Even if House Democrats make a “high misdemeanor” case, their partisan and opaque process won’t sell in the Senate or Supreme Court. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) knows her party is dividing the country, and 75% of voters believe the US is now “at the edge of civil war…because of the rude and uncivil behavior of politicians” (source: The Hill). How bad is it for Democrats? Nancy Pelosi accused Trump of detailing the Al-Baghdadi mission to Russia (he did not) rather than to her (leaky) office.
House Democrats have ignored due process. When House Republicans surprised the Democrat cabal on Wednesday, they hoped to force due process onto the impeachment inquiries. Because they were turned away, it’s obvious Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff oppose inclusion and transparency. They can justly criticize Trump’s methods, because he does just wing it in diplomacy; but they cannot illegally railroad a Republican president, because he is entitled to due process.
Did the President abuse presidential authority or just exploit American power? The use of quid pro quo is routine in diplomacy; e.g. JFK secretly exchanged no US missiles in Turkey for no Russian missiles in Cuba. The constitution gives plenary power to the President to be the Republic’s sole diplomatic voice – able to vest authority in citizen proxies (like Giuliani). Pelosi is not empowered to co-manage US diplomacy, and her constitutional authority will be decided solely by a co-equal judiciary.
The President has destroyed the ISIS Caliphate and killed Al-Baghdadi. The average voter loves America winning and won’t tolerate America losing the war on terror. It is a fact Trump changed the rules of engagement in Iraq and Syria, resulting in the fall of the ISIS caliphate in a matter of months, and ISIS leader Al-Baghdadi was killed by US special forces early Sunday morning. It is also a fact the President didn’t call Nancy Pelosi about the operation – because the Resistance cannot be trusted with state secrets.
Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee told Fox News Sunday there has not been a briefing on Syria in over a month – because Adam Schiff is so preoccupied with impeaching the President. The optics of Democrats ousting a “change president” over Trump-Ukraine are horrible, because Americans are results-oriented. The ISIS caliphate is in shambles, Al-Baghdadi is dead, the US is securing Syrian oil fields, and Americans will not die policing Turkish-Kurdish violence.
The DOJ has opened criminal investigations into the origins of the Trump-Russia investigations. There is a world of difference between what Democrats are trying to do (urge the Senate and electorate to oust Trump) and what the DOJ has begun (indict and convict Obama-era apparatchiks). And, rather than keep their heads down, Democrats are spinning what is now 100% the purview of the FBI, DOJ, judges, grand juries, and the courts.
The truth, of course, will out under evidence, testimony and cross examination, but I suspect legacy (Obama) and legal standing (Comey) are going down. Expect changes to FISC and FISA laws to have some sinner’s name attached to them. Expect Senate Republicans to force the bad actors to confess their sins on television: yes or no, Secretary Clinton. And expect fines, jail time and civil suits to make life miserable for the folks we’ve grown to despise (Peter Strzok). Boo-hoo-hoo!