• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • About Us
  • Lexicon
  • Contact Us
  • Our Store
  • ↑
  • ↓
  • ←
  • →

Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

People are complicated. Love is not.

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

The GOP couldn’t organize an orgy in a whorehouse with a fist full of 50s.

Roe isn’t about choice, it’s about freedom.

The willow is too close to the house.

Americans barely caring about Afghanistan is so last month.

Optimism opens the door to great things.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

The republican caucus is already covering themselves with something, and it’s not glory.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

John Fetterman: Too Manly for Pennsylvania.  Paid for by the Oz for Senator campaign.

The next time the wall wtreet journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.

A last alliance of elves and men. also pet photos.

“But what about the lurkers?”

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

I really should read my own blog.

Mobile Menu

  • Winnable House Races
  • Donate with Venmo, Zelle & PayPal
  • Site Feedback
  • War in Ukraine
  • Submit Photos to On the Road
  • Politics
  • On The Road
  • Open Threads
  • Topics
  • Balloon Juice 2023 Pet Calendar (coming soon)
  • COVID-19 Coronavirus
  • Authors
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Lexicon
  • Our Store
  • Politics
  • Open Threads
  • War in Ukraine
  • Garden Chats
  • On The Road
  • 2021-22 Fundraising!
You are here: Home / Politics / Impeachment / Impeachment Trial Live – January 21, 2020

Impeachment Trial Live – January 21, 2020

by Cheryl Rofer|  January 21, 202012:30 pm| 116 Comments

This post is in: Impeachment, Live Blogging, Trump Crime Cartel

FacebookTweetEmail

We’re less than a year to inaugurating a Democratic President. But for now, the impeachment trial.

FacebookTweetEmail
Previous Post: « Call your senators!
Next Post: But you knifed me in my dirty filthy basement »

Reader Interactions

116Comments

  1. 1.

    oatler.

    January 21, 2020 at 1:00 pm

    Listen to ABC bothsides the bejesus out of this thing.

  2. 2.

    EriktheRed

    January 21, 2020 at 1:02 pm

    We’re less than a year to inaugurating a Democratic President.

     

    Assumes facts not in evidence

  3. 3.

    tomtofa

    January 21, 2020 at 1:08 pm

    It’s all about process now. They’re warming up for the Super Bowl.

  4. 4.

    BGinCHI

    January 21, 2020 at 1:08 pm

    Will the GOP pay a political price for a corrupt, law-breaking President and a complicit response?

    That’s the question, fundamentally.

    They have a majority in the Senate and can do all the bullshit they want. How all this affects the next election is the ballgame.

  5. 5.

    zhena gogolia

    January 21, 2020 at 1:09 pm

    @BGinCHI:

    I guess we have to channel our anger into action.

    My only cheering thought is that the impeachment slowed him down and wounded him, like a raging rogue elephant.

  6. 6.

    bemused

    January 21, 2020 at 1:10 pm

    @oatler.:

    Not gonna do it. My BP won’t allow it.

  7. 7.

    BGinCHI

    January 21, 2020 at 1:11 pm

    @zhena gogolia: Yes. The GOP ain’t gonna change. We can see who they’ve always been. Anyone who isn’t part of the solution is part of the problem.

  8. 8.

    debbie

    January 21, 2020 at 1:12 pm

    I didn’t make it past 10 minutes listening to McConnell’s denture-impaired smugness and instead am listening to some Telemann. It was working very well until I read Aleta’s post from this morning with Juan Cole’s remarks about Dershowitz’s “degrees of civilianity.” An alleged member of the Jewish faith speaking as calculatingly as Goebbels! I am destined to be very angry today.

  9. 9.

    debbie

    January 21, 2020 at 1:14 pm

    @zhena gogolia:

    Ah, you must not have heard his remarks at Davos, imploring the world to be less pessimistic and instead be optimistic like the U.S. //

  10. 10.

    Cheryl Rofer

    January 21, 2020 at 1:16 pm

    Tell these Senators @realDonaldTrump's impeachment trial MUST include witness testimony (and retweet!)@SenatorCollins 202-224-2523@SenatorRomney -224-5251@SenAlexander -224-4944@LisaMurkowski -224-6665@SenCoryGardner -224-5941@SenatorBurr -224-3154@SenMcSallyAZ -224-2235

    — Eric Swalwell (@ericswalwell) January 14, 2020

  11. 11.

    jayjaybear

    January 21, 2020 at 1:19 pm

    @oatler.: Ugh! Husband had one of the morning shows on when he got up to go to work. I was laying in bed, involuntarily listening and occasionally screaming SHUT THE FUCK UP, YOU REPUBLICUNT SHILL! It wasn’t really a calm morning.

