Still image from Brave New Films video (2018).
Stable enough to commit crimes
by Tom Sullivan
Still image from Brave New Films video (2018).
Our acting president is frustrated that Republicans who will say anything at all about the House impeachment inquiry are critiquing the process rather than defending him on the facts.
Donald Trump has done nothing wrong, says Donald Trump. He wants Republicans to say that more forcefully rather than attack the impeachment process. Except, Trump defenders know they would look like grinning Wile E. Coyote before he plummets to the bottom of the canyon.
Only Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has signed up for that.
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) sits on one of the House committees charged with the impeachment inquiry (Intelligence). He tells The New Yorker's Robert P. Baird he saw two kinds of murder trials in his days as a prosecutor:
“There’s a ‘what is it’ and a whodunnit. A whodunnit is where the defendant is saying, ‘I didn’t do it.’ A ‘what is it’ is where the defendant says, ‘Yeah, I did it, but that is not a crime.’ I think that’s what we have here. He’s acknowledging the conduct, just doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with it.”On top of that, Trump wants people to believe he is totally capable of committing extortion and getting away with it. Trump insists defenders "stop saying he’s too dumb or incompetent to do crimes," writes Daily Beast White House reporter Asawin Suebsaeng.
“[The president] mentioned he had seen it and then he started saying things like, ‘What are they talking about, if I wanted to do quid pro quo, I would’ve done the damn quid pro quo,’ and… then defended his intelligence and then talked about how ‘perfect’ the call [with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky] was,” said a source familiar with Trump’s reaction to the Journal editorial. Another person familiar with the president’s comments on the matter corroborated the account.The self-described "stable genius" whose father left him a fortune and bailed out Donald's failing businesses multiple times is as sensitive about his smarts as he is comparisons to Barack Obama. Indeed, Trump's entire presidency might trace back to the night Obama mocked him at the 2011 White House Correspondents' Dinner, the same night the raid that killed Osama bin Laden occurred. If the World Series crowd on Sunday had really wanted to get under Trump's skin, instead of booing or taunting him with “LOCK HIM UP! LOCK HIM UP!” they might have chanted "O-BAM-A! O-BAM-A!"
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“How many more Never Trumpers will be allowed to testify about a perfectly appropriate phone call when all anyone has to do is READ THE TRANSCRIPT! I knew people were listening in on the call (why would I say something inappropriate?), which was fine with me, but why so many?” Trump posted to Twitter on Tuesday morning.