The aftermath of Trump's acquittal in his second impeachment trial

[Quasar44]

The Republican Party has given a free pass to future Presidents for anything they might do in the closing days of their term of office. A former President incited an insurrection against our government during the closing days of his term of office. It doesn't get worse than that.

The Republican Party acquitted the former President!

ABC News reported, "Exactly a month and a week after insurrectionists incited a riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, former President Donald Trump's second impeachment trial came to a climactic end on Saturday afternoon, with Trump being acquitted for his alleged role of inciting the deadly event. A majority of senators voted to convict the former president, but failed to reach the super majority threshold needed for a conviction."

To provide an example of the perfidy of the Republican Party one need only look at the Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Despite the opinions of nearly all Constitution experts Constitution lawyers to the contrary, McConnell said "he voted "not guilty" because he believes Trump is "constitutionally not eligible for conviction" given that he is no longer president," according to NBC News.

In addition, a Senate resolution established the Senate's jurisdiction in the impeachment trial. McConnell and most Republicans violated a Senate resolution. McConnell said nothing about the evidence. He couldn't. The evidence was overwhelming.

The American people have already spoken, but the Republican Party is not paying attention. Under their leadership, the Republican Party has lost the House, Senate, and the White House in just the last four years.

Now this. A Republican President committed an act of sedition, and the Republican Party freed him from consequences. With the precedence set, all future Presidents are free of responsibility for any action they might take in the closing days of their term.

It is easy to surmise this might be opening act of the decline of American democracy.

America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we lose our freedoms it will be because we have destroyed ourselves from within. Abraham Lincoln

The American people will remember this day. The Republican Party lost with this feckless decision.

The entire Justice system and Democracy destroyed by the leftist Maos

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Trump's problems are just beginning. There are his problems N.Y. and Georgia.

Now there is this.

CNN reports, "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced in a letter to House Democrats on Monday plans for the creation of a "9/11-type commission" to investigate the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.

"To protect our security, our next step will be to establish an outside, independent 9/11-type Commission to 'investigate and report on the facts and causes relating to the January 6, 2021 domestic terrorist attack upon the United States Capitol Complex,'" Pelosi wrote.

"A commission of this nature would be established by a statute, passed by both chambers and signed into law by the President. The commission members would not be elected leaders and would be outside the government.

A factor that many are interested in is, did Trump have any communication with the Pentagon? There were warnings. Why were they ignored. Why was there a delay in the National Guard response?

The Defense Department is facing scrutiny over its role in the events that took place on Jan. 6 after the D.C. government and Capitol Police accused Pentagon officials of slow-walking an emergency call for National Guard reinforcements as rioters threatened to breach the capitol.

Why did a security breakdown take place, leaving the Capitol all but defenseless against a marauding group of pro-Trump rioters?

And this, according to CNN.

"Former President Donald Trump and attorney Rudy Giuliani are being accused of conspiring with the far-right groups Proud Boys and Oath Keepers to incite the January 6 insurrection in a civil lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court by the Democratic chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee.

"The lawsuit, filed by Mississippi Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson in his personal capacity, is the first civil action filed against the former President related to the attack at the US Capitol and comes days after the Senate acquitted Trump in his impeachment trial.

" If it proceeds, it would mean the former President and others would be subject to discovery and depositions, potentially exposing details and evidence that weren't released during the Senate impeachment trial."

 

[kyzr]

Trump's problems are just beginning. There are his problems N.Y. and Georgia.

Now there is this.

CNN reports, "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced in a letter to House Democrats on Monday plans for the creation of a "9/11-type commission" to investigate the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.

"To protect our security, our next step will be to establish an outside, independent 9/11-type Commission to 'investigate and report on the facts and causes relating to the January 6, 2021 domestic terrorist attack upon the United States Capitol Complex,'" Pelosi wrote.

"A commission of this nature would be established by a statute, passed by both chambers and signed into law by the President. The commission members would not be elected leaders and would be outside the government.

A factor that many are interested in is, did Trump have any communication with the Pentagon? There were warnings. Why were they ignored. Why was there a delay in the National Guard response?

The Defense Department is facing scrutiny over its role in the events that took place on Jan. 6 after the D.C. government and Capitol Police accused Pentagon officials of slow-walking an emergency call for National Guard reinforcements as rioters threatened to breach the capitol.

Why did a security breakdown take place, leaving the Capitol all but defenseless against a marauding group of pro-Trump rioters?

And this, according to CNN.