  12. 12.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    January 21, 2020 at 1:24 pm

    @EriktheRed:

    Can we please not do that?

  13. 13.

    CaseyL

    January 21, 2020 at 1:24 pm

    Called my two Senators, Cantwell and Murray, who are definitely among the Good Ones.  First thanked them both for fighting the good fight against Trump and the GOP.  Suggested, in both calls, that Democrats do daily en masse press conferences to state the fact that Trump is an at-best unwitting and at worst entirely deliberate asset of an enemy, working to undermine the US; and that the GOP, in protecting him, is an accessory to that.

  14. 14.

    chris

    January 21, 2020 at 1:25 pm

    For some reason I bookmarked this site back 2016. It’s no good to me but maybe some of you can use it. Fax your Senators!

  15. 15.

    Librarian

    January 21, 2020 at 1:25 pm

    Well. at least Roberts didn’t put gold stripes on his robe like that vain jackass Rehnquist.

  16. 16.

    zhena gogolia

    January 21, 2020 at 1:27 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    I left messages for Romney and Collins. I’m now on hold for murkowski listening to martial music

    OMG, first “When Johnny Comes Marching Home,” now “The Caissons Go Rolling Along.” These people are all about cardboard patriotism, aren’t they? My God, my God.

  17. 17.

    germy

    January 21, 2020 at 1:30 pm

    Q: "Sen. Romney says he is satisfied with McConnell's resolution. Where are you going to get the votes?"

    Schumer: "Well, he either hasn't read it or he's gone along with this cover-up, which I hope that isn't true. We need four votes."https://t.co/H4re2VtUrS

    — Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) January 21, 2020

  18. 18.

    GregMulka

    January 21, 2020 at 1:30 pm

    @bemused: Same.

  19. 19.

    germy

    January 21, 2020 at 1:31 pm

    In other news:

    Federal prosecutors in Brazil on Tuesday charged Glenn Greenwald with cybercrimes for his role in the spreading of cellphone messages that have embarrassed prosecutors and tarnished the image of an anti-corruption task force. https://t.co/trkZP1uzev— Julia Davis (@JuliaDavisNews) January 21, 2020

  20. 20.

    MJS

    January 21, 2020 at 1:32 pm

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Seconded. The Eeyore-ing gets tiresome. What’s happening is bad enough without pretending November, 2018; Kentucky and Louisiana, 2019; 70% supporting witnesses; and 51% supporting Trump’s removal never happened.

  21. 21.

    zhena gogolia

    January 21, 2020 at 1:33 pm

    I actually talked to a staffer in Murkowski’s office who said she was going to make up her mind after hearing the opening statement. “She will be following the Bill Clinton procedures” or something like that. I’m sure that’s code for “Fuck you.”

  22. 22.

    JPL

    January 21, 2020 at 1:34 pm

    I turned it off.   I still wish the democratic senators would stand up and say this is bull shit and walk out

  23. 23.

    zhena gogolia

    January 21, 2020 at 1:35 pm

    @JPL:

    Can you guess how the media would play that one?

  24. 24.

    Cheryl Rofer

    January 21, 2020 at 1:36 pm

    Adam Schiff speaking now

  25. 25.

    Cheryl Rofer

    January 21, 2020 at 1:37 pm

    If the House and president can't introduce evidence, "it's not really a trial at all", Schiff says

    — Tom LoBianco (@tomlobianco) January 21, 2020

  26. 26.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    January 21, 2020 at 1:38 pm

    @germy:

    As much as I dislike Greenwald, I can’t help but see this in a negative light, given who’s in power in Brazil

  27. 27.

    Baud

    January 21, 2020 at 1:39 pm

    @germy:

    In a 95-page criminal complaint, prosecutors say that The Intercept Brasil, the news organization Mr. Greenwald co-founded, did more than merely receive the hacked messages and oversee the publication of newsworthy information.

    Citing intercepted messages between Mr. Greenwald and the hackers, prosecutors say the journalist played a “clear role in facilitating the commission of a crime.”

    For instance, prosecutors contend that Mr. Greenwald encouraged the hackers to delete archives that had already been shared with The Intercept Brasil, in order to cover their tracks.

    Prosecutors also say that Mr. Greenwald was communicating with the hackers while they were actively monitoring private chats on Telegram, a messaging app.

