Saturday, February 13, 2021

Trump's Mendacious Lawyers Provide The Specious Cover For His Treason Cult To Acquit - And Live Forever In Infamy

One of Trump's mutt lawyers- David Schoen - performing for Dotard  yesterday with his outrageous lies.

"At the end of this brisk, peaceful, constitutional procedure, the vote was taken and yielded a decisive repudiation, if not quite the two-thirds majority demanded by the Founders. This is not the rebirth of American democracy. Trump is still free to menace that troubled project. His hold over a large minority of the nation remains absolute.  All the same, 57-43 is a more bipartisan outcome than many would have credited just a month ago. It falls to sensible Republicans to ensure that it is the start of something, not a blip in the ongoing debasement of the US right. The party must reject not just Trump, but the paranoia and extremism that led to the deadly violence of January 6." -   FT Editorial, Feb. 14


We now know that two of the most  scurrilous and depraved "lawyers" in American history, representing Traitor Trump, have broken all records for malpractice and extemporaneous propaganda.  In a performance rivaling Trump's own incitement of his mob to insurrection, Dotard's defense duo of Michael T. van der Veen and David Schoen tossed honor into the toilet as they mounted an incendiary "defense" of their orange fungal master.  Basically reeling off dozens of malignant lies while calling the House manager's portrayal of Trump inciting the January 6th insurrection- a "preposterous and monstrous lie".   

 No,  what was monstrous and preposterous  was how these derelict Trump sycophants and asslickers had the nerve to throw up two and a half hours of verbal vomit to try to cover Trump's own monstrous crimes.  And more importantly, to  provide specious cover for the GOP Senate traitors who have a yen to acquit him. Oh, while offering a template for Trump historical revisionism to cover up his sordid 4-year reign.

 In a performance for the ages, showing how Trump's viral lies can invade and contaminate brains and disable neural connections, this pair of losers - when not engulfed in word salads ("This was never a resurrection!") -   insisted (as if from a parallel universe) that Trump "never glorified violence during his presidency and that he consistently called for peace as the rampage at the Capitol unfolded".   Michael T. van der Veen, the chief defense clown on stage yesterday,  bloviated:.

Like every other politically motivated witch hunt the left has engaged in over the last four years, this impeachment is completely divorced from the facts, the evidence and the interests of the American people.   The Senate should promptly and decisively vote to reject it.”

But in fact the "left" was correct about everything concerning Trump, from his collusion with the Russkies in the 2016 election (established in Part 1 of the Mueller Report), to his lack of political self-awareness in allowing himself to be played by assorted bad actors (e.g. Kim Jong Un), to his utter "fire and fury" recklessness (bringing us close to war with North Korea in 2017), to his disrespect for our troops - calling those killed in battle "suckers and losers",  to his utter mendacity (reeling off over 30,000 lies) to his utter treason in stoking an insurrection based on lies the 2020 election was "stolen" from him.

Using a favorite tactic of Trump’s, his lawyers also sought to defend his behavior by citing the non-equivalent actions of others, e.g. the George Floyd and other protests last summer. Which were not about derailing an election certification and violating the Constitution. As Ali Velshi explained it ("Velshi", MSNBC, Jan. 17):

"For starters, the Capitol is not a liquor store. When a mob breaks the Capitol buildings windows it is not criminal mischief but an assault on democracy itself and decency. That's the point, violence must always be understood in context."

Velshi to his credit then expatiated on the difference of the Capitol siege to social justice protests such as took place last summer:

"Any violence at all that fights injustice is violence with meaning behind it, born of the failure of other means and methods redress. Violence that means to spread democracy and justice and encourage fairness and the equal application of the rule of law has nothing at all in common with the wanton, anti-democratic riot of January 6th, fueled by Donald Trump and QAnon  conspiracy theories of an election that was stolen."

Adding:

"To compare the underlying goals of protests about injustice - that gave sometimes become violent at their edges- to the anti-democratic seige with violent aims at its core -  fueled by lies and conspiracy theories, is simply to ignore history."

Given the rank Trump idiots' conflation and ignoring of context they could then claim that Trump could no more be held responsible for the Capitol assault than Democrats could for the violence that erupted at some racial justice protests last summer. Ignoring the point -  as they played an 11 minute video of Dems using the word "fight"-  that Trump specifically stoked a particular lie (the election was "stolen") for months to enrage his minions. And knowing he'd already triggered them earlier in Michigan when they tried to kidnap the governor, Gretchen Whitmer, and dispose of her.  

 The biggest howler if it weren't so pathetic?  Little Marco Rubio belching that even Hillary Clinton "could now be impeached and disqualified from office"  if Trump was convicted.  The Trump clown lawyer van der Veen agreed and said it could now happen to any former office holder.  All of this showing how deep into the land of brain farts and bollocks the Trump defense clown car had veered. 