"Former President Donald Trump and attorney Rudy Giuliani are being accused of conspiring with the far-right groups Proud Boys and Oath Keepers to incite the January 6 insurrection in a civil lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court by the Democratic chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee.

"The lawsuit, filed by Mississippi Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson in his personal capacity, is the first civil action filed against the former President related to the attack at the US Capitol and comes days after the Senate acquitted Trump in his impeachment trial.

" If it proceeds, it would mean the former President and others would be subject to discovery and depositions, potentially exposing details and evidence that weren't released during the Senate impeachment trial."

Oh WOW, you really have Trump now. This time for sure!
No fucking way he gets out of this "incitement" charge, or sedition charge, or whatever other charge the democrats fantasize about.

p.s. Trump's lawyers could also depose Nancy and her band of criminal morons.

 

[Staidhup]

What are to Dimbo's to do now that Trump is out of office?

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Former President Donald Trump and attorney Rudy Giuliani are being accused of conspiring with the far-right groups Proud Boys and Oath Keepers to incite the January 6 insurrection in a civil lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court by the Democratic chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former President Donald Trump’s long-time lawyer and confidant Rudy Giuliani is not representing Trump in legal matters at this time, Trump spokesman Jason Miller said on Tuesday.

“Mayor Giuliani is not currently representing President Trump in any legal matters,” Miller said.

Miller said in a tweet that Giuliani remained an "ally and a friend" and is not representing Trump only because there are no pending cases in which he's involved!

I gotta admit, Miller is a barrel of laughs. His statements concerning Trump are comical, and that's being gentle.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

“There is no question, none, that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the event of that day," McConnell said. He called that assault a “foreseeable consequence” of Trump using the presidency, calling it “the largest megaphone on Planet Earth.” Rather than calling off the rioters, McConnell accused Trump of “praising the criminals”

For various reasons I have always thought that Trump set out to destroy the Republican Party. Trump is vindictive and afflicted with extreme narcissism. Some one attacks him, he must strike back -- hard! -- never mind the circumstances.

This may go back to 2016 primaries where his Republican rivals were not kind to Trump.

Throughout his Presidency he attacked Republican lawmakers and the Republican Party as a whole.

Now he attacks the single most powerful Republican in the country, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Not without cause from his point of view, I admit that

Politico reports, "Former President Donald Trump issued a caustic and highly personal statement against Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday, effectively declaring war on the Kentucky Republican for failing to back his attempts to undermine the 2020 election."

“Mitch is a dour, sullen, and unsmiling political hack, and if Republican Senators are going to stay with him, they will not win again,” Trump said in the statement released by his PAC.

Politico added, "Trump’s statement will almost certainly aggravate the fight among Republicans over the party’s future after Trump’s presidency."

Trump threatened to back primary challengers to lawmakers who aren’t aligned with Trump.

“Where necessary and appropriate, I will back primary rivals who espouse Making America Great Again and our policy of America First. We want brilliant, strong, thoughtful, and compassionate leadership,” Trump warned.

Trump's intentions could not be clearer. If he can't run successfully for office again because he is disgraced, then no Republican can.

So his thinking goes.

Additionally, Trump knows his endorsement causes Republican candidates to lose. In the last election Trump stomped for the two Republican Senate candidates in Arizona.

Arizona Has Two Democratic Senators For the First Time Since 1952

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Trump's followers and Senate Republicans are mistaken.

There is nothing in our Constitution that forbids the impeachment trial after the President has left office, bearing in mind that Trump was impeached for inciting an insurrection while President.

To be frank, the possibility certainly exists the Framers never thought of it. They never thought that Americans would elect a President as bad as Trump.

Trump was elected by virtue of several strange factors that will probably never happen again. The Democrats nominated the worst possible candidate, a candidate with a ton of baggage and facing possible indictment by the DOJ for her carelessness of state secrets. Voter apathy, 90 million voters stayed home on Election Day, and another ten million wasted their vote on third party candidates "in protest." Putin and Wikileaks combined to help Trump get elected.

Nevertheless, Trump was a minority President. He was elected by 27% of the electorate. His unpopularity throughout his Presidency reflects that fact.

However, once elected, Trump became the darling of extremists, white supremacists, neo-Nazis, current and former members of the KKK, the intellectually challenged, anarchists, and -- believe it or not! -- the religious right. The current group of malcontents like the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers are a reflection of that kind of support.

