Blogger Candidate Forum: The House Wraps Up

Hello Everyone:

It is The Blogger Candidate Forum with today in the Senate trial of Mr. Donald Trump.

The managers from the House of Representatives wrapped up their case with summations that could only be described as fiery. California Democratic Representative Adam Schiff earned rock star status with a closing argument that pointedly laid bare the president’s alleged high crimes and misdemeanors. In case some of are wondering why The Candidate Forum uses the word alleged to describe the high crimes and misdemeanors it is because the president has not been convicted, yet. Representative Schiff argued that the president’s misdeed were not simply a pattern of bad behavior, rather an imminent threat to America’s democracy. If you want to see a clip of it, here is the link https://youtu.be/yBtcDQpENZw  It is one of best speeches given on the floor of the Senate. There was more.

The bulk of the remaining time allotted to the House managers was given over to making their case of obstruction of Congress. The managers argued that Mr. Trump wielded his broad executive privileges to assert immunity from congressional oversight with any rationale. Unlike the Senate trial of President Bill Clinton, Mr. Trump ordered potential witnesses from testifying before Congress.  Fellow California Democrat Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a Congressional staff member during President Richard Nixon’s tenure, cited a letter from President Nixon, directed White House staff members to voluntarily appear before Congress, as directed. She added that no president has ever used executive privilege in such a blanket and indiscriminate manner. Representative Schiff added that executive privilege was used as a last refuge to conceal evidence and silence witnesses. This point was underscored by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) as described the president’s lack of respect for Congress.

The Candidate Forum noticed a related troubling news on its news feed. There is an advertisement circulating around the digital sphere that threatens to place the head of any senator on a pike if they fail to acquit the president. The Candidate Forum is unsure if this is a real thing or just someone’s (extremely bad) idea of humor. Regardless, if it is real, it could be interpreted as threatening the jurors—i.e. jury tampering—a genuine criminal offense.

Tomorrow, the president’s legal team begins its arguments. They are expected to make the case that president’s actions do not rise to the level of high crimes and misdemeanors, and this a politically motivated process to overturn the will of the people.

See you tomorrow