If simple repetition of a crime made everything okay, Ted Bundy would still be working for the Republican Party (and yes, that is what he did). But Donald Trump seems to be fixed on the idea that he can discredit an impeachment inquiry that is based on his secretly asking Ukraine to interfere in the 2020 election by simply doing the same thing again, only this time in public. And then by asking China to join in.
It’s not the first time Trump has tried to normalize his behavior by repetition. At multiple points during the Russia investigation, Trump alleged that others had done something similar, insisted that there was nothing wrong with asking for foreign help in an election, claimed that anyone would do the same in his position, and suggested that he would do it again if he had the chance. Because Trump seems to believe that it’s not a crime, if you can just keep getting away with it.
That includes exactly the crime that impeachment was created to address—abuse of power for personal gain.
But at the same time, Trump and Republicans seem to be piling on the idea that House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff did something wrong. Or that the whistleblower did something wrong. Or that someone did something wrong that in some way invalidates the impeachment inquiry.
The reason is simple enough: It worked for them last time. In fact, as far as Trump is concerned, it’s still working for them. They’re still engaged in not one, but at least three investigations into the “origins of the Russian investigation” that are peddling various conspiracy theories about Carter Page, the “Steele Dossier,” and how Obama “spied” on Trump. In fact, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo went to Italy this week, not because it was vital to U.S. foreign interests, but because he was listening to a purported statement from Joseph Mifsud, the Maltese “professor” who was the contact between Trump adviser George Papadopoulos and Russia.
The whole scheme last time, from Trump to Devin Nunes to Mark Meadows and every other member of his congressional defense team, was two-fold: minimize what Trump had done, and generate conspiracy theories about the investigation. That’s what they’re doing again.
The biggest problem that Republicans have in round two is simply the speed at which things are unfolding. Where the Russia investigation went through stages that lasted for months, including more than a year of behind-the-scenes investigation by the special counsel’s office, the impeachment inquiry is coming fast. In a matter of weeks. And most of it is happening right out in front of everyone, with the facts and statements in front of the camera.
Still, Trump and Republicans are going there, because there is nowhere else to go. The evidence against Trump isn’t just compelling; it’s cut, dried, packaged, and ready to ship. Trump is guilty of abuse of his office, on multiple occasions, and there’s no evading that fact.
That’s why Republicans, including GOP House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, are working so hard to sell the idea that Rep. Adam Schiff did something wrong, or that he and the whistleblower have some secret connection. It’s not true. They know it’s not true. But since they can’t fight the facts, they have to fight the messengers.
But the truth is that the whistleblower, who has been identified as a CIA analyst, followed both the letter and the spirit of the law. The whistleblower first took their concerns to the top legal counsel at the agency. When that didn’t seem to be generating fast results, the whistleblower again followed the rules by contacting a staffer at the House Intelligence Committee. The whistleblower passed along to the staffer only vague details of the concern—that it had to do with Ukraine and the handling of classified material. The staffer then recommended that the whistleblower seek the advice of an attorney and take the issue to the inspector general of the intelligence community. Which is what happened.
Schiff never met the whistleblower. Schiff did not see the complaint before it was made available. Schiff played no role in either preparing the complaint or encouraging the whistleblower to step forward. Neither the whistleblower nor Schiff put one foot out of line.
Unlike Trump and McCarthy, who are way over every line imaginable.