His fan club became a cult. They created fantasies about him and are completely clueless as to what Trump actually does and says. They get their information from far right commentators on Fox and other far right sources while ignoring the real news media because it reveals the reality of Trump. They make every attempt to avoid that reality. Trump's cult prefers their fantasies.

Unfortunately, the extremists in Trump's cult have not gone away, and they amassed 74 million votes in the last election, a force to be reckoned with. McConnell, Thune, Cheney, Cassidy, Burr, Romney, Toomey, and others are trying to steer their party away from the extremists, but it is an uphill battle. While losing the House, Senate, and the Presidency under Trump's stewardship, his followers remain loyal to him, not the Republican Party, indicating again the cult-like nature of Trump's fan club as opposed to a political alliance.

At some point Republicans have to grow a brain.

No doubt about it, the Framers never envisioned a man like Trump becoming President.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

However, once elected, Trump became the darling of extremists, white supremacists, neo-Nazis, current and former members of the KKK, the intellectually challenged, anarchists, and -- believe it or not! -- the religious right. The current group of malcontents like the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers are a reflection of that kind of support.

While losing the House, Senate, and the Presidency under Trump's stewardship, his followers remain loyal to him, not the Republican Party.

Two days after the U.S. Senate voted to acquit former President Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial, three-quarters of Republicans say, 75 - 21 percent, that they would like to see Trump play a prominent role in the Republican Party, according to a Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pea-ack) University national poll of 1,056 adults released today. 75% Of Republicans Want Trump To Play Big Role In GOP, Quinnipiac Poll Finds

As long as this is true, as indicated above, the Republican Party will continue to lose. For the first time in 90 years a political party lost the House, Senate, and the Presidency during a span of four years.

And most Republicans want Trump to play a role in elections!

 

[Remodeling Maidiac]

The Republican Party has given a free pass to future Presidents for anything they might do in the closing days of their term of office. A former President incited an insurrection against our government during the closing days of his term of office. It doesn't get worse than that.

The Republican Party acquitted the former President!

ABC News reported, "Exactly a month and a week after insurrectionists incited a riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, former President Donald Trump's second impeachment trial came to a climactic end on Saturday afternoon, with Trump being acquitted for his alleged role of inciting the deadly event. A majority of senators voted to convict the former president, but failed to reach the super majority threshold needed for a conviction."

To provide an example of the perfidy of the Republican Party one need only look at the Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Despite the opinions of nearly all Constitution experts Constitution lawyers to the contrary, McConnell said "he voted "not guilty" because he believes Trump is "constitutionally not eligible for conviction" given that he is no longer president," according to NBC News.

In addition, a Senate resolution established the Senate's jurisdiction in the impeachment trial. McConnell and most Republicans violated a Senate resolution. McConnell said nothing about the evidence. He couldn't. The evidence was overwhelming.

The American people have already spoken, but the Republican Party is not paying attention. Under their leadership, the Republican Party has lost the House, Senate, and the White House in just the last four years.

Now this. A Republican President committed an act of sedition, and the Republican Party freed him from consequences. With the precedence set, all future Presidents are free of responsibility for any action they might take in the closing days of their term.

It is easy to surmise this might be opening act of the decline of American democracy.

America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we lose our freedoms it will be because we have destroyed ourselves from within. Abraham Lincoln

The American people will remember this day. The Republican Party lost with this feckless decision.

UNHINGED JIBBERISH.

You morons have got to find a new boogeyman ffs

 

[BluesLegend]

The Republican Party lost with this feckless decision.

Meh, do something about it you gutless Dems.

 

[Remodeling Maidiac]

“There is no question, none, that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the event of that day," McConnell said. He called that assault a “foreseeable consequence” of Trump using the presidency, calling it “the largest megaphone on Planet Earth.” Rather than calling off the rioters, McConnell accused Trump of “praising the criminals”

For various reasons I have always thought that Trump set out to destroy the Republican Party. Trump is vindictive and afflicted with extreme narcissism. Some one attacks him, he must strike back -- hard! -- never mind the circumstances.

This may go back to 2016 primaries where his Republican rivals were not kind to Trump.

Throughout his Presidency he attacked Republican lawmakers and the Republican Party as a whole.

Now he attacks the single most powerful Republican in the country, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Not without cause from his point of view, I admit that

Politico reports, "Former President Donald Trump issued a caustic and highly personal statement against Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday, effectively declaring war on the Kentucky Republican for failing to back his attempts to undermine the 2020 election."

