Most Don’t Watch Senate “Trial,” Say It’s Divisive

According to Mike Huckabee, “Die-hard Democrat leaders and other political enemies of former President Trump might want to put him on trial, but most Americans do not. . . .

According to a new Rasmussen poll, just 15 percent of likely voters –- repeat, likely voters –- planned to watch the whole impeachment “trial.” Most did say they would check in from time to time. But 32 percent said they would not watch ANY of it.

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Only 31 percent thought that Trump would likely be convicted. Another 64 percent said a conviction was unlikely or definitely would not happen.

Even a majority of the “politically unaffiliated” (independents), 54 percent, said Trump SHOULD not be convicted. Among Republicans, that number is 81 percent. . . .

According to an earlier Rasmussen poll, 57 percent of likely voters said that just having the “trial” –- yes, we’re still using quotation marks around that word here, as it’s not really a trial –- will lead to more division.  . . .

Among Republicans, that number is 83 percent, which is even bigger than Trump’s current base of support, according to the WASHINGTON EXAMINER.

This is in spite of the frenzy from the media, who are completely off their collective rocker. They’re trying desperately to whip up the Capitol Hill incident into a manifestation of widespread domestic terrorism within the Trump ranks. . . .

Tucker Carlson mentioned this as well in the opening to his Wednesday show, also explaining how wrong the media are getting the real story of how the Capitol riot got started. They’ve lied about how the casualties occurred, too. Major unanswered questions remain, even as the Senate “tries” Trump for “inciting” it. . . .

Yesterday, I mentioned that Trump’s attorneys, who have gotten some bad reviews for their arguments on Tuesday, are actually last-minute fill-ins for his previous attorneys whose law firm was bullied into dropping Trump’s case. Recall that Jonathan Turley has expressed dismay at others in his profession who try to prevent the former President from exercising his right to legal representation. It’s become difficult for Trump to hire the caliber of attorneys he needs. John Hinderaker, president of the Center of the American Experiment, spoke with Mark Steyn on FOX NEWS Wednesday evening about this.

“That was the worst opening statement I have ever heard, yesterday,” Steyn said, “and I tell you, I would’ve fired that guy [Bruce Castor] in the corridor ten minutes afterwards.” . . .

They were trying to put this huge, prestigious law firm out of business because one of the partners had committed a mortal sin. She decided that, for the sake of her partners, she had no choice but to leave the firm!

He added that the governor of Michigan, Democrat Gretchen Whitmer, has tried to get the lawyers who represented Trump in that state disbarred.

So, according to Hinderaker, the “two or three lawyers” who are representing Trump now “have been on the case for a week or less.” He thought the brief that they’d prepared “was not bad…perfectly adequate.” . . .

Obviously, Hinderaker is with the majority of those polled who believe Trump will not be convicted. He called it “an exercise in futility.” Of course, he said, that’s because “45 senators have already voted that they don’t think they have jurisdiction.”

He said Democrats don’t want to focus now on their own administration.  . . .

Among Republicans, the split was 49 percent likely to 40 percent unlikely. Among Democrats, the split was 45 percent likely to 44 percent unlikely. Among independents, it was 42 percent likely and 44 percent unlikely. So all groups were split somewhat similarly.

Perhaps surprisingly, whites were less likely to see civil war ahead than Hispanics and blacks. Among Hispanics, the split was 53 percent likely vs. 43 percent unlikely. Among blacks, it was 49 to 39 percent. For whites, 43 percent vs. 44 percent. Given that the margin of error is plus-or-minus 3.3 percentage points, this is essentially an even split.

There were regional differences as well. Respondents in the East were much less likely to anticipate civil war (39 percent yes, 44 percent no) than, say, those in the South (49 percent yes, 39 percent no).

People who live in large cities were much more likely to think we’ll have one than those in the suburbs.  . . .

Trump Impeachment ‘Political Theater,’ Ignores US History: Constitutional Lawyer

According to The EpochTimes, ”

The impeachment effort against former President Donald Trump is “political theater” that goes against the history of the United States and the American Constitution itself, according to constitutional attorney Rick Green.

“When we have political actors involved, we get political theater. And that’s a lot of what we’re getting here. Is this the judiciary now? Is the Senate now the judiciary that will try any citizen? Because an impeachment is specifically for someone that is in office, according to the American Constitution,” Green, a former Texas state representative and co-founder of the Patriot Academy, told “American Thought Leaders.”

Trump’s attorneys have stated that it goes against the Constitution to impeach or try a former office-holder. . . .

He said the concept being pushed currently in the impeachment trial—that if Trump isn’t convicted he will get away with doing “horrible things,” and future presidents will be able to “do whatever they want and get away with it”—is “a total red herring.” . . .

Democrats allege that the president incited violence at the Capitol in a speech he delivered near the White House on Jan 6. In his address, Trump used the words “fight like hell” in reference to his team’s legal efforts around election integrity. The Democrats allege that Trump used the words to incite his followers to commit violence.

However, Democratic House impeachment managers, led by Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), in their arguments on Feb. 10, presented no new evidence to support the allegation that Trump incited an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol last month. . . .

The constitutional attorney accused the Democratic House impeachment managers of stringing elements of the American Constitution together in order to argue that a former president can be impeached.

“I’ve said this throughout this whole process that what they’re doing and pulling together different parts of the Constitution and creating these new rules is more worthy of a banana republic than a constitutional republic,” he said.

Green said language from Article 1, Section 3 of the Constitution was taken, “separated,” and mixed with some of the language in Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, in a way that was both “masterful” and “deceptive.” . . .

The constitutional attorney accused the Democratic House impeachment managers of stringing elements of the American Constitution together in order to argue that a former president can be impeached.

“I’ve said this throughout this whole process that what they’re doing and pulling together different parts of the Constitution and creating these new rules is more worthy of a banana republic than a constitutional republic,” he said.

Green said language from Article 1, Section 3 of the Constitution was taken, “separated,” and mixed with some of the language in Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, in a way that was both “masterful” and “deceptive.” . . .

The attorney said that at this point, the United States is living “post-Constitution,” and urged Americans to read the text of the Constitution themselves.

“We’re literally ignoring the constitutional history and the plain text of the Constitution. I think it’s important for us to actually as citizens, to go look at the Constitution ourselves, and not just listen to the silver tongue rhetoric,” he said. . . .

The Democrats face an uphill battle in convincing enough Republican senators that Trump should be convicted. Forty-four Republicans voted on the first day of the trial that the Senate doesn’t have jurisdiction to try Trump because he’s now a private citizen. Several Republican senators said on Feb. 9 that the vote is an indicator of how the GOP members will ultimately vote on the question of whether the former president is guilty.

Democrats need the votes of at least 17 Republicans in order to secure the supermajority needed to convict Trump. If the vote from the first day of the trial is any indication, the impeachment managers need to change the minds of at least 11 Republicans, a task which even liberal media commentators concede is virtually impossible.

(Photo Credit: The White House Flickr.)

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