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| Did Trump win day one of the impeachment hearings? Our panel verdict | Did Trump win day one of the impeachment hearings? Our panel verdict |
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| Our panelists weigh in on whether the historic hearings went as Democrats hoped | Our panelists weigh in on whether the historic hearings went as Democrats hoped |
| Art Cullen: ‘The hearings won’t oust Trump’ | Art Cullen: ‘The hearings won’t oust Trump’ |
| Acting Ukrainian ambassador William Taylor may have the voice of Walter Cronkite, but what he said Tuesday is unlikely to oust Trump. About half the public opposes impeachment. Period. The House of Representatives, where Democrats have a majority, will impeach Trump. But the Republican-controlled Senate won’t. | |
| Everyone knows Trump tried to get dirt on the Bidens and thinks it is wrong. But not everyone thinks what he did was impeachable. The hearing won’t move public opinion sufficiently, despite the credibility of the witnesses and the pettiness of the Republican panelists who cross-examined them. | Everyone knows Trump tried to get dirt on the Bidens and thinks it is wrong. But not everyone thinks what he did was impeachable. The hearing won’t move public opinion sufficiently, despite the credibility of the witnesses and the pettiness of the Republican panelists who cross-examined them. |
| Taylor and deputy assistant secretary of state George Kent merely confirmed what Trump himself and chief of staff Mick Mulvaney already have acknowledged. “Get over it,” Mulvaney said. The truth will be told next November, when a corrupt liar is booted out of the White House and takes down the Republican majority in the Senate with him. | |
| Art Cullen is editor of The Storm Lake Times in Iowa and won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing. Cullen is the author of the book, Storm Lake: A Chronicle of Change, Resilience, and Hope from a Heartland Newspaper | Art Cullen is editor of The Storm Lake Times in Iowa and won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing. Cullen is the author of the book, Storm Lake: A Chronicle of Change, Resilience, and Hope from a Heartland Newspaper |
| Jessa Crispin: ‘I am still not genuinely incensed’ | Jessa Crispin: ‘I am still not genuinely incensed’ |
| Before the public hearings began, I was on the fence about whether this was worth anyone’s time. Then I watched the devastating testimony of acting ambassador to Ukraine Bill Taylor. He gave the first clear explanation I’ve heard of how the alleged quid pro quo of “we’ll give you assistance if you go on television and announce my political rivals are under investigation” happened. He was also emphatic about the stakes. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2014, soldiers and civilians have been dying every week, and the holding up of aid has real life-and-death consequences. | |
| Taylor’s composure and confidence seemed to rattle the Republicans. The closest he looked to flummoxed was while being questioned by Republican counsel Steve Castor. His questions were so convoluted that Taylor looked confused, like he was talking to a giant squid who learned English primarily by watching episodes of Law & Order and Futurama. It’s because of Taylor’s testimony, and only because of his testimony, that I’m off the fence. | |
| That said, I still find it hard to feel genuinely incensed by what I heard from the congresspeople in the hearing today. Part of the reason is that the hearings – and the broader impeachment debate – presents Trump’s attempt to use another sovereign nation as a pawn as a radical break from American diplomacy. But is it really? | That said, I still find it hard to feel genuinely incensed by what I heard from the congresspeople in the hearing today. Part of the reason is that the hearings – and the broader impeachment debate – presents Trump’s attempt to use another sovereign nation as a pawn as a radical break from American diplomacy. But is it really? |
| Our history of destablizing South America through supporting coups and political assassination reverberates as one nation after another is embroiled in regime change, voting irregularities, and massive protests. Our unquestioned ally Israel is pounding the territory it occupies with air raids. As the hearing happens, Turkish president Erdogan, who has overseen war crimes in Syria, is sitting in the White House on official business. We are still dealing with Saudi Arabia, even after the assassination of a journalist and its war on Yemen. | Our history of destablizing South America through supporting coups and political assassination reverberates as one nation after another is embroiled in regime change, voting irregularities, and massive protests. Our unquestioned ally Israel is pounding the territory it occupies with air raids. As the hearing happens, Turkish president Erdogan, who has overseen war crimes in Syria, is sitting in the White House on official business. We are still dealing with Saudi Arabia, even after the assassination of a journalist and its war on Yemen. |