Then there was the free speech nonsense with which the defense sought to provide Trump cover - and the Senate Reep traitors an excuse to acquit. Repeating Bruce Castor's earlier gibberish, van der Veen again insisted that Trump was "protected by free-speech rights". This was when he claimed the election had been “stolen” from him and told a crowd he assembled on Jan. 6 to go to the Capitol and “fight like hell,” saying that those words did not meet the legal definition of incitement.    But in the context of his lies about the election and then asserting "Because you'll never take back our country with weakness!  You have to be strong"  -   they were just that.  Trump was challenging his mesmerized MAGA minions to take the Capitol or else be considered "weak"More than 200 of the MAGA maggots in sworn statements (after arrest) insisted they acted on Trump's behalf, on his injunction to storm the Capitol.

If it was never clear before it was abundantly evident yesterday that this Senate trial has unmasked the Repukes as a personality cult of political cowards, treasonous insurrectionists and genuine slime who talk tough - but dart into Trump's keyster when faced by the brutal truth of what their tyrant 'god' has wrought.  Never mind all the ways van der Veen and Schoen tried to undermine the devastating  13 minute video showing the sheer intensity of the Capitol siege.  At the end of the day they were the ones caught supporting lawlessness, constitutional mayhem and anarchy.  

 As congressional staffer Gabby Richards - one of 500 who signed a letter to convict-  put it: "You either stand with our Republic or against it." 

Clearly, traitors and sewer scum that they are, most Repuke senators will choose to stand against it later today.  So look for the Repuke majority to vote to acquit, which doesn't mean Trump is innocent of his monstrous crimes - but rather the Repukes who so voted are convicted as  his willing  accomplices.  

All willing to allow him (or some other GOP tyrant) to try another insurrection, perhaps in the near future. The barren naked truth, revealed starkly by this trial, is that the Republican Party has no interest in "law and order" or the Constitution. Only in gaming the system and lying in order to grab and hold authoritarian power.

If that sounds inflammatory or defamatory, consider this: When was the last time the Republican Party leadership accepted even the slightest responsibility or accountability for anything they've done?   The answer is 'never'. 

Look: This impeachment trial was the Republicans' last chance at partial redemption, some semblance of courage and integrity. The facts and evidence presented were objectively incontrovertible. There really is no debating that Trump incited a deadly insurrection riot, no more so than we might debate that the earth is round. The fact he could have stopped the mayhem but didn't is a further nail - or should be - in his political coffin.  As Jamie Raskin noted, instead of acting a commander-in chief he was the inciter- in -chief.  Even worse, the spectator-in -chief:  gawking spellbound as the violence unfolded while he watched (and enjoyed) the assault by his mob of Nazis and racists on FOX.   The main reason he refused to allow the National Guard to enter for more than 2 hours - he didn't want them to spoil his cable TV entertainment.  

And we now know, despite the Trump defense team's lies, Trump fully knew Mike Pence was in mortal danger even as he tweeted attacks against him.  CNN reported Friday night that Kevin McCarthy called Trump during the riot, telling him the mob was breaking windows to get in. The Inciter-in-chief replied: “Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are.” The conversation ended in a shouting match with McCarthy yelling "Who the fuck do you think you're talking to?". Yet McCarthy still voted with 43 other Reep stooges to bypass the impeachment trial as "unconstitutional" because Trump had already left office.  In regard to that, let's please bear in mind Trump was actually impeached BEFORE leaving office.   It was Mitch McConnell who postponed the Senate trial for a week (at least) after.

There remains one of the most cogent questions posed by the House managers:  Why did Trump not act for over two hours to quell the attack?  Well, because he was enjoying it on FOX TV!   He loved the scenes of his red-capped roaches pillaging the building and wreaking mayhem in his odious name!  Yet Trump's pissant "lawyer" Michael T. van der Veen  - an "obscenely hateful man" in the words of Lawrence O'Donnell last night - was prepared to lie his miserable ass off "in defense of a homicidally hateful man".

Yes, the truth is a hard thing, but don't look for Repukes to own it! Or  to find any worthwhile moral compass.  They have none.  Only power seeking and let the country and its Constitution be damned.

Even after the inarguable facts of how Trump's lies and incitements led directly to the deadly January 6 insurrection riots, even now, the Republican Party has shown us they simply do not care about law and order when it comes to their own deadly deeds.   As I've said before, they have now paved the way for themselves to go the way of the Whigs. But at least the Whigs had a residue of honor, the Republicans have none.  They will have lost every atom when they acquit Trump later today. 

Yes, sadly Trump escaped conviction, but the Senate impeachment trial has served at least one purpose: It stitched together the most comprehensive and chilling video account to date of last month’s deadly assault on the Capitol. This ensures that the Dems now have the basis for a series of ready made campaign ads in next year's mid term elections.  There will be no reason, none, to fear the Repukes will capture any more seats in the House, or the Senate!  They have proven they can't be entrusted with governing power  after spitting on the Constitution.


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See Also:

by John E. Finn | February 14, 2021 - 7:37am | permalink

AND:

Trump’s lawyers had no defense because there is none

And:

On a bed of lies and rage, Trump’s defense rests

And:

by Ian Reifowitz | February 14, 2021 - 6:42am | permalink


AND:

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