Donald Trump Impeachment Trial

California Open Senate Seat Requires Having A Senator Who Will Have Longevity!

Now that it is official that Dianne Feinstein is retiring from the Senate at the end of 2024 at the age of 91, it is urgent that the open Senate seat have a Senator who will have the opportunity to build seniority over time for the Golden State.

So Congresswoman Katie Porter (49), seen as a junior Elizabeth Warren in the sense of copying her strategy and tactics toward corporate monopolies; and Congressman Adam Schiff (62) who has compiled a wonderful record in more than twenty years in the House and was on the committee for the first Donald Trump impeachment trial, should be seen as sensible alternatives.

What is not sensible is that long term Congresswoman Barbara Lee, who has been in the House of Representatives since 1998, and has the distinction of being the only member of either house of Congress to vote against the authorization for use of military force against terrorists resolution (AUMF) after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, be elected to the Senate seat.

The question is why this author feels this way, and the answer is Lee will be past 77 if she took over the seat in January 2025, making her the oldest first Senator in history to have a full term. She has said she would only serve one term, but the concept of electing Lee is just one of ego, as this author sees it.

If however, Feinstein was to retire sooner, it would be perfectly fine for California Governor Gavin Newsom to appoint Barbara Lee to fill the seat, but with the understanding that she would not seek a full term in office.

Lee is a wonderful legislator, but what is needed is the potential of a new US Senator who could gain seniority if reeelected in the future. But my admiration for her as stated in an earlier article on History News Network on March 4, 2022 still stands! And if Lee chose to remain in the House of Representatives, and facing easy reelection every two years, that is perfectly fine!

Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy Will Retire At End Of 2022, After Serving As Third Longest Serving Senator!

Vermont Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy will retire at the end of his 8th Senate term at the end of 2022, after an amazing 48 years in the upper body of Congress!

He will leave office as the third longest serving US Senator in the 234 years of that historic institution, only behind Democrat Robert Byrd of West Virginia, who served 51.5 years, and Democrat Daniel Inouye of Hawaii, who served just short of 50 years.

At the moment, he is fourth longest serving, behind Republican Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, who served 47 years and a bit more than 5 months, which Leahy will pass in June 2022.

Leahy just passed Democrat Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts in total service in late October 2021.

Leahy is the last member of Congress elected in 1974, and the only sitting Senator to have served while Gerald Ford was President, and also to have served while Jimmy Carter was President.

Leahy is the only Democrat ever elected to the Senate from Vermont, as Bernie Sanders always ran as an Independent. Leahy is easily the longest serving Vermont Senator as well.

Leahy has been, in his long career, Chairman of the Agriculture, Judiciary, and Appropriations Committees, and is President Pro Tempore of the Senate, third in line of Presidential succession.

Leahy also presided over the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump in 2021.

Had Leahy chosen to run for an unprecedented 9th term, he would easily have been reelected and in 2026, would have become the longest serving US Senator ever!

Leahy is a premier liberal and progressive throughout his career, and will be nearing the age of 83 when he retires at the beginning of 2023.

Leahy is a great figure in the history of the Senate, and will be missed when he leaves office!

The Most BiPartisan Impeachment Trial In American History

Donald Trump may have been able to avoid conviction in his second Impeachment Trial yesterday, but it was the most bipartisan impeachment trial in American history, nevertheless.

11 Republican House members moved to impeach Trump for his inciting of the January 6, 2021 Capitol Insurrection, including Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger as the most prominent, and 7 Senate Republicans (Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Mitt Romney, Ben Sasse, Pat Toomey, Bill Cassidy, Richard Burr) vote to convict Trump.

The vote of 57-43 to convict was ten votes short of the two thirds required, but if this was a piece of legislation, or an election, a percentage of 57-43 would be seen as a landslide!

Donald Trump has poisoned the Republican Party, and sadly, the state committees in the states where Republicans showed principle, have gone ahead and censured those courageous House and Senate members.

But in the long run of history those 11 House members and 7 Senators will stand tall, and the Republican Party is doomed for its allowing itself to become the party of Trump, and the effort to preserve democracy and the future, if any, of the party of Lincoln, TR, Ike and Reagan, must be waged for the security and safety of the nation in the future!

Donald Trump will go down in the long run as the worst President in American history, lower than James Buchanan and Andrew Johnson, because he will be seen as a Fascist authoritarian who endangered the nation, and he will face prosecution as an ordinary citizens for many crimes, including the events of January 6, 2021!

February 6–One Month, One Year, And One Queen Elizabeth II For 69 Years!

Today, February 6, is day to remember.

February 6, 2020 saw the first death from the COVID 19 Pandemic. Donald Trump refused to take this pandemic seriously, and we have seen in one year a total of 460,000 deaths, more in one years than the four years of Americans fighting in World War II.