| So for all the elevated talk by Democrats about how “terrible” Trump’s manipulations of Ukraine have been, for all the hysterical Republicans asking things along the lines of, “Don’t you agree it should be illegal to hurt Daddy Trump’s feelings?”, wouldn’t it be wonderful if every time someone – anyone – died overseas for the “strategic interests” of the United States, one of these hearings was called? I would happily watch all of them, for any administration. | |
| Jessa Crispin is an author and the host of the Public Intellectual podcast | Jessa Crispin is an author and the host of the Public Intellectual podcast |
| Jill Filipovic: ‘Democrats have a compelling case against Trump’ | Jill Filipovic: ‘Democrats have a compelling case against Trump’ |
| One thing from the impeachment hearing was obvious: Democrats have a clear and compelling case that the president abused his office for personal gain, withholding aid to a fragile ally to pressure them to investigate one of his political rivals. | |
| Republicans have a hodgepodge of half-baked defenses: Ukraine is corrupt and Trump cares about corruption (never mind that he wasn’t interested in anything corruption-related apart from conspiracy theories that benefit him personally); Ukraine didn’t actually do what Trump asked (never mind that whether Ukraine complied with the quid pro quo isn’t the question); the aid was eventually released (never mind that it was released after the whistleblower made his complaint); this is all hearsay (never mind that people with direct knowledge of the matter are being barred by the White House from testifying). | Republicans have a hodgepodge of half-baked defenses: Ukraine is corrupt and Trump cares about corruption (never mind that he wasn’t interested in anything corruption-related apart from conspiracy theories that benefit him personally); Ukraine didn’t actually do what Trump asked (never mind that whether Ukraine complied with the quid pro quo isn’t the question); the aid was eventually released (never mind that it was released after the whistleblower made his complaint); this is all hearsay (never mind that people with direct knowledge of the matter are being barred by the White House from testifying). |
| Democrats have coherence. Republicans have distractions and misdirections. This shouldn’t be a partisan showdown nor a sporting event, and the facts should speak for themselves. What they say: the president put his personal interests over US foreign policy and national security. And Republicans have put their loyalty to Trump ahead of their loyalty to the country. | Democrats have coherence. Republicans have distractions and misdirections. This shouldn’t be a partisan showdown nor a sporting event, and the facts should speak for themselves. What they say: the president put his personal interests over US foreign policy and national security. And Republicans have put their loyalty to Trump ahead of their loyalty to the country. |
| Jill Filipovic is the author of The H-Spot: The Feminist Pursuit of Happiness | Jill Filipovic is the author of The H-Spot: The Feminist Pursuit of Happiness |
| Lloyd Green: ‘Trump’s high crimes and misdemeanors were plain to see’ | Lloyd Green: ‘Trump’s high crimes and misdemeanors were plain to see’ |
| By the time the impeachment hearing had adjourned, Donald Trump’s high crimes and misdemeanors were plain to see. Bill Taylor, the acting ambassador to Ukraine, and George Kent, a state department official charged with oversight of European and Eurasian affairs, delivered damning new evidence of the president’s abuse of power. US foreign policy was, in fact, being held hostage to Trump’s whims. | By the time the impeachment hearing had adjourned, Donald Trump’s high crimes and misdemeanors were plain to see. Bill Taylor, the acting ambassador to Ukraine, and George Kent, a state department official charged with oversight of European and Eurasian affairs, delivered damning new evidence of the president’s abuse of power. US foreign policy was, in fact, being held hostage to Trump’s whims. |
| Yet the limits of the president’s defense and Democrats’ power of persuasion were visible too. Eric Trump tweeted that the hearing was “horribly boring,” Representative Mark Meadows of the deep-red House Freedom Caucus opined “everyone has their own impression of what truth is,” and Ohio’s Jim Jordan sat predictably coatless and snarling. | Yet the limits of the president’s defense and Democrats’ power of persuasion were visible too. Eric Trump tweeted that the hearing was “horribly boring,” Representative Mark Meadows of the deep-red House Freedom Caucus opined “everyone has their own impression of what truth is,” and Ohio’s Jim Jordan sat predictably coatless and snarling. |
