Over the last several weeks Donald Trump’s impeachment defense has shifted numerous times. When he and his Republican defenders can no longer maintain an old position, they shift to a new one, without any recognition that something they once insisted on as true has been demonstrated to be false.
Let’s look at ten of these “defenses.”
(1) Nothing wrong with the July 25 phone call.
Dead. ...
(2) Yes, Trump asked Ukraine to investigate Biden, but this request wasn’t tied to aid.
Dead. ...
(3) Yes, the investigations were tied to aid, but Trump was trying to fight corruption, not seeking political gain.
Dead.
Of all of Trump’s defenses, this is probably the most ludicrous. ...
(4) Trump only froze aid to Ukraine because he’s paranoid and vindictive—using the withheld aid to extort Ukraine only dawned on him later.
This is probably Trump’s most convincing argument, but it’s not really a defense, is it?
We have credible https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/a-presidential-loathing-for-ukraine-is-at-the-heart-of-the-impeachment-inquiry/2019/11/02/8280ee60-fcc5-11e9-ac8c-8eced29ca6ef_story.html (testimony) that Trump hated Ukraine ...
(5) Yes, he fired Yovanovitch, but he replaced her with somebody equally honorable, William Taylor.
Dead. ...
(6) No harm, no foul because Trump ultimately released the aid.
Almost dead.
Trump only released the aid after the whistleblower’s report became known. If you kidnap someone, and then release them before the ransom gets paid, you still committed a kidnapping.
(7) There couldn’t be a quid pro quo, because Ukraine didn’t know the aid was being withheld.
Dead. ...
(8) There couldn’t be a quid pro quo, because Zelensky hadn’t done anything when the aid was released.
Dead. ...
(9) It wasn’t Trump.
This one is in critical condition, though not yet on life support. ...
(10) Impeachable shmim-peachable.
If you assume that Gordon Sondland (or somebody else close to Trump) will supply the missing link that fatally wounds the “it wasn’t me” defense, “not impeachable” will be Trump’s last stand. ...
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