Trump’s ‘chief abettor.’ Readers respond to McConnell’s impeachment stance.
Abettor-in-chief
Sen. Mitch McConnell’s speech the day after the vote to impeach followed President Donald Trump’s M.O. perfectly: deflect and lie.
While President Trump blocked the Congress from obtaining necessary documents and bringing forward possibly vital witnesses, McConnell has let congressional bills gather dust, saving the president the task of refusing to sign them.
The “low bar” for Impeachment, in my opinion, was set with the impeachment of Bill Clinton, for having a sexual affair with a consenting adult and lying about it. Pretty small stuff compared to “Russia if you are listening” and “I would like you to do us a favor though”, nearly two months after Ukraine’s much-needed funds should have been released.
Fifteen thousand lies in three years, rigging the security clearances for his daughter and her husband and possibly 30 others, shrugging off the importance of the Emoluments Clause, and thriving on self-manufactured conspiracy theories, Donald Trump has been a danger to this country from the very start and you, Mitch McConnell, have become his chief abettor.
Diane Kimsey-Minor, Wilmore
Scared of the truth?
The Senate trial should be open for the American gallery to witness the proceedings.
“We know we have the vote,” says Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. A trial, the examination of the articles of impeachment for the purpose of affirming or rejecting the House recommendation, hasn’t even begun. McConnell desires a “quick” trial and doesn’t want the presentation of documents sought by the House. Refusal to provide the documents and obstruction of the testimony of witnesses the House sought to interview are the very basis for Article 2, Obstruction of Congress.
McConnell has long asserted his will and his party’s agenda by obstructing Senate deliberation of House measures. He says he must be persuaded to change his positions but bars access to allow persuasion to happen. He doesn’t respond to requests for conversation. Mail, phone calls, and requests to meet in his office are met with faux responses.
A trial requires the presentation of the case. Presenters must be allowed to produce evidence, documents, and testimony of witnesses.
The taking of an oath by the Senate jurors would be empty given the obvious disregard for the constitutional mandate that Congress will be separate but equal to the executive and judicial branches.
What is McConnell afraid of? Is it the truth?
Jamie Kirven, Lexington
Darker scenario
The conventional explanation of the reason Sen. Mitch McConnell will not allow witnesses at the Senate trial of President Donald Trump is that those witnesses would prove the guilt of the president as described in the first article of impeachment. The conventional excuse by McConnell and others is that the Democrats haven’t proven their case and it’s not the role of Republicans to assist them.
What’s needed here for an explanation of McConnell’s refusal is unconventional thinking. Ambassador Gordon Sondland during hearings stated that “Everyone was in the loop.” But it’s not out of the question to think this loop included others that Sondland was not aware of.
McConnell certainly has proven himself over the years to be a shrewd legislator. Although he has not always been totally principled, I would not suspect him to be the one who first suggested Ukraine investigation of the Bidens to the president, an impeachable offense because it invites foreign interference in our elections. At the same time, McConnell whether intentionally or in passing could well have offered this observation: “No actual investigation is necessary. A very public announcement by the Ukrainian president or one of his aides would do the damage to Biden and from there our deplorables will pick it up and run with it all the way to next November.”
F. E. Mazur, Willisburg
Remove McConnell
In view of Sen. Mitch McConnell’s vow to disregard the rule of law yet again by conducting a predetermined sham of an impeachment trial, I would like to know if the commonwealth has any way to redress this unprecedented dereliction of duty. This man should immediately be recalled, as the danger he poses is current and ongoing. Hundreds of bipartisan bills are gathering dust on his desk because he refuses to act in the best interests of Kentucky and the United States. Now he’s promised to make a mockery of what should be the most solemn duty a senator ever sees —an impeachment trial — by refusing to uphold the 1998 standards and simply call witnesses, a basic trial feature. Americans should not be held hostage to McConnell’s obstructionism for even one more minute.Republicans can certainly find much better people, with true respect for the rule of law, to take his place.
Gillian Smith, Richmond
Mitch not showrunner
The 2016 presidential election placed Donald Trump in as president of the United States even though he received three million fewer votes than Hillary Clinton. The majority of the people of the United States voted for Hillary Clinton as president, but because of the way the U.S. Constitution is written, the Electoral College selected Trump as president. The Constitution prevailed over popular preference. Now that Trump has been impeached, the process moves to the U.S. Senate where the chief justice of the Supreme Court will preside over Trump’s trial.
It seems that Sen. Mitch McConnell feels he will dictate how Trump’s trial will progress — no witnesses and a speedy conclusion, for starters. Some senators (McConnell and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, to name a few) have professed that they cannot faithfully honor the constitutional oath of impartiality and will vote to not convict. I don’t know about you; however in all of the courtroom settings I’ve seen, the trial judge runs the show — in this case, Chief Justice John Roberts, not Sen. Mitch McConnell. It’s our beautiful Constitution that will ultimately rule.
Gene Lockhart, Lexington
McConnell, Trump rulers
Kentuckians, be proud we won for public education/teachers in the gubernatorial election.
Kentucky voices are needed again, demanding the resignation of Sen. Mitch McConnell.
McConnell went on Fox News to brazenly assert that in the Senate impeachment trial, he is in “total coordination” with President Donald Trump’s defense counsel and that there’s “no difference between us” — that Senate Republicans would acquit the president.
So much for a fair, impartial trial. McConnell has ceded his co-equal branch of government to the president so Trump can continue asking/bribing/extorting foreign countries like Russia to help him win the presidency or, for that matter, any U.S. election: Republicans get elected with Trump. How much Russian money and cyber warfare passes through the National Rifle Association, the Republican National Committee, Rudy Giuliani, and dark-money groups?
Trump and McConnell don’t govern. They rule, packing lifetime Supreme Court/federal judges with right-wing extremists and blocking 400 House-passed bills including election security legislation.
National media point to Moscow Mitch lifting sanctions on a Russian oligarch, resulting in a potential $200 million invested in Kentucky. Where are Kentucky media and legislative investigations?
Kentuckians, it’s our patriotic duty to “Ditch Mitch.” The next election is too late: Demand his resignation today.
Ramona Rush, Lexington