    Brazil has a fascist government too, so I’ll root for injuries with this one.

  28. 28.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    January 21, 2020 at 1:40 pm

    @MJS:

    Exactly. It’s not completely hopeless.

    Also, does anybody else think that Congressional leaders shouldn’t have complete control over the C-Span feeds?

  29. 29.

    Baud

    January 21, 2020 at 1:40 pm

    @JPL:

    Performance art is neither performance not art. Discuss.

  30. 30.

    germy

    January 21, 2020 at 1:42 pm

    Midnight Mitch

  31. 31.

    debbie

    January 21, 2020 at 1:42 pm

    @Baud:

    We’ll see how far smugness gets him.

  32. 32.

    Immanentize

    January 21, 2020 at 1:43 pm

    @germy: In other, other news:
    Sanders Apologizes for Surrogate’s Claim that Biden is Corrupt

    The opinion piece, published in The Guardian on Monday, was authored by Zephyr Teachout, a prominent law professor and former New York state attorney general candidate who endorsed Sanders early on in the 2016 election cycle and announced her support for his 2020 bid last month.

    She isn’t an official member of the Sanders campaign, but has stumped for him on the campaign trail. Her piece, which argues that “Biden has a big corruption problem and it makes him a weak candidate” was circulated Monday in a newsletter curated by Sanders campaign adviser David Sirota.

    It is who they are. Who he is.

  33. 33.

    debbie

    January 21, 2020 at 1:45 pm

    @Immanentize:

    B.S. from BS.

    By the way, I just saw your and G&T’s consensus that Dersh went nuts with 9/11. I disagree; he first became enamored of himself during the OJ trial.

  34. 34.

    Immanentize

    January 21, 2020 at 1:46 pm

    @Baud: This is the question I had when I saw it earlier — Did GG and the Intercept just publish stolen emails and messages (like the NYTimes) or did he direct or conspire with others to do the stealing (a la Wikileaks).  If the former, fuck Bolsanaro, and I will do all I can to support GG.  If the latter, I am on record saying the “reporters” in England who themselves stole voice mails of the rich and famous should do time.  But still, fuck Bolsanaro.

  35. 35.

    JPL

    January 21, 2020 at 1:46 pm

    @Baud: Deep.   That’s unusual from you ..  just sayin

  36. 36.

    Immanentize

    January 21, 2020 at 1:48 pm

    @debbie: He was all about him before then — the whole Claus Von Bulow representation (early 1980s) was primarily a Dershowitz publicity event.

  37. 37.

    catclub

    January 21, 2020 at 1:50 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer: The real tragedy is that all the other GOP senators get a pass on this. They have no agency to be better, and none is assumed.

  38. 38.

    Immanentize

    January 21, 2020 at 1:50 pm

    @Baud:

    Performance art is neither performance not art.

    Is this sentence a piece of performance art-not?

  39. 39.

    hitchhiker

    January 21, 2020 at 1:50 pm

    I just read that Romney is advising Democrats not to be outraged about everything, because in his opinion if everything is an outrage, then nothing is an outrage.

    I understand the point to be, “Just wait, suckers! If you think this is bad, you’re going to be really mad when you see what comes next.”

    Thanks, Mitt. We already know that.

  40. 40.

    germy

    January 21, 2020 at 1:50 pm

    @Immanentize:  In other, other, other news:

    Tony Perkins, president of the anti-gay religious lobbying group the Family Research Council, had his home destroyed by the massive flooding ravaging Southern Louisiana this week.

    Although no one wants to celebrate a person losing their home, the destruction of Perkins’ house isn’t without irony, considering that he’s claimed in the past that natural disasters are God’s way of punishing an increasingly gay-friendly world.

    Calling into his own radio show, Perkins described the flood as being of “biblical proportions,” adding that he and his family will have to live in a camper for 6 months until the damage is repaired.

    https://deadstate.org/guy-who-says-god-sends-natural-disasters-to-punish-gays-has-his-home-destroyed-in-a-natural-disaster/

  41. 41.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    January 21, 2020 at 1:52 pm

    @Baud:

    @debbie:

    I don’t know. Stopped clocks are right at least twice a day. Greenwald is an arrogant ass, but I think Bolsonaro would love nothing more than to get rid of GG if he could and is taking his chance here. Did GG actually reveal wrongdoing among the anti-corruption task force?

  42. 42.

    catclub

    January 21, 2020 at 1:52 pm

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Yes, the whole point in supporting rights is supporting and protecting those rights for people you don’t like.  Anybody can support rights for popular people.

