WTH just happened?

indicated she would only testify what was already put out there so they took her reported statement, that was stipulated by the defense, and included it in the record. It was still pretty damning and goes on to prove the intent/frame of mind in the argument about who was fomenting an insurrection.

Someone else reading a statement is not going to have as much impact as the actual person’s testimony.

Not repugs. They either aren’t paying attention or think the Dems are lying. You can present the truth to them over and over and they won’t come around to accepting it.

The house managers did their job of documenting trump’s behavior on January 6. That’s a win for our side.

The opening day of the trial had 11 m viewers...or 3% of the population. Most people will learn about the trial activities on the news or in their paper. A live witness vs a witness statement will have no difference in terms of impact.

Each person watching will tell others. Don't discount the snowball effect of witness testimony. It likely would not affect anyone in the cult, including Senators, but it can affect voters.

1) they seemed to only want to call the person whose statement instead was read into the record (so: win)

2) some danger in calling witnesses when you don’t know 100% what they’re gonna say

Don't get me wrong, I would have loved to have seen them. But it wasn't happening.

Are they going to rig the elections in swing states and how will he "do a coup?"

“Arizona GOP lawmaker introduces bill to give Legislature power to toss out election results”

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/arizona-gop-lawmaker-introduces-bill-give-legislature-power-toss-out-n1256097

Will that effort be? My guess is not at all.

Paupers have been made by people betting that Republicans won’t go lower...

-

Thank you.
==========

There would never have beeen one in this venue.

it may or may not have been advantageous to call witnesses. I don't know. I can see some advantages and some disadvantages, but I'm going to have to trust the House Managers and the Senate Dem leadership on this one because (a) they've done a great job so far and (b) they have expertise and information that I don't.

Either way, though, they didn't hand the republicans an out by not calling witnesses. The republicans had that out anyway. They weren't going to vote to convict, no matter how many witnesses democrats called.

Having a congresswoman no one heard of testify in person in a week or two about a conversation she heard about wasn't going to do anything to stop Republicans from looking like monsters or supporters of a madman if they don't convict him.

Republicans listen better to their own than to Dems who they see as the enemy.

First, it would have taken weeks for them to testify - they'd have to be subpoenaed, which they'd fight. And then they'd have to be deposed and then finally come in to testify.

And they'd be hostile witnesses. They would not just come in and give the House managers the information they wanted. They would have been difficult, evasive, combative. And then defense counsel would have had an opportunity to rehabilitate them.

They would not have been good witnesses for the Democrats at all. And their information, while helpful, was not critical to the case - they would not have switched a single Republican from acquit to convict. And any information they did have that could have been helpful to the Democrats case was already put into the record through Herrera-Butler's statements entered today.

And that also would have opened the door for the defense counsel to bring in witnesses, which would have been a whole nother mess.

Trying to make them witnesses would have been a mistake. The House managers are too smart for that.

you think a conviction was ever remotely possible?

If his minions couldn't rig it while he was in charge, why do you think they will rig it when he's out of power?

He's not Lex Luthor.

We are hoping to peel a couple/few more off, sure. Unlikely, but not impossible until it is.

DSandra, in addition to the ongoing, very real concerns about being primaried in a little over a year if they offend Trump, at this point every one of them is now afraid assassins might come after him and possibly his family -- if he offends Trump.

They all saw Trump deliberately, lethally denounce his VP to a murderous mob and what happened then. That noose is probably burned in their brains.

will save the day. Again.

From what PBS was saying.

should consider deleting this post.

Schumer was 100% involved in this, so was McConnell. The Senate is on vacation next week! They're not doing any work next week anyway so there was no reason to rush and every incentive to play it out. Trump's lawyers are WALKING AWAY after today.

They should have stood firm and gotten... something. The defense is now entering into the record that Herrera Beutler's statement is a lie. So we got nothing

to say to them...always these folks want to tilt at windmills...Unemployment runs out in March...history will be written about this for years...but I worry about the near future and the chance that these fascists could use our calling witnesses to drag out the process and muddy the water to get back in power...we must not disappoint the American people who are in desperate need right now.

The MAGATS were never going to convict their GOD-EMPEROR. That was never the point of the trial. The goal of the trial was to dirty up Trump and his supporters and separate them from everybody else. Witnesses would have served that goal.

Witnesses are an opportunity to refute that and prove as good as in a regular courtroom what they said.

I would have preferred witnesses. Folks who are closer to the action felt otherwise. A legitimate fear is some of them might have lied or obfuscated out of loyalty to the orange menace.

The house managers put everything they wanted in the historical record. Witnesses aren’t needed and would add nothing to what has already be said, in fact, it might afford the repugs an opportunity to mount the shit storm their supporters would like the impeachment trial to be.

I think the Dems know what they’re doing.

just as in the first impeachment, some people here conveniently forget that conviction was never going to happen, but but second guess every move by the impeachment managers as if something they did or didn't do somehow resulted in Trump not being convicted - as if conviction was ever a possibility.

Unfortunately, despite people trying to explain the detail and reality (not to mention the downsides) of live witnesses in this case, some folk here got all worked up and excited about the possibility of live witnesses, believing that this would be a game-changer. And when that didn't happen, they're retreating right back into "Democrats CAVED/ are WEAK/SCREWED UP" default because they didn't do something that wouldn't have changed the outcome.

It's sadly all too typical.

The purpose was to get information into the record about the phone call. They accomplished that. Getting Trump to stand down and not object, thereby essentially admitting to the truth of her statement, was a bonus.

A democratic candidate to win their state. After all, the electoral college is about states voting, not individual people.