One of the unfortunate things about living in New York State is the burden of having Chuck Schumer as your U.S. Senator. The man doesn’t give a rat’s ass about the state, or the United States for that matter. All he cares about is advancing the needs of his party. The latest example of his party-first attitude is gung-ho endorsement of the Democrats’ sham impeachment of Donald Trump.
Schumer sent Majority Leader Mitch McConnell a letter demanding a full, drawn-out trial. In it, Schumer and got the Constitution wrong, but that’s nothing new:
In response to the House’s action, as you have noted, our rules require the Senate to conduct a trial to consider and vote on the Articles of Impeachment. This is an enormously weighty and solemn responsibility that was assigned to the Senate by the Framers of the Constitution. Senate Democrats believe strongly, and I trust Senate Republicans agree, that this trial must be one that is fair, that considers all of the relevant facts, and that exercises the Senate’s ‘sole Power of Impeachment’ under the Constitution with integrity and dignity. The trial must be one that not only hears all of the evidence and adjudicates the case fairly; it must also pass the fairness test with the American people. That is the great challenge for the Senate in the coming weeks.
But as you can see by watching the short video below, Schumer wasn’t quite as bullish about an impeachment trial in 1998, but that a lot to do with the identity of the impeachee: Bill Clinton. In the clip, Schumer expresses his fears over “a partisan majority push[ing] through an impeachment. He told a reporter at the time, “Well, I hope a trial doesn’t go forward. And I am starting from this moment on to explore every possible way to avoid a trial.” When that failed, he fought against calling witnesses.
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Contrast that with his brazen tone now, reflected in another paragraph of his letter to McConnell:
Conducting the trial according to this plan will also allow the public to have confidence in the process and will demonstrate that the Senate can put aside partisan concerns and fulfill its constitutional duty. I look forward to discussing this plan with you and to working with you to ensure that the Senate can rise to this critically important occasion.
Cross posted at The Lid