  43. 43.

    JPL

    January 21, 2020 at 1:52 pm

    @Immanentize: but, but he voted for Hillary, which doesn’t matter if he lives in MA or NY.

  44. 44.

    catclub

    January 21, 2020 at 1:53 pm

    @germy: in other news from three fucking years ago.

  45. 45.

    catclub

    January 21, 2020 at 1:56 pm

    @zhena gogolia: “She will be following the Bill Clinton procedures” or something like that.

     

    McConnell is also claiming he is following them, except when its not quite convenient. I am glad Pelosi is calling him a liar for saying he would. No beating around the bush.

  46. 46.

    Immanentize

    January 21, 2020 at 1:56 pm

    @JPL: He says he voted for Hillary.

    The guy is Adelson with less money but with tenure.

  47. 47.

    Immanentize

    January 21, 2020 at 1:57 pm

    @catclub: Did he actually live in a camper?

  48. 48.

    Another Scott

    January 21, 2020 at 1:59 pm

    McConnell backs off the 12-hour argument days. The timing of arguments will now be spread out more akin to the Clinton trial (though there are still sharp differences).

    https://t.co/A7KhJJVX7c— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) January 21, 2020

    (via nycsouthpaw)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  49. 49.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    January 21, 2020 at 2:00 pm

    @Immanentize:

    If he did directly conspire, then he broke the law. Then again the question remains: do you trust the prosecutors and the police in Brazil?

  50. 50.

    Baud

    January 21, 2020 at 2:03 pm

    @JPL:

    Voting for Hillary is a precondition for being a decent person. It does not demonstrate decency when there is other evidence to the contrary.

  51. 51.

    Immanentize

    January 21, 2020 at 2:03 pm

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): No, I don’t trust them.  But I don’t trust them much here either.  It’s in my nature to be suspicious of those who have power over freedom (and life).

  52. 52.

    germy

    January 21, 2020 at 2:05 pm

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):  No, I don’t.

  53. 53.

    Baud

    January 21, 2020 at 2:05 pm

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):

    The excerpt I quoted has two allegations. The first, if true, seems illegal. The second does not. Of course, both allegations are being paraphrased by the NYT and are not the actual allegations.

  54. 54.

    Bill Arnold

    January 21, 2020 at 2:12 pm

    @Another Scott:

    McConnell backs off the 12-hour argument days.

    Interesting. But the 12 hour days, with no (bathroom or meals) break, 1:00 PM to 1:00 AM format was not in any universe a reasonable ask. (OK maybe for young soldiers in basic training. Not for older senators. Probably not even for M. McConnell. )
    So if he tries to spin this as compromise, he will be (is?) absolutely, totally full of shit. I would have walked out of a car dealership if they made an first move analogous to that, loudly complaining to the floor manager and anyone within earshot.

  55. 55.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    January 21, 2020 at 2:14 pm

    @catclub:

    Agreed

  56. 56.

    Sloane Ranger

    January 21, 2020 at 2:15 pm

    Adam Schiff is making a very strong opening argument. I see Moscow Mitch has already made changes to his proposed procedures.

  57. 57.

    Cheryl Rofer

    January 21, 2020 at 2:18 pm

    Cipollone and Sekulow now

  58. 58.

    Cheryl Rofer

    January 21, 2020 at 2:19 pm

    Distorting Schiff’s words. These guys just lie and lie.

  59. 59.

    Cheryl Rofer

    January 21, 2020 at 2:22 pm

    Now misrepresenting the Mueller Report.

    I keep thinking back, over these weeks, to what we used to say about Lyndon Johnson.
    – How do you know when he’s lying?
    – When his lips are moving
    Back then, I thought that was excessive. But it’s all too accurate now for pretty much anyone with an (R) after their name.

  60. 60.

    germy

    January 21, 2020 at 2:23 pm

    Changes to McConnell’s resolution were made by hand, suggesting to me they happened LATE, like maybe just after the GOP lunch today, and before trial started at 1:15. pic.twitter.com/GTZ8VcIiGE— Garrett Haake (@GarrettHaake) January 21, 2020

  61. 61.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    January 21, 2020 at 2:25 pm

    @Baud:

    I think the paraphrasing is close enough, isn’t it?

    As you said, they’re only allegations at this point.

    Re-reading your comment, I can see you meant that you wanted the Brazilian government to get egg on it’s face too.

    @germy:

    @Immanentize:

    I feel exactly the same way

  62. 62.

    chris

    January 21, 2020 at 2:26 pm

    Sekulow has not two sentences without lying. This is a record, even for the Senate.— Charles P. Pierce (@CharlesPPierce) 21 January 2020

  63. 63.

