It was clear that Trump used his power to advance personal interests - and that Republicans have no idea how to defend him Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee faced a nearly impossible task as public hearings in the impeachment inquiry began today: they had to present the multi-character, multi-part story of how the White House and the president’s unofficial associates made American military aid to Ukraine conditioned upon political assistance by the Ukrainian government with Donald Trump’s 2020 reelection bid. They had to do this clearly and convincingly, and they had to do it while managing the theatrics and combating the misinformation issued by Republicans. The odds were stacked against them. But with the help of procedural interventions in the impeachment inquiry that limited opportunities for Republican grandstanding, and a damning set of facts presented by the diplomat witnesses, Ambassador William Taylor and Deputy Assistant Secretary George Kent, Democrats largely succeeded in presenting a clear and morally stark narrative of the President’s actions. By the end of the hearing it was clear that there is little doubt that Donald Trump used his power as president to advance his personal interests in ways that are legally dubious and ethically abhorrent, and that Republicans have little sense of how to defend him. Continue reading... |