DONALD TRUMP'S TRIAL, MEN IN WHITE COATS, A STRAIGHTJACKET, AND A RUBBER ROOM

After reading this editorial, please express your own thoughts.  At the bottom, please click on the word "Comments" below the copyright and type your remarks in the box.  When finished,  please click on the word "Publish."  Please also share a link to this column with others in your e-mail directory and on social media.

This copyrighted column - in part or in its entirety - may be freely shared among individuals, and it may be reprinted, republished, or quoted in any medium, including broadcast, cable, satellite, print, Internet, and other forms of media, but only when crediting Gary B. Duglin and The Controversy.     

     Whether the United States Senate convicts him and removes him from office or not, Donald Trump throughout the rest of his life, throughout his dying days, and throughout eternity, will be blemished by a big, black zit painted with indelible ink on his forehead that he is an impeached President of the United States. Nothing - not no one - can ever 

remove the I-shaped imperfection that sullies and scars his reputation.  Trump's legacy is forever tarnished, and for a narcissist - an egomaniacal bully - he is undoubtedly wanting to choke the life out of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi of California (pictured right), Congressman Adam Schiff of California (the Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, pictured below on the right), 

Congressman Jerry Nadler of New York (the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, pictured on the far left), and every other Democrat that has pushed for Trump's impeachment.

     On Wednesday, December 18th, 2019, Donald John Trump Sr. became only the third President in U.S. history to be impeached by the House of Representatives.  But unlike our 17th President Andrew Johnson in 1868 and our 42nd President Bill Clinton in 1998, Trump was impeached in his first term.

     President Johnson was impeached, in part, when he replaced a Member of his Cabinet without the advice and consent of the Senate.  President Clinton was impeached because partisan Republicans called lying about consensual oral sex encounters with a White House intern perjury and obstruction of justice.  It was

Monica Lewinksy (pictured right) - but you probably remember that - who claimed that on nine occasions between 1995 and 1997, when she was between 22 and 24 years old, that she did, in fact, partake willingly in the aforementioned sexual acts with Mr. Clinton. What the then-49-year old to 51-year old President Clinton did might be considered morally wrong by having an extra-marital affair, but it really was of no business of any other Americans besides his wife, then-First Lady Hillary Clinton, and their daughter, Chelsea Clinton (pictured below left). It certainly was no business of Congress, as it was a private

matter and should never have been made public. That being said, unlike Trump who apologizes for nothing - and he's got plenty to apologize for - President Clinton did apologize for his conduct with Lewinsky before his impeachment.  However, in a 1998 interview with MSNBC's Chris Matthews (pictured below left), Trump criticized Mr. Clinton.

He chided the Arkansas Democrat for cooperating with Capitol Hill and the investigation led by Independent Counsel Ken Starr (pictured right). Trump sounded off that President Clinton should not ever have expressed that he was sorry.  Even 21 years ago, THAT was Donald Trump; a bastard who doesn't believe in saying I'm sorry.  Of course, he never has, never would, and never will.  

     Regular readers of The Controversy are well aware of my loyalty to former President Clinton.  However, I am equally loyal to former Secretary of State Clinton and, therefore, I would never support Mr. Clinton's infidelity.  Being unfaithful to Mrs. Clinton was wrong.  But it was not an impeachable offense and President Clinton should have never been put in to a position to lie about it.  Apparently, the U.S. Senate agreed with me.  After all, Mr. Clinton - although impeached by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives - was not convicted by the Senate. And neither was President Johnson following his impeachment.

     Should Donald Trump escape conviction by the Republican-controlled Senate - which he should not - the name Trump has been defaced, disfigured, and disgraced with a stain that bashes and trashes the Trump brand in perpetuity.  From generation to generation, Donald Trump's impeachment and the crimes for which he is charged - "Abuse of Power" and "Obstruction of Congress" - will stigmatize his heirs forever.

