THE SOPORIFIC SHAMPEACHMENT

When you don’t have much to say – especially when what you have to say is a farrago of half-truths, baseless speculation, mind reading, insults, threats and easily disproved lies – it isn’t a good idea to spend nearly 24 hours saying it over and over and over again.

Proof that in a little less than two hours Saturday (1/25) the president’s lawyers utterly demolished the Democrats’ case for impeachment is that afterward the only complaint CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin could make is that they are all white men.

There are two audiences for the impeachment charade: the American people, and the Senators who will vote on the president’s guilt or innocence. Both were bored to tears by the rambling, repetitive, disingenuous presentations of the House managers.

Though six networks were covering it, just a little more than a million people tuned in a week ago Monday (1/20) to watch the opening of the impeachment trial. That’s less than the typical audience for the game show Jeopardy, about half as many as watched the confirmation hearings for Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

The audience fell each subsequent day as Adam Schiff & co. kept talking and talking and talking.

As Democrats presented their case, approval of President Trump rose.

The Democrats were never going to get the 67 votes required to remove the president from office, but they say they hope Republican squishes will vote to call witnesses the House failed to call during the kangaroo court impeachment proceedings there.

Senators likely were as grateful for the brevity of the president’s lawyers’ opening presentation as they were impressed by how it eviscerated the Democrats’ case.

When you’ve said all you have to say, but keep on talking, you often say impolitic things.

GOP Senators – including the squishes – were incensed when Jerrold Nadler accused them of a coverup, and again when Schiff said they were frightened by threats from President Trump.

“I have not been told that my head is on a pike,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-AK.

The rambling defense Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX) made of Hunter Biden and his very well remunerated no=show job on the board of Burisma Energy was the biggest boo boo House managers made by running their mouths too much.

Joe Biden demanded the firing of prosecutor Viktor Shokin because he wanted a prosecutor who would more vigorously investigate alleged corruption by Burisma, Ms. Garcia bizarrely claimed.

“I was very surprised that they made Hunter Biden so central to this presentation, and to insist over and over again that they knew for a fact about the details,” said Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO). “If we’re going to call witnesses, I think it’s absolutely clear we must call Hunter Biden, and we probably need to call Joe Biden.”

“For the last five hours it’s been a lot about Joe Biden and Burisma,” said Jay Sekulow, one of the president’s lawyers. “They kind of opened the door.”

Opened the door to the one thing Democrats created this impeachment charade to try to prevent. Nancy Pelosi didn’t choose the best and the brightest to be impeachment managers.

The witness Democrats say they most want to hear from is former National Security Adviser John Bolton.

The New York Times reported Sunday night (1/26) that in his new book Bolton writes President Trump wanted to have aid to Ukraine withheld until Ukraine cooperated on investigations of corruption.

The book currently is undergoing security review. Interestingly, the Times story contains no direct quotes from the manuscript. Did Bolton really say what the Times implies he said?

If it does, that doesn’t rise to the level of an impeachable offense, said law professor Allen Dershowitz in his brilliant exposition of constitutional law Monday night (1/27).

I bet it doesn’t. This seems to me to be a desperate flail by the Lying Swine to rescue an impeachment charade swirling the drain.

If Bolton said what the Times said he said, he is the only senior administration official to say it.

The Times’ story “grossly mischaracterizes” conversations between Bolton and Attorney General William Barr, the Department of Justice said.

Perhaps Bolton, butt hurt because Trump fired him, wrote something to goose sales of his book (advance sales began Monday).

Or perhaps Bolton is cooperating in a sting. The president doubtless anticipated a last minute smear.

“This story is the Swetnick and Creepy Porn Lawyer of the impeachment,” said Unseen 1, referring to the last minute charges in the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings. “The Dems never change their playbook, just the players.”

Consider how devastating it would be to Democrats – and to the Lying Swine – if neither the manuscript nor Bolton himself support the Times’ characterization.

How often before has Trump baited the Lying Swine into overreach?

If Bolton is called as a witness, at a minimum, Hunter Biden and bogus whistleblower Eric Ciaramella also will be called.

Republicans may also wish to hear from IC Inspector General Michael Atkinson, whose deposition Schiff refuses to release.

Calling witnesses would add a week or two to the trial before Trump’s inevitable acquittal. It’s puzzling why Democrats would want to prolong the proceedings, since it’s been clear for months impeachment is hurting them with voters.

Schiff and Nadler issued bogus subpoenas simply to give Fake Newsers something to talk about. When one of the Trump officials subpoenaed went to court to challenge it, Dems promptly withdrew the subpoena. They couldn’t afford to have a judge rule on its validity.

I bet Dems don’t really want witnesses. They just want to be able to claim cover-up if the trial ends without any being called.

Jack Kelly is a former Marine and Green Beret, and was the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force during the Reagan Administration.  Until his retirement in January 2017, he was the national security writer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.