Day 329…
The cat is sitting under the dining table staring at me in utter confusion.
I’ve totally thrown him this morning by waking up before he could wake up Michael. He’s now been fed, and he has nothing left to do until 5pm when he will get fed again. He’s at a total loss.
The news channels are gearing up for the impending impeachment trial by re-showing clips from the rally where the ex-President incited his followers to storm the Capitol. I don’t want to look at footage of the man. I want to move on. It’s only been a couple of weeks, but I already cannot believe that that was our country.
During World War I, the Allies came up with the idea that at the end of the war, defeated enemy leaders should be held accountable for international law violations. At the Paris Peace Conference, they established a Commission of Responsibilities to recommend how best to do that.
The Germans, who had been defeated, agreed to this saying, “A complete truthful account of the world conditions and of the negotiations among the powers in July 1914 and of the steps taken at that time by the several governments could and would go far toward demolishing the walls of hatred and misconstruction erected by the long war to separate the peoples.”
The Germans, however, wanted a neutral committee set-up to make the recommendations on how this should be done. The Allies refused.
Acting-Secretary of State, Frank Lyon Polk, speaking for the Allies said that that wasn’t necessary because the German’s responsibility for the war was a proven fact. “They do not consider that the German proposal requires any reply as the responsibility of Germany for the war has been long ago incontestably proved.”
In 1921, the Leipzig War Crimes Trials were held. Only 12 defendants were charged and some, but not all, were found guilty. At the time, the trials were considered to be a failure, but they did establish a precedent that was then expanded upon in World War II.
In 1943, in the midst of the new war, the US, along with the UK and the Soviet Union published a, “Declaration on German Atrocities in Occupied Europe.” In it, they warned the Germans that when the Nazis were defeated that they would, "pursue them to the uttermost ends of the earth ... so that justice may be done.”
The first of the Nuremberg Trials was held in 1946. Twelve more followed. By the end, 199 people were accused. 161 were convicted and 37 were sentenced to death. There were subsequent tribunals set up in Russia and in Japan.
Some argued that the trials were unfair because in several cases the Nazis were being accused of crimes that weren’t formally established as crimes when they perpetrated them.
Nonetheless, the trials were a turning point in International law. For the first time, it was decided that individuals could be held responsible and punished for their participation in state-sponsored crimes.
At the end of Apartheid, South Africa chose to do something completely different. They established a Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Victims of human rights violations under the ruling White government were allowed to give testimony as were the perpetrators of those violations.
Three committees were established:
The Human Rights Violation Committee investigated abuses that had occurred under Apartheid from 1960 to 1994.
The Reparation and Rehabilitation Committee was tasked with restoring victims’ dignity and assisting with their rehabilitation.
The Amnesty Committee considered what, if anything, should be done with the perpetrators.
Those who’s actions were considered to be political, in other words upholding the laws at the time, and who fully disclosed all that they had done were sometimes granted amnesty. Of the 7,111 people who applied for amnesty, 849 of them were granted it.
In large part, the TRC is considered to have been effective. The question as to whether its restorative justice was more or less successful than the retributive justice of the Nuremberg trials remains an open one.
And that’s what we here in the United States are grappling with now as this 2nd impeachment trial gets underway. What is this trial going to do for US? What are we going to get out of it? Will it make things better or worse?
The Democrat’s pre-trial brief that outlines their argument states, "President Trump's effort to extend his grip on power by fomenting violence against Congress was a profound violation of the oath he swore. If provoking an insurrectionist riot is not an impeachable offense, it is hard to imagine what would be."
They outline the former President’s repeated denial of the election results, his unfounded and legally dismissed claims of fraud, and his actions and pronouncements in the days following the election leading up to the attempted insurrection. They also site precedence for impeaching somebody no longer in their position.
In response, the ex-President’s new lawyers filed a fairly remarkable rejoinder.
The leaders of his former legal team quit after, reportedly, being forced by the ex-President to base their arguments on the fact that the election was stolen from him and that the results were fraudulent. There are 60 court cases that prove the opposite so, instead, they wanted to focus their arguments on the fact that it wasn’t possible to impeach a President who was no longer in office.
