I don’t think anyone made a more ridiculous argument in the Senate trial than this utter nonsense from Alan Dershowitz:
“Every public official believes his election is in the public interest…. And if a president does something which he believes will help him get elected in the public interest” it’s not impeachable.”
But we shouldn’t be surprised…
Dershowitz on LA police: “In their minds O.J. was guilty, and therefore it was OK to frame him.”
Dershowitz on client Claus Von Bulow: “made me think about a man who can be defined by false accusations.”
Dershowitz on client Mike Tyson: “Mr. Tyson is one of a very few of African-American heroes.”
Dershowitz defending Jeffrey Epstein: “if a 16 year old has the constitutional right to have an abortion without state or parental interference, how could she not have the constitutional right to engage in consensual sex?”
Suggested question for senators to Dershowitz: “Have you ever represented anyone proven to be innocent?
Yep, when did the Trumpster become THE GOVERNMENT???
Collins pointedly asks Trump team if the president ever asked Ukraine about Biden before Biden entered race. Answer, after slobbering all over themselves, was “No”.
daily beast:
[continues]
Trump lawyers so lame in taking questions they should have brought in Mel Brooks to do a rendition of “Springtime For Hitler.”
Can we please get over this Trump lie about European aid to Ukraine? European countries have contributed an estimated two-thirds of all of the aid to Ukraine since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. https://www.factcheck.org/2019/09/trump-wrong-on-european-aid-to-ukraine/
“Lying” Ted Cruz asks the most ridiculous question all day: “Did the whistle-blower ever work with Joe Biden?” Schiff knocks it out of the park, calls it a conspiracy theory that is a “complete and total fiction.”
WTF? Dershowitz promotes UTZ chips today, are they paying him?
Qatar traitor Pam Bondi now daring to make up more crap about Bidens on Senate floor, loses her place in written text, suddenly walks away.
Trump team so far hasn’t brought out lunatic Ken Starr, guess they can’t unfasten his straight jacket.
Funny. Trump lawyer Sekulow on whistle-blower says “there has been some reports in the media the individual may have worked for Joe Biden when he was vice president.” Guess that wasn’t the “fake media”.
Dershowitz drools all over himself when asked just now about once saying no crime required in impeachment: “I studied more, did more research, And like any academic I altered my views.” Me thinks this is called situational clientele. What a fraud.
Dershowitz is completely disassembling, basically saying nothing is impeachable. Collect your check and go home numbnuts.
Trump lawyer Purpura defending Mulvaney’s admission of quid-pro-quo as “garbled.” Second time these idiots have said that, inviting need for Senate to interview Mulvaney.
Dersh only eats snacks that rhyme with words that describe him.
…such arrogant question from GOP Senators responded to with contradictory nonsense from the defense.
What is wrong with you, Red State citizens? Powerlines? Lead? Just angry?
Trump team “defense” in Senate today so self-defeating and bizzare one can only conclude our Idiot-in-Chief is running the show.
Dershowitz back on, now blathering about passing the “other than the shoe foot test”. Does he even understand what he’s talking about? He needs to share Ken Starr’s straight jacket.
Schiff blasts Dershowitz: “He’s saying the president can abuse his power in a corrupt way to help his reelection and you cant do anything about it.”
Last week, Douche-owitz said he wasn’t really on the Trumpsky team. He said he’d be there about an hour. The shoe he should be waiting for, is the next one to drop with more irrefutable intel. Trumpsky needs to go. For the sake of our Democracy, he needs to go. Even in TX, the poll is 44% to remove SFB and 45% to let him stay…and that was before the start of this facacta GOoPer duh-fence. Personally, I’m offended by the prayer because based on the behavior of the Repugz, they are using it to try to minimize the stink coming off of them. Liars have a scent.
Best case scenario for Dems winning Senate in November: McConnell pushes his GOP senators off the impeachment cliff
I’ve been prepping for a case tomorrow and have had to ignore the goings on. Have I missed anything? Based on Poobah’s hilarious comments I wish I didn’t have a job to do that distracts me from wasting my time listening to the coverage.
WTF is Dersh talking about with the “other than the shoe foot test”? Did he mean something like the “shoe on the other foot test” but his tongue got ahead of his mind – or worse, it kept up?
So Dershowitz defended his position that abuse of power is not an impeachable offense. Unless I’m mistaken screwball Starr said that in the Clinton case abuse of power was essential to make the jump from Whitewater to Monica although that wasa ot one of the articles referred to the Senate.
Was anything that Philbin is spewing about the record regarding Hunter Biden actually in the record?
https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/29/politics/us-border-wall-falls-over-high-winds/index.html
Let’s hope SFB’s de-fence falls, too.
Most succinct summaries of both sides’ arguments that i can conceive:
House impeachment managers: “Do what’s right”
Trump defense team: “Be afraid”
Honest to god…the fucking wall blew over? That should be front page on every major newspaper in the nation.
