Retired Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz gave his first defense of President Trump in his impeachment trial on Monday night, and said he would have defended President Hillary Clinton under the same circumstances.
Mr. Dershowitz told senators that the Constitution's requirement of "high crimes and misdemeanors" for impeaching a president ...
Republican Sen. Martha McSally will never be mistaken for a person of integrity. She is, however, the sort of Trumpian person who likes to invent insults and fundraise off them by selling overpriced T-shirts emblazoned with them. McSally responded to a CNN reporter's question about whether she would consider new evidence in the impeachment trial of Donald Trump by calling the reporter a "liberal hack," saying, "I'm not talking to you," and walking away. Within hours, McSally's website sported a new "You're a liberal hack" T-shirt as fundraising gimmick. Bask, America, in the glow of the world's greatest deliberative body and its assembled merchandise.
All of that looked boorish, unnecessary, and more than a little cowardly; McSally also faced calls to apologize to the reporter who had asked a perfectly legitimate question of a public official. So now McSally's got a long, rambling, extremely whining op-ed out, complaining that she, of course, is the real victim here.
Again, let's keep in mind that the chief justice of the United States recently called the Senate by its preferred porn name, World's Greatest Deliberative Body, as we try to glean any meaningful content from this piece other than self-satisfied grunting noises.
McSally writes, "Predictably, his entire industry melted down. How dare someone – a woman, perhaps? – ‘lash out’ at a reporter like that! In a hallway, no less! The pearl-clutching was more over-the-top than I could have ever imagined."
All right, that is about enough of that. There's also quite a bit of McSally reminding the world that she is a veteran, saying that, "as a combat veteran who survived situations where foggy communications could get people killed, I don't have time for the language games they expect you to play in Washington."
Right, because insulting reporters and refusing to answer the most fundamental questions about the single biggest issue and story in the country today is saving people from "getting killed." So brave. So, so very brave.
The rest of piece seems to be an entirely contentless stream-of-consciousness bashing of the "liberal media" and "DNC talking points," and by God I flew 325 combat hours so I should be able to insult all the reporters I want to because they are "liars" and this is, yes, pretty much what Donald Trump himself would write if he did not have bone spurs and if he allowed ANYONE AROUND HIM to edit his burping thoughts into complete sentences.
But the central message is unmistakable: The press is "liberal"; therefore the free press is an enemy, and attacks on it are therefore not only justified but required of all Good Republicans as we trundle toward the great Republican future in which no reporters will ask questions that our lawmakers do not like. And you can support this new Republican future by buying our favorite insults printed on T-shirts.
Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) is planning to announce a run for the Senate, according to multiple sources, challenging appointed GOP Sen. Kelly Loeffler and complicating Republicans’ path to holding onto a battleground Senate seat this year.
Loeffler and Collins will both be running to complete the term of former Georgia Sen. Johnny Isakson, who resigned at the end of last year due to health concerns. The election is an all-party contest in November, with the top-two challengers facing off in a January runoff if no candidate tops 50 percent of the vote.
The announcement is expected to come soon. Collins' office declined to comment.
Gov. Brian Kemp (R-Ga.) appointed Loeffler to the seat last year after a months-long application process where hundreds of candidates — including Collins — submitted their names for consideration.
Collins, who was President Donald Trump’s preferred pick for the appointment, said this month he was still considering running for the seat in 2020. Collins had reached out to the White House to take their temperature about a potential bid, according to one GOP official.
Collins has the benefit of being one of Trump’s staunchest allies on Capitol Hill. As the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, Collins played a leading role defending Trump from impeachment in the House. Collins was also tapped by Trump to serve as an impeachment surrogate during the Senate trial, allowing him to continue mounting a vigorous — and public — defense of the president.
Trump and his allies had pressed Kemp to appoint Collins, who they felt would be a reliable ally in the Senate. A handful of right-of-center groups had also come out against Loeffler, expressing concern that she lacked conservative credentials. And during a meeting at the White House late last year, Trump noted that Loeffler was not an original backer of his 2016 campaign and raised concerns that she has never held elected office before.
Kemp’s allies, however, praised the selection of Loeffler, hoping that she could help the party compete in suburban areas that have increasingly moved away from Republicans since Trump’s election. Senate Republicans, including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, have rallied around their new colleague and pledged to back her in November.
And in an apparent bid to ward off any Republican challengers and demonstrate her campaign’s strength, Loeffler, a wealthy finance executive, pledged to pour $20 million of her own money into the race. Her campaign has already blanketed the Georgia airwaves with a TV ad where she criticizes impeachment and portrays herself as an ally to Trump.
Since coming to the Senate, Loeffler has been maneuvering to win over skeptics and solidify her conservative bona fides. She has signed her name to several anti-abortion bills as well as a resolution dismissing the impeachment charges. And on Monday, she fired off a shot at one of her GOP colleagues who has been an outspoken Trump critic, bashing Sen. Mitt Romney via Trump’s preferred mode of communication: Twitter.
Romney “wants to appease the left by calling witnesses who will slander the @realDonaldTrump during their 15 minutes of fame,” she tweeted.
Burgess Everett contributed to this report.