February 6, 2021 is one month since the Capitol Hill Insurrection promoted by Donald Trump. that led to five deaths and over 100 injuries to Capitol Hill police, and threatened the lives of all Congressmen and Senators, and most importantly, Vice President Mike Pence and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, the two constitutional officers in the line of succession!

Donald Trump now faces his second impeachment trial in one year, having been found not guilty on February 5, 2020, the day before the first COVID 19 death.

One has to wonder if Trump had been removed from office on February 5,2020, would Vice President Mike Pence, becoming President, have pursued a policy that would have prevented the massive loss of life America has suffered in the year since the end of that trial?

And February 6, 1952, 69 years ago, Queen Elizabeth II ascended the throne of the United Kingdom, upon the death of her father, King George VI, the longest reign by any monarch in British or English history.

February 6 has one happy event, but sadly, two very depressing events that have transformed our history!

Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger, and Eight Other Republicans In House Of Representatives Buck The Trump Tide

Ten Republican members of the House of Representatives have been pilloried for having principles, and voting to impeach Donald Trump in the second impeachment he has faced, with the trial coming up next week.

The two best known members of this group are Liz Cheney of Wyoming, daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, and third ranking in the Republican House leadership as the House Republican Conference Chair; and Illinois Congressman Adam Kinzinger, who has been a regular critic of Donald Trump over a period of time.

But the others who have also become part of this select group of principled Republicans also face anger and threats from other Republicans and from portions of their voting populations.

These include:

Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio
Peter Mejier of Michigan
Dan Newhouse of Washington
Fred Upton of Michigan
John Katko of New York
Tom Rice of South Carolina
Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washingto
David Valadao of Washington

Meanwhile, seditious Congressmen and Congresswomen, such as Jim Jordan of Ohio, Paul Gosar of Arizona, Andy Harris of Maryland, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina, and most notably Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, and innumerable others, have committed and been involved in promoting criminal acts, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California has made clear his goal is to take action against the ten principled members, and support the traitors instead!

Second Donald Trump Impeachment Trial May Be A “Circus”!

Nine days before the second Donald Trump Impeachment Trial, the nation may be facing a “circus”, with Donald Trump seeing his five member group of lawyers resigning, because he only wants to argue in the trial that the 2020 Presidential Election was stolen by Joe Biden and the Democrats, despite more than 60 court cases, all rejecting such a claim!

Trump’s refusal to accept the results is dividing the nation in an extremely detrimental manner, and now the possibility exists that Trump might just represent himself and speak before the US Senate, an unprecedented situation, were it to happen.

And with 45 of the 50 Republican Senators voting against having an impeachment trial, the odds of gaining 17 Republican Senators to vote to convict Trump and prevent him from running for public office again seems extremely unlikely.

So the nightmare of Donald Trump continues, and endangers civil order, with the Homeland Security Department warning of major dangers from domestic terrorists, more dangerous than foreign terrorism, and continuing for many months, requiring thousands of National Guardsmen to remain on duty to protect government buildings and the city of Washington, DC.

Mitch McConnell Has Conceded Democrats Control Senate With 50-50 Tie, A Major Step Forward!

After five days with a stalemate in the US Senate, Mitch McConnell has conceded that the Democrats and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer control the Senate with a 50-50 tie, allowing the opportunity for progress, after standing in the way of approval of Cabinet members expeditiously.

The Donald Trump Impeachment Trial will start in two weeks, and work will begin on the COVID 19 Pandemic legislation, and the confirmation of all of the Cabinet appointees of President Joe Biden will now move forward rapidly.

Joe Biden wants a very activist first 100 Days, possibly the greatest since Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal in the years of the Great Depression.

This is a time for optimism and hope as we move forward!

The Most Dangerous Time Since September 11, 2001 Is Between Now And January 20!

Anyone with a brain and concern about the state of affairs in America today is holding their breath as we enter the most dangerous time in America since September 11, 2001, between now and January 20!

The Pearl Harbor attack on December 7, 1941 and the attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001 were the most shocking moments experienced by anyone alive today, but there was no foreboding, and the same with the Kennedy Assassination on November 22, 1963.

But literally, America is “sitting on a ticking time bomb”, far worse than even the Cuban Missile Crisis that went on for 13 days in October 1962, as even at that moment, there was hope that sane, stable leadership in the Oval Office and the Kremlin would prevent nuclear war.

But now, we have an unhinged, mentally deranged President, who is desperate, cornered, and unpredictable, and could start a war or unleash nuclear weapons, or call for his crazed followers to start attacks on government locations all over the nation, and the country is ill prepared to be able to deal with that!

Donald Trump being banned from social media makes him ever more dangerous, as time ticks off over 12 more days, as Mike Pence refuses to work with the Cabinet to remove the President under the 25th Amendment, Section 4, and Mitch McConnell says any impeachment trial if the House of Representatives under House Speaker Nancy Pelosi votes to impeach, would not begin until January 19!

This is pure insanity, and the thought that Donald Trump would copy the behavior of Richard Nixon in 1974, and resign, seems highly unlikely to occur.

