Senator Hirono: Trump ‘Believes He Is King Now’ — ‘I Think Our Country Is in Great Danger’

Posted on January 31, 2020 by Guest Author

In the wake of Sen. Lamar Alexander announcing that he would not vote to allow witnesses in President Donald Trump’s ongoing senate impeachment trial, his fellow Senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii criticized the direction of the trial, which looks likely to end in an acquittal.

Appearing on MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, Hirono said that Trump seems to think he is “king” as a result of the trial’s looming outcome.

"What they really are afraid of is that this president, unfettered without a conviction, means that he's going to be doing a lot more stuff that will subject him to impeachment, because that's what this guy is. He believes he's king now." – Sen. Hirono https://t.co/9b6RrjgFCM

— MSNBC (@MSNBC) January 31, 2020

Hirono Claims Trump Will Face Impeachment as ‘Every Turn’

“[T]his is the last response for these two days of questions and answers that I got from the president’s team, and that is, ‘Let’s just assume he did it. So what?’” Hirono said. “And I’ve been saying for a long time that’s probably what they’re going to end up with — you can say all of these things, but so what? The ‘so what’ means that this president, who believes that he can do anything he wants under Article 2 of the Constitution, will continue to go forward.”

“And I tell you, what the Trump team said, ‘Oh well you’re going to impeach him and convict him for what he did,’ that means this president is going to be facing impeachment at every turn,” Hirono continued.

‘I think our country is in great danger’

“What they really are afraid of is this president unfettered without a conviction means that he’s going to be doing a lot more stuff that will subject him to impeachment because that is what this guy is. He believes he is king now,” she added.

“I think our country is in great danger,” Hirono finished.

Senator Mazie Hirono on the Trump #ImpeachmentTrials, “He did it!” Later to @Maddow she says of Trump: “He thinks he’s is king now. I think our country is in great danger.” #Maddow pic.twitter.com/L0zlSLsnFv

— Nick Walden Poublon (@NWPinPDX) January 31, 2020

The Democrats are Dangerous – Not Trump

This is comical. Does Hirono not think their lengthy and ridiculous impeachment push has taken everyone’s focus off of important policy issues–to the detriment of the country?

Couldn’t that be considered “dangerous?”

And while Hirono and other Democrats think Trump behaves like a king, they have busily invested everything they have into overturning the 2016 election.

Guess what other kind of figure might seek to undo the will of the people. Kings. Tyrants. Dictators.

All the things Dems continue to accuse Trump of being.

So before another Democrat accuses Donald Trump of being a “king” or having a heavy hand, they might want to look in the mirror.

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Chaos Erupts On ‘The View’ As Joy Behar And Meghan McCain Go At It Over Impeachment Witnesses

Posted on January 31, 2020 by LifeZette

By PopZette Staff | January 31, 2020

The ABC talk show “The View” went off the rails once again on Friday morning when cohosts Joy Behar and Meghan McCain got into yet another heated argument over Donald Trump’s impeachment trial.

Behar kicked the show off by voicing her frustrations over the fact that the impeachment trial is likely about to end.

“The impeachment trial could be over by tonight,” Behar said. “And Republican Senator Lamar Alexander, who has a deciding vote on letting witnesses testify basically said that Trump is guilty but ‘so what, who cares.’”

The notoriously liberal cohost went on to say that if Alexander were to vote for witnesses, he “would save democracy, a small thing. But no, he doesn’t want to.”

Behar also accused Alexander of trying to “cover” Maine’s Republican Senator Susan Collins so that she can vote “yes” and then be reelected.

“But she’s a hypocrite and a liar and I don’t trust her as far as I could throw her,” Behar exclaimed.

McCain, however, was not having any of it.

“The counterargument that Republicans are going to make is that it wasn’t a wholly bipartisan trial,” McCain calmly explained. “What I got from Alexander is he said President Trump, what he did was unethical, it just wasn’t impeachable. And I knew you would be very upset, quite frankly, Joy.”

“I am upset. I’m upset for the country,” Behar fired back, already coming unglued. “I feel that people in this country and other democracies have to watch it. We’ve taken democracy for granted because we’ve lived in it for so long and have so many beautiful things because of it. And it’s going down the toilet because of one party.”

McCain was quick to defend the GOP, saying, “it’s not just Republicans,” and adding that it was Democrats who have been “bungling” the case against Trump. She also pointed out that some moderate Democrats may even vote to acquit Trump after the way the trial has been handled.

“I think to blanket it as all Republicans, there were Democrats involved as well,” McCain said as Behar tried to protest. “I know you’re upset, but I’m just trying to explain the other side.”

“God help America and democracy,” an exacerbated Behar said.

REPUBS SUCCESSFUL IN BLOCKING WITNESSES? GOP Sen. Lamar Alexander, a key swing vote on calling witnesses in Pres. Trump’s impeachment trial, does not plan to vote in favor of hearing additional witnesses — we weigh in on how this changes the trial. https://t.co/1qHqfw940F pic.twitter.com/MuLfLqBb6K

— The View (@TheView) January 31, 2020

Behar should really be focusing her frustrations on Democrats right now, as it is they who have wasted the time and money of American taxpayers with this ridiculous impeachment stunt. They knew from the start that Trump would never be impeached in the Republican-controlled Senate, yet they chose to push forward with this farce anyway.

