If it's political theater, it's not a very interesting show. Wednesday's snore of an impeachment hearing was such a yawn that even the press called it a dud. "Dull," wrote the New York Post's Michael Goodwin. "A flop." Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), who's already had to slog through a month of this, told members, "I don't know about you, but it's hard for me to stay awake and listen to all of this." And Republicans weren't the only ones who thought so. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) was on the record weeks ago with her blunt review of the circus: "Boring."
But boring is just fine with this White House. For all of the threats about secret evidence, the truth about the Democrats' case is simple: they don't have one! "It's hearsay," Democrat Jeff Van Drew (D-N.J.) argued after the testimony of Ambassador Bill Taylor. The Democrats' "star witness" was so removed from the Ukrainian conversation in question that Congressman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) sounded ridiculous repeating it.
"'Ambassador Taylor recalls that Mr. [Tim] Morrison told Ambassador Taylor that I told Mr. Morrison that I had conveyed this message to Mr. [Andriy] Yermak on September 1, 2019, in connection with Vice President Pence's visit to Warsaw and a meeting with President [Volodymyr] Zelensky?" Jordan shook his head. "We've got six people having four conversations in one sentence, and you just told me this is where you got your 'clear understanding?'"
The ambassador wasn't on the call with the Ukranian president. He's never even met our president, but they think he has damning evidence about wrongdoing? Although, as far as Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) and the rest of the party are concerned, second- and thirdhand gossip is more than enough grounds for impeaching a sitting president. "Hearsay," Quigley argued to everyone's surprise, "can be much better evidence than direct [proof]."
Says who, the White House's Hogan Gidley asked yesterday on "Washington Watch." Certainly not our justice system, which relies on a lot more than the rumor mill to convict someone. "Could you imagine any other case if you were on trial for any other subject, and the person that was trying it said, 'Yeah, hearsay is good enough. I don't need evidence. Just whatever you're hearing out there on the street will be plenty enough information to convict you.' [It's] disgusting that this is what the Democrats are putting out there... It's all opinions and speculation about [things they never] came in direct contact with."
Even CNN analyst Jeffrey Toobin wasn't swayed by this elaborate game of telephone. Democrats have a "problem," he warned, if their key witness has never even met Donald Trump. "That's a problem if you're going to impeach the president." The Democrats are telling America: We want you to trust people who've never met the president and heard about something. This is what we're putting the nation's business on hold to accomplish: Nothing.
Meanwhile, less than two miles away from this sideshow, President Trump is down the road meeting with Turkish President Erdogan about real national security issues in northeast Syria. And how much did the American people hear about that -- an issue of international importance? Zero. Because this House majority, led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) cares about destroying the president more than they care about doing the nation's business.
The bottom line? "The president's done nothing wrong," Hogan insisted.
"[You] just need to read the transcript -- whether you're Democrat, Republican, or Independent. You see fundamental unfairness. You see a lack of due process. If you've got a traffic ticket, you be treated better than the Democrats are treating Donald Trump for an impeachment inquiry. And [also], this puts a complete spotlight on the fact that Democrats are not talking about [issues that matter] -- bills that would help farmers and ranchers and manufacturers. They're not talking about health care, fixing a broken system. They're not talking about securing our southern border. They instead are going down this partisan road yet again, doing nothing for the people that elected them."