    Fleeting Expletive

    January 21, 2020 at 2:31 pm

    Just a hypothetical, but after this trial is over, if worse comes to worse, what if Senate Dems were to introduce a resolution that would make Republicans individually vote to validate and affirm every fucking rotten thing this admin has done? Like, call it The Glorious Path of Maximum Pressure through Shock and Awe, or the We Support Everything Our Fearless Leader Can Think Of in Perpetuity Act, or Climate change is a Hoax Act and make Republicans put their precious majority votes on the record supporting them.

    The on the record votes currently underway on impeachment kind of serve the same purpose, in that conscience and shame are still appropriate appeals from the Democratic side.  It’s so disheartening that so many are knaves and fools.

  64. 64.

    Kay

    January 21, 2020 at 2:35 pm

    I think the trial doesn’t bother me as much as you-all since I think we’re gonna win the election. I do! Policy and ideology and criminality aside these people just suck as people.

    I know many of you are superstitious but since I’m not I don’t have to worry about “jinxing” things :)

    The magic of jinxing is only operative if you’re a believer.

  65. 65.

    Rommie

    January 21, 2020 at 2:37 pm

    This is basically calling the House Managers traitors that need to be punished after this business is settled.  This isn’t going to end well, and I had dim hopes to start with.

  66. 66.

    Cheryl Rofer

    January 21, 2020 at 2:38 pm

    Yes, but that is the point. It is dishonest and gross and maddening to listen to it, but both Cipollone and Sekulow know the job here is to generate a flurry of Fox News clips and they're doing that very effectively. https://t.co/KU4s7VX94Y

    — Susan Hennessey (@Susan_Hennessey) January 21, 2020

  67. 67.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    January 21, 2020 at 2:38 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    Now misrepresenting the Mueller Report.

    I wonder how Robert Mueller feels about all of this? Is he unable to comment publicly about this? Or is he still a loyal Republican?

  68. 68.

    Kay

    January 21, 2020 at 2:39 pm

    There are some charming criminals. You get to know them, they have some good qualities. You think “you could have made an honest living!”

    Not here. These people are otherwise unemployable.

  69. 69.

    J R in WV

    January 21, 2020 at 2:40 pm

     

    NBC/MSNBC have carried the video and audio feed uninterrupted so far, although we lost our over the air NBC broadcast, when I shifted to MSNBC audio feed. Schiff did a good job.

    Republican lawyers are now lying about how grand juries work, how the House wanted to function, lying about everything…

  70. 70.

    Kay

    January 21, 2020 at 2:48 pm

    michaelscherer
    @michaelscherer
    · 3h
    New: Mike Bloomberg shifts presidential ad campaign to focus on impeachment. Message will go into states with vulnerable GOP senators like Arizona, Maine, Colorado and N.C.

    I don’t know if it works but it’s delightful because it drives Trump crazy.

  71. 71.

    dww44

    January 21, 2020 at 2:50 pm

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):  Yes, I appreciate Cheryl’s positivity.  That’s the only way we can win. Succumbing to the negativity is not going to bend the arc towards justice. We keep the focus on the complicity of the GOP Senate in supporting Trump.  Then we win next November.

  72. 72.

    Baud

    January 21, 2020 at 2:50 pm

    @Kay:

    The magic of jinxing is only operative if you’re a believer.

    It’s like gravity. #LooneyToons

  73. 73.

    debbie

    January 21, 2020 at 2:51 pm

    Any signs of Gym yet? I heard he was made a special member of the team.

  74. 74.

    Cheryl Rofer

    January 21, 2020 at 2:52 pm

    Recess. Go give some money upstairs to Democrats running for Senate.

  75. 75.

    Juju

    January 21, 2020 at 2:53 pm

    @Kay: I agree 100%. As you have pointed out numerous times garbage people make garbage choices in hiring people. All who come in contact with Trump end up being charmless garbage. The people raised by Trump typically have an extra layer of charmless slime oozing about the garbage.

  76. 76.

    WaterGirl

    January 21, 2020 at 2:56 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer: Thanks for the note that Adam Schiff had started speaking.  I was able to catch him almost from the beginning.

    He really is terrific, and kudos to Nancy Pelosi for spotting talent, grooming him, and helping to put him in the position he holds today.

    I couldn’t even listen to a full 2 minutes of the lying liar who lies, aka the president’s lawyer who started speaking next.

