Media's impeachment hysteria continues

The impeachment show trial coverage is about as objective as a Democrat press release. The only difference is the actual Democrat publicists are not as overwrought.

CNN won the most bizarre take of the impeachment follies with a claim that the storming of the Capitol nearly launched a nuclear war.

 

CNN said, "Military officials overseeing the authorization process to launch nuclear weapons were unaware on January 6 that then-Vice President Mike Pence's military aide carrying the 'nuclear football' was potentially in danger as rioters got close during the violent Capitol insurrection, according to a defense official.

"The vice president is always accompanied by a backup of the football, which contains the equipment to carry out orders to launch a nuclear strike. It must be ready at all times and is identical to what the president carries, in case he becomes incapacitated.

"US Strategic Command became aware of the gravity of the incident after seeing a video played at the Senate impeachment trial Wednesday showing Pence, his Secret Service agents and a military officer carrying the briefcase with classified nuclear launch information running down a flight of stairs inside the Capitol to get to safety, the official said."

Oh my.

Well if it is this easy to start a nuclear war, maybe we should rethink how we launch a nuclear war so that some guy in a bizarre fur costume doesn't just grab these codes and start World War 3.

Maybe instead of having some Alexander Vindman-wannabe in a Class A uniform carry the codes in a briefcase, we should have a squad of Navy SEALs in camo guard the codes at all times.

Such hysteria made the rest of the overzealous coverage look tame.

The Washington Post went with its "Mounting evidence suggests Trump knew of danger to Pence when he attacked him as lacking ‘courage’ amid Capitol siege" story. I like the innuendo that Evil Donald was willing to sacrifice Pence to the gods of QAnon.

The Wall Street Journal, in an actual editorial that was actually labeled as an editorial, reached the conclusion that there was no need to hear any more testimony or even listen to the defendant's side of the case.

 

Yes, how can we restore the rule of law if we grant the president the presumption of innocence?

It is like the Time magazine story that praised those who protected democracy from the will of the voters.

The impeachment and this trial are unworthy of a constitutional republic.

The Democrat/Never Trumper spin is that impeachments are a political act and the Senate can do what it wishes.

The Constitution says otherwise. 

The Constitution clearly demands a trial. And the Bill of Rights makes clear exactly how a trial should be conducted. 

The Constitution also clearly demands that a crime be alleged. The First Impeachment had no crime.

Finally, the Constitution clearly demands that the impeached holds a public office. If this were not a requirement, a Democrat Congress would have gone ahead and impeached President Nixon after his resignation.

And of course, Donald John Trump did not resign in the face of an impeachment. His term ended, which ended congressional oversight of his administration.

The one story that the press did not pay much attention to was hearsay evidence based on a story in the Deseret News newspaper. Apparently the newspaper misquoted Senator Mike Lee, who was pretty upset to learn that not only was he misquoted but that the misquote was the basis of the impeachment case.

Law professor Jonathan Turley reported, "At the end of its first day of argument, the Senate trial was thrown into chaos when a 'juror' stood up like a scene out of Perry Mason to contest the veracity statements made by 'prosecutors.' That moment came as the Senate was preparing to end for the day and Senator Mike Lee (R., Utah) jumped to his feet to object that a quote by House manager Rep. David Cicilline (D., R.I.) was false. Lee should know. They were purportedly his words."

What Lee actually said vindicates Donald Trump.

Turley said, "The source for the House managers was a story in Deseret News that only describes the miscall and awkward moment before Lee grabbed back his phone. Tuberville stated that he did not recall much of the brief call, but the article also states that Lee told the newspaper that when 'Lee said when he later asked Tuberville about the conversation, he got the impression that Trump didn’t know about the chaos going on in the Senate chamber.' The House managers left out that part which directly contradicts its narrative that Trump knew about the riot and was relishing it as he was calling to further delay the electoral certification. If true, the House’s timeline argument would lose coherence, if not collapse entirely. The House repeatedly argued that Trump wanted the riot and then used it to delay the proceedings.  Yet, this call occurred  'shortly after 2 pm' and, according to Lee, Trump did not appear to the senator to be aware of the extent of the chaos. A few minutes later, at 2:38, Trump tweets, 'Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement. They are truly on the side of our Country. Stay peaceful!'

"The main problem with the Lee objection however is that it highlights what is missing in the House case: witness testimony. I have been a critic of the House for using what I called a 'snap impeachment' without even one day of hearings, investigation, or a formal opportunity for the President to respond. It could have easily held a couple days of impeachment and still impeached Trump before he left office."

But that would have given people time to get back to their senses, which would have ruined the impeachment.

The Bulwark can run a story headlined, "Damning Evidence in Impeachment Trial Clarifies Trump's Guilt," but the truth is there is no more evidence that President Trump colluded with the protesters than there is of him colluding with Putin or of "withholding aid" to Ukraine. 

The press can claim the walls are closing in.

The press can claim that the evidence mounts.

The press can claim that the storming of the Capitol was the Rape of the Sabine Women.

But all those claims are false no matter how much the press rants and raves.

The impeachment show trial cheapens the nation. I see no good coming from another unconstitutional attack of President Trump. I see much evil. 

Chairman Xi does not need to attack us to subdue us. We are doing this to ourselves, egged on by a media that cares little about the truth or the country.