         Although not impeached by the full House of Representatives, the Democratic-controlled House Judiciary Committee passed three Articles of Impeachment against President Richard Nixon in connection with his cover-up of the Watergate scandal. After Republican leadership in both the House and Senate informed Mr. Nixon of their lack of confidence in him - and that the votes to give him the boot were there - with about two-and-a-half years remaining in his second term, America's 37th President was, in essence, forced to resign the presidency in 1974 rather than be impeached, convicted and removed from office.  

    

     There is a distinct difference why Trump was impeached versus why charges were brought against President Johnson, President Clinton, or President Nixon. Trump was impeached because he solicited and pressured a foreign government to probe his likely opponent in the 2020 race for The White House.  In other words, he tried to con and swindle his way in to four more years of the presidency.  Trump consciously and deliberately attempted to use cheating as his avenue to a second term before Americans have the opportunity to vote. Trump bribed the president of Ukraine by trying to leverage 391 million dollars in military 

aid - taxpayers' money - which was approved by Congress.  Trump withheld that funding as a method of demanding President Volodymyr Zelensky (pictured above left) to launch an investigation in to former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden (pictured left), as part of a quid pro quo for Trump's political and personal gain.  Trump has threatened our national security, he has abused his power, he has tampered with witnesses, he has obstructed Congress and American justice, and he has violated the United States Constitution and his oath of office.  Donald Trump is a clear and present danger to our republic's democracy.

     All along the impeachment process, Trump made jokes about the Democrats' action calling it a "hoax."  But once the impeachment became inevitable, Trump - on Tuesday, December 17th, 2019 - issued a rambling 6-page letter blaming Speaker Pelosi on "declaring open war on American Democracy." He labeled the impeachment a "crusade," an "unprecedented and unconstitutional abuse of power," and a "spiteful" "election-nullification scheme."  Trump accused Mrs. Pelosi and House Democrats of orchestrating "an illegal, partisan attempted coup." Trump wrote, "You are the ones subverting America's Democracy.  You are the ones Obstructing Justice. You are the ones bringing pain and suffering to our Republic for your own selfish, personal, political, and partisan gain."

     But as I wrote in my December 18th, 2019 column, Trump is nervous, if not altogether scared, that Vice President Biden can defeat him in the November 3rd, 2020 general election.  That is assuming that Mr. Biden first wins the Democratic nomination, which as an unconditional supporter, I hope he does.  But Trump's unhinged undertaking - his delirious diatribe - reads like it's been written by a person who fears his loss of freedom and that he faces the reality that his presidential reality TV show may soon be canceled.

     Trump has confessed to his crimes, but he maintains a belief - wrong as he is - that he is innocent, and that he has not committed any illegal wrongdoing.  Trump feels his telephone conversation on July 25th, 2019 with Ukraine's Zelensky was "perfect," and he has repeated that word over and over and over again.  However, on September 23rd, 2019, Trump confirmed that his call with Zelensky did indeed involve the Bidens and the withholding of aid to Ukraine.  By then, that money had already been released twelve days earlier on September 11th, 2019 after The White House learned of the whistle-blower complaint which specified Trump's extortion attempt with Ukraine and which was the beginning of the Trump impeachment.  But there's no leniency just because the bucks weren't withheld forever.  Trump broke the law, despite the fact he still stands firm that he did nothing wrong.

     As I've written in earlier editorials, Trump mimicked a mob boss when he twisted Zelensky's arm to interfere in our upcoming 2020 election.  What Trump did was a classic Mafia-like shakedown.  When Trump said to Zelensky in that now infamous telephone call, "We do a lot for Ukraine" and "spend a lot of effort and a lot of time" to help Ukraine, but that it's not always "reciprocal," so I want you "to do us a favor though," those words equate to Trump committing crimes.  The bottom line is that Trump was pressuring a foreign government to investigate a political rival of the U.S. President.