Bink, I haven’t been able to watch much of this, but from what I’ve seen, your summaries are very accurate, and refreshingly concise.
Thanks, Pogo.
i couldn’t do a running commentary, today, because the sheer magnitude of literal self-contradictory nonsense from the defense team was just too much and too often (and is still going on).
Here’s one: this isn’t a criminal trial, and “due process” doesn’t apply to impeachment (for the 90th time).
Oh, i would have answered your Q about Philbin, but i missed it, and actually didn’t hear Philbin, only other defense team members, address Biden Qs.
Reading the quote about Dershowitz and OJ made me think about my reaction at the time.
The LAPD back then did have a severe racist reputation. I remember thinking that they failed for the simple reason that they tried to frame a guilty man. As a result, he wasn’t convicted.
Dershowitz just said: “I have taught criminal law at Harvard for fifty years.” He left Harvard six years ago. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gatestone_Institute
That these assholes have to conjure ridiculous hypotheticals all day, every day, instead of addressing the facts of the case, should tell you all you need to know.
Dersh destroying the reputation of Harvard Law School
lol dersh just said “the President is irreplaceable”
…even he was struck by how stupid that sounds when he said it
just wow dersh
if anyone can make sense of dersh’s last statement in response to “impeached judges” question i will give you a dollar
Goddamn are Republicans lucky that this shit bores most people
Sorry for the over-participation, Mr. C.
Trump lawyer Philbin rewrites the law: “The idea that any information that happens to come from overseas is necessarily campaign interference is a mistake.”
Sen. Joe Manchion (D-WV) wants witnesses: “It’s time to hear from the people who really know.”
😭 i just want to listen to some music before bed
Winners:
Trump
McConnell
Murkowski
FauxNews
Losers:
America
Constitution
Harvard
Billy Crudup
Republican Senators, this November
Trump lawyers threats to entangle subpoenas easy to avoid if Senate empowers Chief Justice to rule on executive privilege claims.
Thank Goodness for Adam Schiff
Trump lawyer Philbin asserts Senate cannot convict a president for obstructing Congress. There goes separation of powers.
“oh ha ha ha, bipartisanship, how laughable, ha ha ha”
Schiff on Trump team’s claim: “It’s now OK to criminally conspire with another country to get help in a presidential election as long as the president believes it would help his election and therefore help our country.”
wow clauses of Dersh’s sentences contradict other clauses IN THE SAME FRIGGING SENTENCE
Sen. Susan Collins question to Dems: Why wasn’t bribery included in impeachment articles? House manager Jeffries weirdly dodges, lamely answered.
oh cool now Dersh is threatening civil war. thanks bud
Schiff needs to get on deck and clean up Jeffries pathetic answer to Collins bribery question.
Dersh has lost it. Impeaching a president and removing him from office when the country is divided politically shouldn’t be done? It will irreparably damage the country? That’s his fucking argument? Good God.
Trump lawyer Sekulow refuses to empower Chief Justice to rule on admitting witnesses and evidence: “We are not going to do that?“
✌️🇺🇸
Dershowitz: “Were a president be removed today it would pose existential dangers to our ability to live together.” Huh? He’s already done that.
Trump lawyer Philbin weirdly argues Ukraine military assistance secretly held because “the president didn’t want anyone to know.” Yep, because it was illegal.
Schiff cleans up Jeffries poor response to Collins bribery question: “We outlined facts that constitute bribery.” But had we charged bribery in abuse of power article they’d say two acts invalidly in same article. If split in 2 they’d say we took one crime and made it into 2.”
finally
Chief Justice dumps on Rand Paul by refusing to ask his question as it would name the whistle blower.
Well, if there is an impending civil war, as Alan Dershowitz threatened, tonight, i am dancing until then. Fuck it.
Schiff needs to handle all the questions tomorrow. Other House managers aren’t up to the task.
Schiff is uniquely brilliant. Unfair to hold other managers to that standard.
sorry, wanted to include you all in my post-impeachment after-question-segment dance-party
…what they close bars with, now, instead of “New York, New York”, by Sinatra
… if you hear that, close out your check
Senate GOP intends to cover up presidential treason to Russia. Follow the money. Remember in November.
So, if the president orders the theft of ballot boxes, it’s now Constitutional ! If he proclaims himself president for life, it’s now Constitutional ! If he murders his son and heir, it’s now Constitutional*
For me, it is unutterably sad that Dershowitz’s body outlived his mind. There are serious high school students alive today who will remember Dershowitz performance a hundred years from now as one of the most memorable public events of their lives.
*constantine, suleyman the Great, ivan the Terrible
NEW THREAD
Dershowitz on CNN now instead of Senate floor: “I do not believe the president can do anything to get reelected.” blah blah blah, go make your next crap case for your pal Putin.