| For Republicans, belief in Trump has congealed into an article of faith. No one will ever confuse Devin Nunes with the late Howard Baker. For Nunes, Inspector Clouseau is way more likely. | For Republicans, belief in Trump has congealed into an article of faith. No one will ever confuse Devin Nunes with the late Howard Baker. For Nunes, Inspector Clouseau is way more likely. |
| Lloyd Green was opposition research counsel to George HW Bush’s 1988 campaign and served in the Department of Justice from 1990 to 1992 | Lloyd Green was opposition research counsel to George HW Bush’s 1988 campaign and served in the Department of Justice from 1990 to 1992 |
| Geoffrey Kabaservice: ‘Republicans are falling in line behind Trump’ | Geoffrey Kabaservice: ‘Republicans are falling in line behind Trump’ |
| Democratic representatives in Wednesday’s impeachment hearings no doubt feel that the proceedings went as well for them as they could have hoped. The questions they asked were mostly on point. The witnesses (career diplomats William Taylor and George Kent) came across as knowledgeable and competent. There were unexpected revelations, particularly Taylor’s assertion that President Trump asked about “the investigations” in a telephone call with another official. The Republicans’ questions, by contrast, ranged from inane to zany, with Representative Jim Jordan standing out for his dedication to unfounded conspiracy theories. None of the Republican questioners damaged the witnesses’ credibility. | Democratic representatives in Wednesday’s impeachment hearings no doubt feel that the proceedings went as well for them as they could have hoped. The questions they asked were mostly on point. The witnesses (career diplomats William Taylor and George Kent) came across as knowledgeable and competent. There were unexpected revelations, particularly Taylor’s assertion that President Trump asked about “the investigations” in a telephone call with another official. The Republicans’ questions, by contrast, ranged from inane to zany, with Representative Jim Jordan standing out for his dedication to unfounded conspiracy theories. None of the Republican questioners damaged the witnesses’ credibility. |
| But the significant fact of today’s hearings, for me, is that Republicans Elise Stefanik of New York and Will Hurd of Texas stuck by the Republican party line that the witnesses had only secondhand knowledge of Trump’s interactions, that the president had legitimate reasons to be concerned about Ukrainian corruption, and that the fact that Ukraine eventually received its withheld military aid shows that there was no quid pro quo. | But the significant fact of today’s hearings, for me, is that Republicans Elise Stefanik of New York and Will Hurd of Texas stuck by the Republican party line that the witnesses had only secondhand knowledge of Trump’s interactions, that the president had legitimate reasons to be concerned about Ukrainian corruption, and that the fact that Ukraine eventually received its withheld military aid shows that there was no quid pro quo. |
| Stefanik and Hurd have a reputation for being among the most moderate and independent Republicans in Congress, willing to criticize Trump when circumstances (such as his betrayal of the Kurds) warrant it. Some Trump critics confidently anticipate that Representative Hurd, who’s the party’s sole African-American representative in the House and is retiring at the end of this term, not only will vote for impeachment but will persuade other open-minded Republicans to do the same. But there was absolutely nothing in today’s hearings to validate that hope. | Stefanik and Hurd have a reputation for being among the most moderate and independent Republicans in Congress, willing to criticize Trump when circumstances (such as his betrayal of the Kurds) warrant it. Some Trump critics confidently anticipate that Representative Hurd, who’s the party’s sole African-American representative in the House and is retiring at the end of this term, not only will vote for impeachment but will persuade other open-minded Republicans to do the same. But there was absolutely nothing in today’s hearings to validate that hope. |
| If Stefanik and Hurd fall in line behind Trump, chances are nearly every other Republican member of the House of Representatives will do the same. If support for impeachment divides almost entirely along partisan lines, that lessens the likelihood of significant numbers of Republican Senators voting to remove the president. That means that in our current hyper-polarized politics, in which even the notion of objective truth is perceived in tribal terms, today’s hearings have to be counted a victory for Trump. | |
| Geoffrey Kabaservice is the director of political studies at the Niskanen Center in Washington, DC as well as the author of Rule and Ruin: The Downfall of Moderation and the Destruction of the Republican party | Geoffrey Kabaservice is the director of political studies at the Niskanen Center in Washington, DC as well as the author of Rule and Ruin: The Downfall of Moderation and the Destruction of the Republican party |