    

     I have been writing for quite some time - going back to the investigation led by former Special Counsel Robert Mueller (pictured left) - that former 

White House Counsel Don McGahn (pictured right) would be the key that opens the door to Trump's removal from office. McGahn is the man who I would bet knows exactly where all the proverbial bodies are buried, and apparently the House Judiciary Committee is on the same page as me.  On Monday, December 23rd, 2019, lawyers for Congressman Nadler's panel filed a legal brief stating an "urgent need" for McGahn to be forced to testify under oath in the Trump impeachment case.  Meanwhile, the Department of Justice has filed legal action in a counter-suit because DOJ attorneys argue that the House cannot justify a reason to compel McGahn's testimony since the Articles of Impeachment have already passed. The DOJ lawyers feel that for a court to put in its two-cents and make a decision on McGahn "would appear to be weighing in on a contested issue in any impeachment trial."  Attorneys for Trump's Justice Department also feel that a court ruling would - metaphorically speaking with my words not theirs - make the Judicial Branch the cream filling of an Oreo cookie and, therefore, by putting judges in the middle of a battle between the Executive and Legislative Branches of the U.S. federal government should not be the answer to a dispute "when political tensions are at their highest levels."  But I'm in agreement with House legal eagles because - as I have noted for a long time in other editorials - it is McGahn who is directly linked one-on-one to Trump, and it is McGahn who doesn't need to dig up the dirty facts about Trump because he's got them neatly packed away in a safe deposit box in his head, or perhaps in notebooks that are kept in a secure place somewhere else. Should McGahn spill the beans, the information and evidence he would provide could be paramount in arriving to a truthful conclusion of a Senate trial.  House lawyers say McGahn's voice will articulate a "vital" part of evidence to the Senate as the Articles of Impeachment from the House are presented in the Trump trial. 

     Even after being impeached, Trump continues to do what he does best; act like a repulsive jerk (I should use stronger words but let's keep it at repulsive jerk) by making offensive comments.  Trump suggested to a crowd at a Michigan rally that 

the late Democratic Congressman John Dingell (pictured right) of "The Great Lakes State" never made it to heaven when he died in February 2019, but instead he has taken up residence in hell. Congressman Dingell holds the record for being the longest-serving Member of the House of Representatives.  He retained his seat for 59 years, which surpasses any other person in U.S. history. Dingell's wife - Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Dingell who was elected to her husband's 12th District seat in 2014 - supported Trump's impeachment.  So Trump - at this Battle Creek, Michigan campaign event on Wednesday, December 18th, 2019 - made an effort to dishonor Congressman Dingell after Congresswoman Dingell cast her vote against Trump.  Insulting the Dingells, Trump mocked a conversation he claims to have had with Mrs. Dingell following the death of Mr. Dingell.  Trump alleges that Congresswoman Dingell was profusely grateful when he ordered all American flags to be flown at half-staff "as a mark of respect for the memory and long standing service" of Congressman Dingell, who when he died was age 92.  Trump told his rally rug rats that Congresswoman Dingell told him, "John would be so thrilled.  He's looking down, he'd be so thrilled...  Maybe he's looking up, I don't know."  It's unconscionable and despicable that anyone could embrace Trump. Each time he opens his mephitic mouth he spews venom off his toxic tongue and elevates himself higher and higher on to his pedestal of profanity.

     Upon hearing Trump's abhorrent remark, even some of the people in the Battle Creek crowd sounded out groans of shock.  Time and time again, Trump has crossed the line of decency, and he did it again that night by attacking a legendary public servant, a true American statesman - known as "The Dean of the House" - whose "leadership" was applauded by Speaker Pelosi when she tweeted that Congressman Dingell was "a beloved pillar of the Congress and one of the greatest legislators in our history." Secretary Clinton (pictured above left) painted him as someone with "a good heart." And Vice President Biden (pictured above right) portrayed Mr. Dingell as a "friend" who "led with great moral courage and vision."  In his eulogy at Congressman Dingell's funeral, Mr. Biden described Mr. Dingell with one word, "Dignity."  Yet Donald Trump blasted Congressman Dingell and his grieving widow with evil viciousness. 