So, they left, and this new group is now attempting to figure out how to follow the ex-President’s wishes while also following the actual law. If this pre-trial brief is any indicator, they haven’t quite cracked that particular nut yet.
They get off to an unfortunate start by actually misspelling the name of the country.
“To: The Honorable, the Members of the Unites States Senate.”
Continuing, they dispute that their client can be tried since he is no longer in office.
Then comes this: “It is admitted that after the November election, the 45th President exercised his First Amendment right under the Constitution to express his belief that the election results were suspect, since with very few exceptions, under the convenient guise of Covid-19 pandemic “safeguards” states election laws and procedures were changed by local politicians or judges without the necessary approvals from state legislatures. Insufficient evidence exists upon which a reasonable jurist could conclude that the 45th President’s statements were accurate or not, and he therefore denies they were false. Like all Americans, the 45th President is protected by the First Amendment.”
This is what they are going to base their argument on. They are going to say that states changed their voting laws without necessary approvals from their legislatures which is demonstrably not true. They are claiming that since there isn’t enough evidence that there wasn’t fraud (despite the fact that 60 court cases ruled that there wasn’t - many adjudicated by judges appointed by this same President) that no jury would be able to judge that there was fraud, therefore the ex-President denies that his comments were false.
Then they are claiming that the ex-President is protected by the First Amendment which, in this case, he is not. You are not allowed to yell, “fire” in a crowded movie theatre.
Sidney Powell, one of the lawyers who was advising the then-President is, herself, now under scrutiny. Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan is seeking to get her, and three other lawyers disbarred for the false claims that they made about election fraud.
In her complaint the Governor claims that Powell, “did not just tiptoe near a precarious ethical line—she outright crossed it.”
A few weeks ago, Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky warned that a third of Republican voters would leave the party if Senators vote to impeach the former President. A week ago, he forced a vote on the Senate floor to decide the simple question on whether or not the impeachment trial against the former President was Constitutional.
45 Republican Senators voted that it was not.
As much as I would rather that all of this were over, I will admit to being intrigued to see just how deep these GOP Senators are going to dig themselves in. They still haven’t done anything at all about Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene.
With each passing day it seems harder and harder to see a way forward for the party if they continue to support not only the ex-President but also the lunatic outer fringe of their party. The more they continue their support, the further towards that outer fringe they get pulled.
As much as I just don’t want to even look at pictures of the ex-President anymore, I guess we should stock up on some popcorn for his trial and get ready to watch it. I don’t know if this impeachment trial can possibly bring this era in our history to a close, but it will certainly have some lasting effects. What those are, remains to be seen.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (I cannot begin to describe how good it feels to write that) has just announced that the power-sharing agreement between the two parties has now been finalized and that Democrats will finally take control of the committees. Republican obstruction to the Cabinet nominees will now stop and the confirmations can continue. Several, including Merrick Garland as Attorney General, have been purposefully stalled.
On the other hand, Mayor Pete is now officially Secretary Pete. An openly gay man is now serving in the Presidential Cabinet.
13 Republican Senators voted against him. I cannot imagine that there was any objection to the man except for his sexuality.
On the plus side, with one abstention, 86 United States Senators voted FOR him. That, in and of itself, is an amazing step towards the future.
During the holidays, we, of course, watched the stop-motion Rankin-Bass Santa Clause is Coming to Town, so I’ll finish today with some of the lyrics from one of its songs.
We are heading forward. Slowly, maybe, but we’re definitely going. If the Winter Warlock can change for the better, who’s to say that anything else can’t either?
If you want to change your direction
If your time of life is at hand
Well don't be the rule, be the exception
A good way to start is to stand
Put one foot in front of the other
And soon you'll be walking 'cross the floor
Put one foot in front of the other
And soon you'll be walking out the door.
Lovely, yes waking people up is a very important job, so my 2 newbie kitties tell me
❤️”Never look back, unless you are planning to go that way” Thoreau
encouraging me today, as you post has
🌟💫