeachable, and the entire episode is an outrage and a disgrace. As anti-Trump law professor Jonathan Turley testified at the House Judiciary Committee in December, the abuse of power that has occurred has been the impeachment of the president, not any act by the president that has come to light." . . .
"Peggy Noonan, the most believable of the media Trump-bashers because she is such a generally fair-minded person, proposed on January 25 in the Wall Street Journal that the Democrats call John Bolton, who they know would be a hostile witness against the president, and Mick Mulvaney, who could continue to explain his unforgivable butchery of an answer to a reasonable press question about political influence on foreign aid. In return, Noonan offered generously, the Republicans could call Joe Biden—who would then complete his flameout as a candidate or make a brilliant defense and clinch the nomination—and Rudy Giuliani, so the Democrats could try the Lev Parnas case for their own delectation. (Parnas is an indicted former associate of Giuliani negotiating his plea bargain.)
"This is fairness according to Peggy Noonan: a perfect bipartisan solution of four home-run witnesses for the Democrats and four prearranged strikeouts for the Republicans.
"Not even such a fatuous scenario as this would alter the outcome: there is no probative evidence that the president did what he is accused of doing, and what he is accused of is not illegal, not impeachable, and the entire episode is an outrage and a disgrace. As anti-Trump law professor Jonathan Turley testified at the House Judiciary Committee in December, the abuse of power that has occurred has been the impeachment of the president, not any act by the president that has come to light." . . .
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