Congresswoman Dingell was appalled by Trump's vulgar implication that her husband is not flying with the angels, but serving with Satan. Moments later, Mrs. Dingell tweeted, "I'm preparing for the first holiday season without the man I love.  You brought me down in a way you can never imagine and your hurtful words just made my healing much harder." But on the December 22nd broadcast of Fox News Sunday, Congresswoman Dingell (pictured above left) told Chris Wallace (pictured above right) that Trump's tasteless joke about her late husband being in hell "just sort of kicked me in the stomach." 

     Donald Trump thinks he has an acquittal all locked up when it should be Trump himself who should be locked up.  But I maintain a belief that there are Republican senators who have an open mind and - if more and more factual evidence ends up being released (there should be enough already, but oh well so be it) - there still may be 20 senators from the GOP who will join the 47 Democrats to convict Trump and remove him from office.  Nobody is above the law and Republican senators need to do their jobs and honor their oaths by upholding the U.S. Constitution.  At least 67 senators are necessary to hold Trump accountable for his crimes.  But Senate Democrats must first score a win by getting witnesses to be heard in the Trump trial and documents released that just might be more and more proof of Trump's guilt. For that, Democrats only need 4 Republicans to jump ship and to approve for witnesses to testify and for the reading of documents to be heard.  Only 51 senators - a simple majority - is necessary to achieve that goal.

     Democrats are more adamant than ever about calling witnesses after emails were obtained by the government watchdog group, Center for Public Integrity that prove somebody at The White House (and I would presume Donald Trump) ordered a freeze on the military aid to Ukraine less than two hours after Trump's conversation with 

Zelensky.  Remember what I always say - nothing in "Trumpworld" ever gets done without Donald Trump first giving it the green light.  The emails were released to CPI through a Freedom of Information Act request. In those documents, Mike Duffey (pictured right) of the Office of Management and Budget directed the Pentagon to "hold off" on the funding to Ukraine at 11:04 A.M. on July 25th, 2019. The Trump/Zelensky phone call went from 9:03 A.M. until 9:33 A.M. "Based on guidance I have received and in light of the Administration's plan to review assistance to Ukraine, including the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, please hold off on any additional Department of Defense obligations of these funds, pending direction from that process."  Who's guidance did Duffey receive?  And again, I've got to believe that Trump himself put everything in to motion.  Duffey - who is the Associate Director of National Security Programs at the OMB - also indicated in his email that mum's the word.  "Given the sensitive nature of the request, I appreciate your keeping that information closely 

held to those who need to know to execute the direction."  Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer (pictured right) of New York - the Senate Minority Leader - plus other Senate Democrats believe the email demonstrates that witnesses are critical to the Trump trial and cannot be ignored.  Schumer tweeted that the Duffey email "is all the more reason why we need Duffey and others to testify in a Senate trial."  At a news conference on Sunday, December 22nd, 2019, Senator Schumer proved Democrats' point even more.  "If there was ever an argument that we need Mr. Duffey to come testify, this is that information.  This email is explosive. A top administration official, one that we've requested, is saying 'stop the aid' 91 minutes after Trump called Zelensky and said, 'Keep it hush-hush!' What more do you need to request a witness?"  Senator Schumer also wants to know, "First, if there's nothing wrong with withholding the aid, why didn't Mr. Duffey want anyone to know about what he was doing?  If this is a perfect conversation (as Trump has repeatedly stated), if this is an OK action, why are they trying to hush it up?  And second, from whom did Duffey get the order and why did he do it?"

     Overall, Trump doesn't really want a trial; even though he wants the country to believe that he does.  Nobody in his right mind would want the stress of a trial.  But then, since Trump isn't in his right mind, maybe that explains his demeanor. Trump is, however, hoping that Senator Mitch McConnell (pictured right) of Kentucky - the Senate Majority Leader - and enough other Republicans in the Senate will simply give him a pass without any real trial that includes witnesses and evidence.
    