    Then I watched Now This on twitter.  (everyone should watch it)

    I felt so angry after watching that that when my conservative evangelical sister texted me right afterwards to ask if I am feeling better after being under the weather, I answered “yes”.  when she replied that this is not a very cheery time of year, I wrote this:

    That is true.  And watching our constitution be shredded by people who don’t care about the rule of law because they love power more than they love our country is very depressing.  We need to have a fair trial and let the chips fall where they may.

    That is not going to go over well.  It was in total violation of our “we don’t talk about politics” rule of thumb.

    Looks like it’s time for me to run a couple of errands and try to cool off.

  77. 77.

    jimmiraybob

    January 21, 2020 at 2:57 pm

    @EriktheRed: “Assumes facts not in evidence”

    American democracy is largely aspirational.

  78. 78.

    JPL

    January 21, 2020 at 3:00 pm

    @WaterGirl: Good..    If she is upset, mention this is how hitler became who he was.  You are not accusing him of mass murder but he is demagogue who needs to be stopped.

     

    good job

  79. 79.

    Kay

    January 21, 2020 at 3:01 pm

    @Juju:

    Pelosi delivered it to the GOP and they are, of course, desperately protecting these awful people because the more that comes out the worse it is for them. But they can’t avoid an election and they’re not going to get any better between now and November. They always get worse.

  80. 80.

    Kraux Pas

    January 21, 2020 at 3:03 pm

    @Kay: But they can’t avoid an election

    But watch them try

  81. 81.

    Wakeshift

    January 21, 2020 at 3:09 pm

    I note that Sekulow and then Cipolline wasted no time embodying the “pound the table” clause of the “When the facts are on your side…” dictum.

     

    Tried to count the logical fallacies in their statements and failed utterly, but they seemed intent on full coverage.

  82. 82.

    JPL

    January 21, 2020 at 3:11 pm

    @WaterGirl:   This is a good ad on why we fight

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=22&v=KOkn6zfRuAk&feature=emb_logo

  83. 83.

    Cheryl Rofer

    January 21, 2020 at 3:19 pm

    Schiff up again

  84. 84.

    Fair Economist

    January 21, 2020 at 3:19 pm

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):

    Did GG actually reveal wrongdoing among the anti-corruption task force?

    Very much so. The judge leading the whole project, and making the rulings, said in some of the revealed messages that the entire project was just a show to attack Rousseff and da Silva, the left party leaders.

  85. 85.

    Cheryl Rofer

    January 21, 2020 at 3:19 pm

    Oh, good. “They said nothing about the resolution.”

  86. 86.

    Wakeshift

    January 21, 2020 at 3:20 pm

    Schiff back up to address Schumer’s amendment; begins by eviscerating Defense’s lack of defense.

    He is outstanding.

  87. 87.

    p.a.

    January 21, 2020 at 3:21 pm

    @jimmiraybob: The Constitution has basically been a scrap of paper (“promissory note”, at best) for much of our history.

     

    These people treat it like toilet paper.

  88. 88.

    satby

    January 21, 2020 at 3:23 pm

    Jim Wright at Stonekettle Station.

    They know he’s guilty. They know it. And thus, they have no intention of putting country over party. No intention of an actual trial.

    No, they intend to put on a show.

    Because they know Trump’s guilt doesn’t matter.

    The truth doesn’t matter.

    Duty doesn’t matter.

    Facts do not matter.

    The integrity of the Office and of The Republic does not matter.

    All that matters is the spectacle. Win that, and you win the debate.

  89. 89.

    polyorchnid octopunch

    January 21, 2020 at 3:25 pm

    @JPL: If it’s not deep, it’s on the surface.

  90. 90.

    SiubhanDuinne

    January 21, 2020 at 3:29 pm

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):

    Also, does anybody else think that Congressional leaders shouldn’t have complete control over the C-Span feeds?

    Personally, I think Congress shouldn’t have any control over the C-SPAN feeds. First Afuckingmendment.

  91. 91.

    Cheryl Rofer

    January 21, 2020 at 3:31 pm

    Zoe Lofgren up

  92. 92.

    zhena gogolia

    January 21, 2020 at 3:31 pm

    Schiff is the only person I can listen to. I can’t even listen to Zoe Lofgren.

  93. 93.

    Juju

    January 21, 2020 at 3:39 pm

    @Kay: I agree, and that doesn’t matter with Trump’s base, it’s just a matter of how many gullible people in some swing states can be swayed to vote for Trump again.  My guess is not as many as before.

  94. 94.

