Saturday, January 30, 2021

So, Trump Wanted Giuliani...

... and he got Robert Mueller.

But rust never sleeps:
Because sure, why not? I.e., he couldn't get out of paying them by promising payment after the trial. I really don't think Bannon has Trump's best interests at heart. Or Bannon is just that stupid. Or yes; both. Back to Maggie:

Mr. Trump prefers lawyers who are eager to appear on television to say that he never did anything wrong; Mr. Bowers has been noticeably absent in the news media since his hiring was announced.

Then there are the interesting bits from the article:

Mr. Trump had pushed for his defense team to focus on his baseless claim that the election was stolen from him, one person familiar with the situation said. A person close to Mr. Trump disputed that that was the case but acknowledged that there were differences in opinion about the defense strategy. However, Mr. Trump has insisted that the case is “simple” and has told advisers he could argue it himself and save the money on lawyers. (Aides contend he is not seriously contemplating doing so.)

So, Trump wants to re-litigate the election, when the charges against him are about the insurrection.  And if Trump is not "seriously contemplating" representing himself, who is?

Mr. Trump is due to file a response to the House charges by Tuesday.

In a court of law, missing such deadlines could result in a default judgment.  You lose, in other words.  I have no idea what the Senate rules are on this, but I doubt a default judgment is in the cards. 

Still, the question of constitutionality is likely to be a key part of Mr. Trump’s defense.
 

I gotta say, I don't think Trump can spell "constitutionality."  I'm not even sure he can say it. And frankly, on that particular point, the reporting is muddled:

The Senate needs a two-thirds majority, or 67 votes, to convict Mr. Trump, meaning 17 Republicans would need to cross party lines to side with Democrats in finding him guilty. An additional vote, this one requiring a simple majority, would be needed to disqualify him from holding office again. Still, most of his aides say they doubt he will run for office again.

I'm left wondering how much political power Trump just lost.

And this is kinda what I was thinking: Trump is doing his damndest to screw himself into the ground. It's bound to work, sooner or later.  I see him burning up whatever credibility/strength/terrorism he has left.  The GOP will truly be between Scylla and Charybdis:  ignore Trump and prove to the nation you're all MTG now; convict Trump, and have Trump's base turn against you in primaries.

They rode the tiger; now it's going to eat them.
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