     But Nancy Pelosi (pictured left) and the Democrats are going to get the last laugh, not Donald Trump.  Trump is slowly, but surely, going insane; if he's not already there.  Speaker Pelosi is holding the recently passed Articles of Impeachment against Trump until she is made aware of "the process that is set forth in the Senate."  In other words, Mrs. Pelosi is doing to Trump and McConnell what they deserve.  She's letting them sweat.  "We would hope there would be a fair process just as I hope they would honor the Constitution."  But Trump reacted with a tweet which once again shows that he thinks he can do whatever he wants because he is the President.  "Pelosi feels her phony impeachment HOAX is so pathetic she is afraid to present it to the Senate, which can set a date and put this whole SCAM into default if they refuse to show up!  The Do Nothings are so bad for our Country."  Speaker Pelosi, however, isn't buying in to Trump's falderal.  She hit the nail on the head when noting that our Founding Fathers had a sneaky suspicion that "we might have a rogue President.  I don't think they suspected that we'd have a rogue President and a rogue Leader in the Senate at the same time."  If Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell had a pair of balls between them, they would honor history and respect the Constitution by being fully cooperative with this trial.  Instead, they want to throw a monkey wrench in to the works by refusing to let witnesses take the stand.  

    

     As I have written in previous columns, if Trump and his henchmen have nothing to hide, and if Trump truly believes he is innocent, then he should not fear anything at all that might be uttered under oath by Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney (pictured left), by former National

Security Adviser John Bolton (pictured right), and by two other senior White House officials who Senate Democrats want to testify, all of whom were previously subpoenaed by House Democrats but did not testify. Each is considered close to Trump and they probably all have the inside dope on the delay of military aid to Ukraine.

     Numerous Trump-appointed federal officials did, however, testify under oath before the House Intelligence Committee or the House Judiciary Committee.  These individuals were irrefutable witnesses who fully demonstrated with ample justification that Donald Trump is the most corrupt person to ever sit behind The Oval Office desk and, therefore, he needs to be punished for his lawless behavior.

     During this holiday week of Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa, one might think that the President of the United States - even when it's Donald Trump - would cool his jets and not go on a rampage against Democrats.  But Trump was on the warpath on Tuesday, December 24th as he bitterly slammed Nancy Pelosi.  Trump claims the Democratic Speaker of the House "hates the Republican Party."  He insists that Mrs. Pelosi "hates all of the people that voted for" him.  Trump - who spent Christmas at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida - is the one who is the undeniable hater. He has incited and encouraged hatred against Democrats since day one of his campaign and - in many respects - long before that.  But Democrats - as I have expressed for years - are not haters.  We do not hate.  Personally, I do not hate anybody.  But Trump is griping and growling that Speaker Pelosi treats him "very unfairly" because House Democrats "had no evidence at all, they had no crime."  The evidence and the crimes are as clear as a mirror that's been polished with Windex. So Trump can bellyache 24 hours a day, but it's all because he's terrified of being convicted by a house of Congress and then evicted from The White House.  But Trump has no clue of how his Senate trial could proceed.  He thinks that "it's ultimately up to Mitch McConnell" and that "he's going to do what he wants to do" because "he's the head of the Senate."  However - as I noted earlier in this column - if Senator Schumer is able to sway four Republican senators to hop the fence and join with Democrats, McConnell won't be able to do a damn thing and the trial of Donald Trump would proceed. 

     I could have published this column on Wednesday, December 25th, Christmas Day, or even on Christmas Eve, but I decided out of respect to Christians throughout the United States, I would wait until today, Thursday, December 26th, so to, therefore, not publish it at a holy time.