    WaterGirl

    January 21, 2020 at 3:39 pm

    @Kay: Did anyone speak before Adam Schiff?  Maybe Pelosi?

  95. 95.

    MazeDancer

    January 21, 2020 at 3:40 pm

    Don’t care if he”s a white guy, Adam Schiff for Veep.

    He smoked those lying stunt lawyers

  96. 96.

    Mrs. D. Ranged in AZ

    January 21, 2020 at 3:50 pm

    Are they doing opening arguments now or is Zoe Lofgren still making arguments about the vote regarding trial rules?  I’m a little lost.

  97. 97.

    Ksmiami

    January 21, 2020 at 3:52 pm

     

    @germy: thots and prayers asshole, thots and prayers

  98. 98.

    Barbara

    January 21, 2020 at 3:54 pm

    @Immanentize: The Guardian’s consistently gullible coverage of Sanders is why I have trouble sending it money.  IMO, they view him through the lens of the Labour Party in the UK without a lot of thought about how differently U.S. politcal parties and the U.S. political system are.

  99. 99.

    debbie

    January 21, 2020 at 4:03 pm

    @zhena gogolia:

    I’m enjoying her presentation very much. Facts are such pesky things!

  100. 100.

    Wakeshift

    January 21, 2020 at 4:08 pm

    @Mrs. D. Ranged in AZ:

     

    Rep Lofgren is speaking to the necessity of receiving subpoenaed WH documents, which is the purpose of Schumer’s amendment.

    she is doing so in a way that uses the 1-hr time block to present/augment the core case broadly, as well as supporting the amendment in particular.

    The house managers seem to be taking the approach that they will use all available procedural time to make the case, knowing that McConnell will seek to limit or obstruct them at all times.

    Seems realistic and smart.

  101. 101.

    Citizen Alan

    January 21, 2020 at 4:09 pm

    @Barbara: And also without acknowledging that Labour just self-destructed under the leadership of the man viewed (fairly or not) as the British Bernie Sanders.

  102. 102.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    January 21, 2020 at 4:11 pm

    @MazeDancer:

    He’s so impressive.

    I know this is irrelevant to the impeachment, but I recently read that he ran the DC triathlon a couple of years back. That’s a man with discipline and determination.

  103. 103.

    Wakeshift

    January 21, 2020 at 4:14 pm

    Philbin, and apparently the entire defense strategy:

    We can’t defend the indefensible, so we’ll attack the prosecution and the process. Why didn’t House Dems get the evidence we actively hid from them? Invalid!

  104. 104.

    debbie

    January 21, 2020 at 4:15 pm

    The liars are up and lying again.

  105. 105.

    smintheus

    January 21, 2020 at 4:15 pm

    When did Democrats admit that they lacked evidence to convict Trump, or that they had no case? I must have missed that.

    Not being a lawyer, I’m also unfamiliar with the Republicans’ principle that testimony and other evidence should not be presented during a trial, otherwise the judge should sanction you.

  106. 106.

    wvng

    January 21, 2020 at 4:20 pm

    Really impressed by the House Managers. They are certainly laying out a case that republicans will not be able to contest on the facts, but if facts mattered they would just stop now and vote to convict.  And wouldn’t that be a good joke on Trump!

  107. 107.

    Wakeshift

    January 21, 2020 at 4:29 pm

    @wvng:

    Defense is basing its case on an entirely separate (meaning imaginary) set of facts. The history of the process they’re discussing only took place in Fox News coverage. It’s an interesting strategy, impressive in their diabolical commitment to a consistent fiction.

  108. 108.

    Raoul

    January 21, 2020 at 4:31 pm

    I got a strong ‘dead-on-the-inside / Stephen Miller vibe from GOP’s new lawyer Patrick Philbin.
    Oh, BTW, Philbin was involved in the John Yoo torture scandal / moral collapse.

  109. 109.

    Wakeshift

    January 21, 2020 at 4:41 pm

    Vote to kill the amendment to subpoena WH documents:

    Y 53

    N 47

    Rs kill it

     

    Schumer introduces amendment to subpoena documents from State Dept.

    Round 2: Fight!

  110. 110.

    Cheryl Rofer

    January 21, 2020 at 5:22 pm

    Val Demings – I love her!

  111. 111.

    The Truffle

    January 21, 2020 at 5:31 pm

    @Wakeshift: Wow. Glad Schumer isn’t letting up.

     

    And these coverups need to be included in every election ad the Dems put out.

  112. 112.

