(Thread) A Case for the American People: The US v. Trump

I read @normeisen’s book, and I'm ready with a Twitter Book Report.

The book is in the form of arguments to the jury (the American voters) for why Trump must be voted out.

About Eisen: https://www.brookings.edu/experts/norman-eisen/

1/ For Eisen, the moral, legal, and ethical White House crisis began shortly after Trump's inauguration when he refused to put his assets into a blind trust—and then immediately began violating the emoluments clause by using his office to profit his businesses.

2/ The real problem: “Trump was not going off the rails; instead, he believed that there were no rails.” p. 15.

A little research showed Eisen how Trump had gotten away with it for decades: First he abused the law, then he covered it up with confusion and spectacle.

3/ Eisen describes what I’ve called Trump's Firehose of Lawbreaking.
Eisen responded with a Firehose of Lawsuits

Regarding the Mueller investigation, Eisen believed that even if “collusion” wouldn’t arise to an indictable crime, Trump’s obstruction of justice certainly would.

4/ Eisen describes how Barr (who he calls Trump’s “enabler in chief”) succeeded in lying and spinning the Mueller Report to shield Trump—despite the valiant efforts of so many people to get the truth in front of the American people.

In Eisen's words, Barr pulled off a

5/ The House Judiciary Committee's legal team tried to overcome these obstacles, but Barr’s spin, so many sycophants shielding Trump, and Mueller’s lackluster testimony before Congress meant there were still too many impediments to moving forward with impeachment.

6/ Not long after @BarryBerke told Eisen that Trump would provide the seeds of his own destruction, we all learned about the May phone call in which Trump asked Zelensky to “do us a favor though.”

This (in Eisen’s view) was worse than the Russian story:

7/ As of August, public support for impeachment was still under 40%, but Nadler felt if Congress came around, the public would, too.

Eisen drafted ten possible articles of impeachment—well, nine.

The tenth was: “what he will do next / the Next High Crime.”

8/ Eisen knew he was up against masters of spin and coverup. They had to work fast to stay ahead of Trump.

About the Zelensky quid pro quo, Eisen writes

(I’ll assume readers of this Twitter Book Report followed the unfolding of the Operation Ukraine Shakedown impeachment)

9/ When the enormity of Trump’s conduct emerged, Eisen thought surely this would be the breaking point: Now enough Americans would see and the GOP would act.

He and Barry Berke got right to work.

Some things of interest to those who did follow it all closely . . .

10/ Eisen reveals the deliberations that led to narrowing the articles to two, and not leading with bribery.

(As some Twitter lawyers guessed, they didn’t want to get bogged down in recent Supreme Court cases governing bribery or offer Trump and Barr such good spin material.)

11/ Remember during the proceedings when we were so frustrated listening to the Republicans at the Senate trial spew all those lies?

Here’s how Barry Berke responded

12/ You all know how the impeachment ended: Most of the GOP fell in line and voted to acquit.

If you didn’t follow the impeachment proceedings and trial, at least listen to Adam Schiff’s closing arguments (and read Eisen's book!)

13/ When Republicans did Trump’s bidding, Eisen describes them as “being sucked into Trump’s dark vortex" where they lost their moral compasses.

For a look at how they lost their moral compass, see the Twitter Book Report I wrote last week: https://twitter.com/Teri_Kanefield/status/1288258401936572419

14/ On Feb. 5, during the impeachment proceedings, alarm bells rang in Congress and the Trump administration about a new virus.

Trump knew the pandemic was coming, but underplayed the danger.

His behavior followed the usual pattern.

15/ Trump managed the pandemic by guarding his own personal and political interests: He lied about the danger because he was afraid moving quickly would spook the markets, and he believed a strong economy would get him reelected.

16/ Eisen ends his book with a plea to the jury. He has done all he can possibly do. It’s now up to the American voters

I know, I know. It’s what I—and others—have been saying.

I swear I didn’t read the book until now! I guess I’ve been channeling my inner Norm Eisen.

17/ A strength of the book is the writing. (Love to see a lawyer who can write lively, readable prose.)

This book is for those who don’t yet see Trump’s pattern— and also for those who say: “The Democrats haven’t done enough.”

This thread is a blog post, here: https://terikanefield-blog.com/a-case-for-the-american-people-the-us-v-trump/

Next up, Stuart Stevens' It Was All A Lie. (Publication date, Tuesday, so my eyeballs get a rest)