“Mitch is a dour, sullen, and unsmiling political hack, and if Republican Senators are going to stay with him, they will not win again,” Trump said in the statement released by his PAC.

Politico added, "Trump’s statement will almost certainly aggravate the fight among Republicans over the party’s future after Trump’s presidency."

Trump threatened to back primary challengers to lawmakers who aren’t aligned with Trump.

“Where necessary and appropriate, I will back primary rivals who espouse Making America Great Again and our policy of America First. We want brilliant, strong, thoughtful, and compassionate leadership,” Trump warned.

Trump's intentions could not be clearer. If he can't run successfully for office again because he is disgraced, then no Republican can.

So his thinking goes.

Additionally, Trump knows his endorsement causes Republican candidates to lose. In the last election Trump stomped for the two Republican Senate candidates in Arizona.

Arizona Has Two Democratic Senators For the First Time Since 1952

Republicans better make amends with the Trump family. Bank on it, otherwise kiss their chances at a majority good bye.
Trump is still the standard bearer for average Republicans in America. Not recognizing that is like playing with matches while swimming in a pool full of gasoline

 

[Sandy Shanks]

“Mitch is a dour, sullen, and unsmiling political hack, and if Republican Senators are going to stay with him, they will not win again,” Trump said in the statement released by his PAC.

“Where necessary and appropriate, I will back primary rivals who espouse Making America Great Again and our policy of America First. We want brilliant, strong, thoughtful, and compassionate leadership,” Trump warned.

According to reports, McConnell laughed at Trump's personal attack on him and said he will not respond. He made it clear that he does not want to get into a back and forth with Trump. Instead he wants to focus squarely on Republicans who can win key Senate races in primaries.

Funny, that is virtually the same thing Joe Biden said about Trump.

“I’m tired of talking about Donald Trump. I don’t want to talk about him anymore,” Biden said Tuesday night during a CNN town hall in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

 

[Nostra]

Here is part of the aftermath..............

 

[krichton]

Mitch McConnell said, there was no question that Trump incited the riots and was responsible. Those were his words, in a speech. So he votes to acquit knowing this and then confirming it in a speech??? The republican party is corrupt to the core.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Here is part of the aftermath..............

Trump's cult is really getting desperate. Considering their intellectual level, can anyone blame them?

 

[Sandy Shanks]

McConnell laughed at Trump's personal attack on him and said he will not respond. He made it clear that he does not want to get into a back and forth with Trump. Instead he wants to focus squarely on Republicans who can win key Senate races in primaries.

Carl Hulse and Nicholas Fandos write, "Senator Mitch McConnell’s colleagues may not have deep personal affection for their often distant and inscrutable leader, but there is considerable appreciation for how he has spared them from difficult votes while maintaining a laserlike focus on keeping the Senate majority.

"The strategy appeared twofold: Don’t stoke a full-on revolt by Trump supporters the party needs by voting to convict, but demonstrate to anti-Trump Republicans — particularly big donors — that he recognized Mr. Trump’s failings and is beginning to steer the party in another direction.

"But it did not exactly produce the desired result. Instead, it has drawn Mr. McConnell into a vicious feud with the former president, who lashed out at him on Tuesday as a “dour, sullen and unsmiling political hack,” and given new cause for Republican division that could spill into the midterm elections. And it has left some Republicans bewildered over Mr. McConnell’s strategy and others taking a harder line, saying the leader whose focus was always the next election had hurt the party’s 2022 prospects."

The fact remains, it matters little what McConnell does. The Republican Party is in serious trouble. They need to rid themselves of the extremists in their group. Until they do that, they will continue to lose general elections as they have for the past four years.

Even members of Trump's cult know that. They remain totally silent as the character of the group is being closely examined and prosecuted.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

However, once elected, Trump became the darling of extremists, white supremacists, neo-Nazis, current and former members of the KKK, the intellectually challenged, anarchists, and -- believe it or not! -- the religious right. The current group of malcontents like the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers are a reflection of that kind of support.

Rep. Steve Scalise, the No. 2 House Republican, followed on the heels of the No. 1 House Republican, Kevin McCarty, privately meeting with Trump in Florida earlier this week.

Why? Under Trump's leadership, the Republicans lost the House, Senate, and the Presidency in four years. That's the first time that has happened in 90 years.

In Georgia, Trump campaigned for the two Republican candidates in the special election on Jan. 5. Republicans needed only one to win to retain the majority in the Senate. Both Republicans lost, and the Democrats became the majority.