     But holiday spirit - if Donald Trump has any at all - didn't stop him from bombing Democrats via social media. There was no cease fire because also on Christmas Eve 2019, Trump went on a Twitter tirade and ranted that the "Do Nothing Democrats have gone CRAZY." But I suppose people will bitch at me for calling Trump insane.  For more than four years in my columns - since his candidacy and throughout his presidency - I have referred to Donald Trump as being mentally and morally unfit to serve as the 45th President of the United States. The Democrats in Congress (and I believe many if not most Republicans down deep in the core of their souls) know Trump is guilty of the crimes he is charged with, plus other crimes that are not included in the Articles of Impeachment.  Republicans on Capitol Hill - especially in the Senate have to start putting country over Party and country over Trump.  A solid majority of Americans nationwide are convinced that Trump is guilty, according to a new poll by Politico and Morning Consul.  The survey was taken after Trump was impeached and it indicates that 52 percent of Americans believe Trump should be removed from office. Meanwhile, it's not the Democrats who have "gone CRAZY," but 

it's obvious that the Democrats on Capitol Hill - not to mention other Democrats across America - are driving Trump crazy. In fact, Trump is becoming more and more crazy everyday; beyond what he's been already for some time. I am convinced that Trump will someday suffer a mental meltdown live on television as he becomes more and more out of control. Therefore, I expect before all is said and done that Trump will end up being escorted from The White House in a straightjacket by men in white coats.  I'm not trying to be facetious. There isn't anything funny about any of this. But I wouldn't be surprised if right now a building with a rubber room inside is being constructed and that there'll be a large sign on the front door that reads...TRUMP TOWER AND BOOBY HATCH.

     And that's The Controversy for today.

     I'm Gary B. Duglin.

     "We'll talk again."

The Controversy is a publication of GBD Productions.  Founder and Editor-In-Chief of The Controversy is Gary B. Duglin.

Please express your personal opinions by following the instructions printed at the top of this column.  And thank you for reading The Controversy.

Photo credits:

1 - Jonathan Ernst/Reuters (Donald Trump #1)
2 - Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images (Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi #1)
3 - AFP/Getty Images (Congressman Jerry Nadler and Congressman Adam Schiff)
4 - U.S. National Archives/Newsmakers/Getty Images (Former President Andrew Johnson)
5 - Ian Wagr/United Press International (Former President Bill Clinton)
6 - Reuters (Monica Lewinsky)
7 - J. David Ake/AFP/Getty Images (Former First Lady Hillary Clinton and Former First Daughter Chelsea Clinton)
8 - MSNBC (Anchor Chris Matthews)
9 - ABC News Screenshot (Former Independent Counsel Ken Starr)
10 - Richard Nixon Foundation and Getty Images (Former President Richard Nixon)
11 - Sergei Chuzavkov/SOPA Images/Light Rocket via Getty Images (President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine)
12 - AFP/Getty Images (Former Vice President Joe Biden and Hunter Biden)
13 - Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call (Former Special Counsel Robert Mueller)
14 - Alex Wong/Getty Images (Former White House Counsel Don McGahn)
15 - Getty Images (Former Congressman John Dingell)
16 - ABC News Screenshot (Former Vice President Joe Biden)
17 - Greg Nash (Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton)
18 - Fox News Screenshot/Screengrab (Congresswoman Debbie Dingell)
19 - Fox News Screenshot (Anchor Chris Wallace)
20 - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Associate Director of National Security Programs at the Office of Management and Budget Mike Duffey)
21 - J. Scott Applewhite/The Associated Press (Senator Chuck Schumer)
22 - Leah Millis/Reuters (Senator Mitch McConnell)
23 - The Associated Press/Getty Images (Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi #2)
24 - Alex Brandon/The Associated Press (Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney)
25 - Peter Nicholls/Reuters (Former National Security Adviser John Bolton)
26 - Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images (Donald Trump #2)
27 - David Becker/Reuters (Donald Trump #3)
28 - Marian Kamensky/Cartoon Stock.com/Daily Sound and Fury (Trump Men In White Coats Cartoon)

Copyright 2019 Gary B. Duglin and TheControversy.net.  All Rights Reserved.