Shame on Democrats for their witch hunt against Trump, and shame on liberals like Behar for letting them get away with it.

This piece originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.

The post Chaos Erupts On ‘The View’ As Joy Behar And Meghan McCain Go At It Over Impeachment Witnesses appeared first on The Political Insider.

Murkowski says she’ll oppose impeachment trial witnesses

Posted on January 31, 2020 by Lisa Mascaro, Associated Press

President Donald Trump appears poised for acquittal in his impeachment trial.

Alexander opposes, Collins supports calling witnesses in Trump impeachment trial

Posted on January 31, 2020 by Associated Press

Sen. Lamar Alexander said in a statement there was "no need for more evidence," giving the Trump team the likelihood of a Senate vote in its direction.

Bolton Manuscript Leaked, Romney and Collins May Vote Against the President

Posted on January 27, 2020 by LifeZette

By David Kamioner | January 27, 2020

Reports out of DC, on the heels of the selective leaking of John Bolton’s new book, is that Republican Senators Mitt Romney of Utah and Susan Collins of Maine are likely to go south on the GOP trial process and vote to bring in witnesses.

If that happens the trial won’t be over by late this week/early next week. It could go on for weeks. If the duo votes against the president’s trial agenda the Dems would still need two more votes to win on the subject. They are targeting GOP Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Lamar Alexander of Tennessee.

The pressure to vote for witnesses was ratcheted up over the weekend with leaks from John Bolton’s new book that claim that the president directly told Bolton that the delay in military aid to Ukraine was tied to Biden.

Bolton is using the same team and strategy as has James Comey and the leak was coordinated to coincide with the impeachment trial, a vote on witnesses and, most importantly to Bolton, the availability to preorder his book online.

But bringing on witnesses is a two-edged sword for the Dems. Yes, the Dems may get Bolton. But the GOP could call Joe Biden, Hunter Biden, Adam Schiff, and Eric Ciaramella. As spiritually satisfying at it would be to watch Jay Sekulow munch on their still warm legal carcasses for lunch, the sooner this charade is over is the sooner the president can get back to undistracted work and the Congress can get back to whatever it does on a daily basis aside from fundraisers and hitting on lobbyists.

Bolton’s move can not only be seen as revenge for being fired by Trump, but as another chapter in the intramural GOP fight over a Cold War national security stance or the America First approach of the president.

If Collins and Murkowski vote for witnesses it is likely to throw some meat to their moderate supporters. Alexander is a lame duck and can vote the way he chooses without electoral repercussions.

Though if he desires an appointment in a second Trump administration this would not be the way to get it. And then there’s Mittens.

This would be a way for him to play to the press and shiv Trump at the same time. Given Romney’s notorious sanctimony and ego, it may be a temptation he is unable to resist.

This piece originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.

The post Bolton Manuscript Leaked, Romney and Collins May Vote Against the President appeared first on The Political Insider.

Crucial Moderate Senators Are ‘Offended’ and ‘Stunned’ After Nadler Accuses Senators of ‘Cover-Up’

Posted on January 24, 2020 by LifeZette

By David Kamioner | January 24, 2020

Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, a woman known for her easily riled independence and from a functionally libertarian state, has said she was ‘offended’ when Dem impeachment manager Jerry Nalder said the Senate would be engaging in a ‘cover up’ if they didn’t vote with the Dems on witnesses in the Trump impeachment trial.

They didn’t and Murkowski hit back.

“I took it as offensive,” she told the press on Wednesday. “As one who is listening attentively and working hard to get to a fair process, I was offended.”

Now, she could have sucked it up and kept her problem to herself.

But the fact that she chose speak out was a signal as to where her leanings lie on the entire deal. That would quash the Dem plan to bring four Republican Senators (Alexander, Murkowski, Romney, and Collins are most often mentioned) over to their aisle on procedural votes and then on convicting the president.

Alexander of Tennessee is not running for reelection this year and thus he’d pay no political price for voting with the Dems.

But he probably wants to retire to an ambassadorship or another such bauble when he leaves the Senate.

Ticking off a president who is likely to be reelected forestalls that anytime soon.

Murkowski is more moderate than the rest of the Republican caucus. But she is holding firm for now.

Then there’s Mittens.

His record with Donald Trump is well known. Romney has called the president some very untoward things and has commented negatively on everything from the president’s politics to his personal character.

But this former governor and son of a governor likes the status of office and conservative Utah may not readily forgive his apostasy on the Trump verdict. Smart money says he’s reluctantly safe.

Collins of Maine is the only one of the group who has defected. On one procedural vote, she went south on the GOP. The party won anyway.

So she’s let very purple Maine know she doesn’t have blinders on. But she held fast on Kavanaugh while under tremendous leftist pressure. She’ll hold here when it counts.

The Dems wrap up today and the GOP takes over tomorrow as the trial marches on.

This piece originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.

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