So the nation is in danger, as the clock ticks minute by minute, and one has to wonder what will happen to the American nation before the scheduled inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on January 20!

As Georgia Votes For Two Senators Tomorrow, Donald Trump Commits Impeachable, Criminal Act!

The Georgia runoff elections are taking place on Tuesday, just as Donald Trump has been committing impeachable, and criminal acts, trying to force the Georgia Secretary of State and the Georgia Governor, both Republicans, to “fix” the election results in a vain attempt to deny Joe Biden the Electoral College victory he won nine weeks ago.

Listening to the hour long tape of his phone call to the Georgia state officials is shocking, and demonstrates how Trump is conducting himself as if he is a Mafia Chief, with no limits, and demonstrates the danger he presents to the nation!

The Biden victory has been affirmed in about 60 court cases, including two before the Supreme Court, which includes three Trump appointees.

It is clear that Donald Trump is obsessive compulsive, and unwilling to accept defeat, and is living in an alternate world reality!

He is violating his oath of office, and endangering the nation in a multitude ways, and should be impeached immediately by the House of Representatives, despite the reality that there is no way to have an impeachment trial, but for the record of history!

Trump also needs to face criminal indictment once he leaves office, and not just for financial corruption in New York State and New York City, but for massive abuse of power!

The danger with 16 days to go is that Trump is assaulting American democracy, the Constitution, and rule of law, and could, in theory, start a war with Iran; or try to use nuclear weapons; or order his right wing lunatic followers (The Proud Boys) to provoke violence, which may come on January 6 and after, including Inauguration Day, January 20!

The idea that 13 Republican Senators and 140 Republican Congressmen are still tied to Trump, and planning to disrupt the Electoral College vote on Wednesday, presents a crisis unseen before in American history, with a President who is totally unhinged mentally!

The Heroes Of 2020: Bright Lights In A Year The Worst In Most People’s Lifetimes

The year 2020 has been the worst year in most people’s lifetimes, but there have been heroes who deserve attention and appreciation from all decent Americans.

The ultimate hero is Dr. Anthony Fauci, who reached the age of 80 yesterday, and has been an inspiration to anyone who believes in science, and respects expertise over “junk science”, or science that is generations out of date.

Some of our greatest heroes of the year, sadly, have departed, including Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who left a legacy of promotion of equal rights for all groups in America, including women, people of color, the disabled, and equal justice for all.

Also departing this world was Congressman John Lewis of Georgia, who promoted the concept of “good trouble” to advance human rights in a world and nation that too often is not engaged in such efforts.

Another hero is former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who advanced equality of gays and lesbians, just by becoming the first known gay Presidential contender, and now will be the first openly gay Cabinet officer as Secretary of Transportation.

Another hero is Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, who has done an amazing job pursuing justice, equality, and the interests of the American people, in a time of the massive threat presented by Donald Trump, and has not blinked at his threats, misogyny, and crazed insanity. She has had to deal with the unrelenting misogyny of many in the Republican Party opposition, and Trump supporters who show a total lack of respect for her that they would never utter against a man!

Another hero is California Congressman Adam Schiff, who was a key player in the impeachment investigation of Donald Trump, and is Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. He has suffered from threats and vicious attacks by Donald Trump and his minions, but has demonstrated courage and conviction in an admirable manner.

Another hero is South Carolina Congressman James Clyburn, the highest ranked African American in Congress as House Majority Whip, third ranking leadership role. If it were not for Clyburn, Joe Biden would not have been able to become the Democratic Presidential nominee this year, as Clyburn’s endorsement was a major factor in Biden winning the South Carolina Primary and moving forward to the top of the Democratic Presidential ticket.

Another such hero is the future First Lady, Dr. Jill Biden, who, with her elegance and intelligence, will raise the level of that position from the disgraceful low level it reached in the past four years.

California Senator Kamala Harris, soon to be Vice President of the United States, is another hero, who will be the first woman, and first woman of color with her Jamaican and Asian Indian heritage, to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency. She is a role model for women and racial minorities, and will be a very influential Vice President, more in the direction of Joe Biden, Al Gore, and Walter Mondale, than Mike Pence!

And last but not least, Joe Biden, who is a man of decency, compassion, ethics, and empathy, will be our 46th President on January 20, 2021. He will face the most daunting set of issues of any President since Abraham Lincoln in 1861, Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933, and Barack Obama in 2009. His long career in Congress, and his outstanding Vice Presidency give America hope, that in a time of a “dark winter”, as Joe Biden calls the COVID 19 Pandemic and the Second Great Depression, that Biden will take leadership on the level of FDR’s New Deal to take us to brighter days and a recovery in 2021 and beyond!

Everyone needs to pray for his success, but all know that he will not waste a minute or a day in promoting himself on Twitter or playing golf, as our despicable 45th President, Donald Trump, has done more of in the past four years, than doing his job!