    Bill Arnold

    January 21, 2020 at 5:37 pm

    @The Truffle:

    And these coverups need to be included in every election ad the Dems put out.

    The Senate itself really is on trial.

  113. 113.

    Wakeshift

    January 21, 2020 at 5:59 pm

    Another interesting contrast:

    both prosecution and defense came prepared with message, strategy, talking points, etc.

    but the House Managers are also flexible and adapting to the arguments of the defense, who cannot deviate from the script.

    its odd to watch them repeat statements that were just dissected minutes earlier, like they stop listening whenever a Democrat speaks.

    Deming is passionate, and driving ahead with the narrative in this next block.

    there is clear and effective coordination with Schumer; Schiff et al came prepared to use each amendment debate segment to advance the case as well as demonstrate the willful blindness of the R senators. I know they are shameless (sinverguenza was it?) but hopefully not all viewers are.

    The Senate itself is on trial – exactly right

  114. 114.

    Wakeshift

    January 21, 2020 at 6:12 pm

    Cipollone:

    ”we’re not interested in hearing any facts. Why didn’t the house do the thing the WH blocked?!”

    Sekulow:

    ”here’s what those people testified, and you need to ignore all the stuff that contradicts it. You’re not allowed to think or decide for yourselves, here’s the correct way to think.”

    <Scary Stuff! Aaaaahhh!>

     

    alright, I’m done. I can’t listen any more.

    Lurker penance fulfilled for now, done live-spamming the thread. Thanks all

  115. 115.

    Skepticat

    January 21, 2020 at 6:37 pm

    During the Watergate hearings, I worked in a television station and thus watched them all day long. I’ll never forget Alexander Butterfield rather casually dropping the bomb about the tapes. Of course, this never went to impeachment. During the Clinton debacle, I didn’t have access to a TV, was working long hours, and thought it was so aggravating that I didn’t want to dignify it by paying that much attention. Now I have neither electricity, a television, the time, nor the stomach or mental fortitude to watch the Rethuglicans brazenly and without apology destroy democracy. Even thinking or reading about the run-up is enough to make me profoundly sick and angry. My senators used to be Bill Cohen and George Mitchell, back in the days when I had faith in my country and its institutions. I still respect Angus King, but now I waste pixels on Susan Collins and know I might as well not bother. I fear the outcome of this charade, as I think it’s predetermined. Wake me when it—and our country—are over.

  116. 116.

    WaterGirl

    January 21, 2020 at 8:24 pm

    @Skepticat: As it is, I am struggling with this.  If I were in your shoes, I think it would put me over the edge.  Which just goes to show that you must be a tougher person than I am.

    Keep hanging in there, and we’ll try to keep the shitshow from winning again in November.

Comments are closed.

Primary Sidebar

🎈Keep Balloon Juice Ad Free

Become a Balloon Juice Patreon
Donate with Venmo, Zelle or PayPal

2023 Pet Calendars

Pet Calendar Preview: A
Pet Calendar Preview: B

*Calendars can not be ordered until Cafe Press gets their calendar paper in.

Recent Comments

  • Steeplejack on Fun Facts (Jan 30, 2023 @ 4:09pm)
  • UncleEbeneezer on Fun Facts (Jan 30, 2023 @ 4:09pm)
  • Dangerman on Fun Facts (Jan 30, 2023 @ 4:05pm)
  • jackmac on Fun Facts (Jan 30, 2023 @ 4:04pm)
  • Brachiator on Fun Facts (Jan 30, 2023 @ 4:02pm)

Balloon Juice Posts

View by Topic
View by Author
View by Month & Year
View by Past Author

Featuring

Medium Cool
Artists in Our Midst
Authors in Our Midst
We All Need A Little Kindness
Favorite Dogs & Cats
Classified Documents: A Primer

Calling All Jackals

Site Feedback
Nominate a Rotating Tag
Submit Photos to On the Road
Balloon Juice Mailing List Signup

Front-pager Twitter

John Cole
DougJ (aka NYT Pitchbot)
Betty Cracker
Tom Levenson
TaMara
David Anderson
ActualCitizensUnited

Shop Amazon via this link to support Balloon Juice   

Join the Fight!

Join the Fight Signup Form
All Join the Fight Posts

Balloon Juice Events

5/14  The Apocalypse
5/20  Home Away from Home
5/29  We’re Back, Baby
7/21  Merging!

Balloon Juice for Ukraine

Donate

Site Footer

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Comment Policy
  • Our Authors
  • Blogroll
  • Our Artists
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 Dev Balloon Juice · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!