Trump campaigned for the Senatorial Republican candidates in Arizona. Arizona Has Two Democratic Senators For the First Time Since 1952.

Why in the world do Congressional Republicans think Trump can help them in general elections?

I honestly do not have an answer for that, and we may never know. Trump's supporters on this forum are not talking. Focusing on writers and Democrats, Trump's followers generally avoid talking about Trump.

It might be an intelligence issue.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Rep. Steve Scalise, the No. 2 House Republican, followed on the heels of the No. 1 House Republican, Kevin McCarty, privately meeting with Trump in Florida earlier this week.

Why? Under Trump's leadership, the Republicans lost the House, Senate, and the Presidency in four years. That's the first time that has happened in 90 years.

Anyone thinking that Trump is past tense is not paying attention. Following McCarthy and Scalise, another leading Republican is making a pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago.

Taking into consideration Trump's track record in elections, it is anyone's guess as to why. What is the point of winning in the primaries only to lose in the general election as has been the case for four years? Trump's fan club can't answer that question.

Nor can anyone else.

CNN reports, "Sen. Lindsey Graham is heading to Mar-a-Lago this weekend to meet with Donald Trump in hopes of bridging a growing rift in the top echelon of the Republican Party, CNN has learned.

"According to a person familiar with his plans, Graham plans to spend his time on the golf course with Trump -- ideally convincing the former president that regaining congressional majorities for Republicans will help bolster his own presidential legacy. This person said Graham wants to be "constructive," urging Trump to use his influence for the party's good.

"Graham is the latest Republican to visit Trump at Mar-a-Lago. Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the No. 2 House Republican, met privately with Trump there on Tuesday, the day before Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell vowed never to do so."

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Taking into consideration Trump's track record in elections, it is anyone's guess as to why. What is the point of winning in the primaries only to lose in the general election as has been the case for four years? Trump's fan club can't answer that question.

Actually, Trump's fans have largely gone silent. Too many tough questions, I guess.

 

[DustyInfinity]

The Republican Party has given a free pass to future Presidents for anything they might do in the closing days of their term of office. A former President incited an insurrection against our government during the closing days of his term of office. It doesn't get worse than that.

The Republican Party acquitted the former President!

ABC News reported, "Exactly a month and a week after insurrectionists incited a riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, former President Donald Trump's second impeachment trial came to a climactic end on Saturday afternoon, with Trump being acquitted for his alleged role of inciting the deadly event. A majority of senators voted to convict the former president, but failed to reach the super majority threshold needed for a conviction."

To provide an example of the perfidy of the Republican Party one need only look at the Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Despite the opinions of nearly all Constitution experts Constitution lawyers to the contrary, McConnell said "he voted "not guilty" because he believes Trump is "constitutionally not eligible for conviction" given that he is no longer president," according to NBC News.

In addition, a Senate resolution established the Senate's jurisdiction in the impeachment trial. McConnell and most Republicans violated a Senate resolution. McConnell said nothing about the evidence. He couldn't. The evidence was overwhelming.

The American people have already spoken, but the Republican Party is not paying attention. Under their leadership, the Republican Party has lost the House, Senate, and the White House in just the last four years.

Now this. A Republican President committed an act of sedition, and the Republican Party freed him from consequences. With the precedence set, all future Presidents are free of responsibility for any action they might take in the closing days of their term.

It is easy to surmise this might be opening act of the decline of American democracy.

America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we lose our freedoms it will be because we have destroyed ourselves from within. Abraham Lincoln

The American people will remember this day. The Republican Party lost with this feckless decision.

I don't believe that. This was a highly unusual situation that I don't believe 99% of politicians would want associated with their names or would consider repeating. Besides, it didn't set any new precedents. Any impeachment is still subject to a trial, regardless if you've quit or ended your term. The partisan outcome of both of T****'s impeachment trials has been no different than the partisan outcome of every impeachment trial we've had in the past.

The fascist right bears watching, but not obsessing over. If they give trouble, we'll deal with it when it comes. Spending all our time staring at the wreckage and fussing over it isn't going to get us anywhere. Biden has taken out the brooms, let's give him a hand and quit spending all our energy on the losers.

Oldlady, I've never had a problem with you, and I'm hoping that you do not seriously consider the right to be fascist. You can disagree about direction and policy, but using fascism is not a serious position. Voters on the right want freedom above all else, and while the people who are supposed to represent us are worthless Washington Lifers, they have not acted to reduce our freedoms. The democrat party has had a far worse track record on citizens being free. That is just my opinion.