Hey Ari Melber...

[appmanga]

...and all the other great legal minds who are castigating the House managers for not pressing to bring forward witnesses. You're missing what Jamie Raskin and the others realized: they were having a trap set for them.

The issue comes from that fact that a vote would be taken for any witness to appear. In a 50-50 Senate, under impeachment, a tie vote is a loss, so there was no danger of irrelevant people being issued subpoenas because Democrats would have held the line. And that was the trap. How could the five Republicans who voted for the first witness deny voting for Trump to at least have at least one or more witnesses? If any of those five votes goes over, the Republicans get that witness, and the trial becomes the circus the managers wanted to avoid. And if the Democrats are perceived to not want to be fair by all of them voting against any potential witness for Trump, do they lose some of those Republicans?

And what if a potential witness like Kevin McCarthy fights the subpoena? Does anyone remember Don McGahn ever showing up, despite a House subpoena? While the Senate has more experience and success with inherent contempt, that doesn't mean the process doesn't get dragged out.

This was a trap, and Raskin knew it.

Having Rep. Butler's unrefuted facts as part of the record and part of the evidence was a win, and it wouldn't have mattered if there were dozens of witness who would testify against Trump, he was not going to be convicted. To think there was more to be gained is disingenuous, foolish, and twitterbait, and it needs to stop.

[Irish_Dem]

1. Ari is on my shit list tonight.

[sfstaxprep]

2. The Game Was Rigged

There was NOTHING they could have done or shown that would have got them more than the 57 votes they had.

They decided to take their 57 votes and go home.

It was for that reason I never expected witnesses to be called.

[cilla4progress]

3. I'm on

this team

[msfiddlestix]

4. This

Ari used to work as a staffer, so he should know better.

[StarfishSaver]

5. Thank you for explaining this so well

I have been struggling to get this point across all day and am just worn out. So glad to have such articulate reinforcement!

[servermsh]

6. Let me see if I have this right

We shouldn't call any witnesses because Republicans might attempt to call irrelevant witnesses, we would vote that down, and that would be bad somehow?

And we shouldn't call witnesses because they wouldn't want to testify? Is that right?

Are you advocating the Biden DOJ take that same approach with witnesses? What if Graham threatens to jam up the Senate if the DOJ investigates Trump? Should we give in then?

[dem4decades]

7. At this point, Ari just plays an attorney on TV.

[Maru Kitteh]

8. Ari Melber is a child.

I do not watch him because I do not expect this to ever change, no matter his age.

[chowder66]

9. 57 senators didn't need additional witnesses. The 43 wouldn't have changed their minds our way and

would have split hairs disingenuously to reason out why.

[Bev54]

10. I just love how all these low level lawyers

try to make themselves experts over and above someone like Raskin, who truly has the credentials and the smarts. Trump's smarmy lawyers trying to explain to him the constitution and senate rules, a guy who is an ambulance chaser and knows nothing about senate rules and the difference between and impeachment and a court trial. I don't know how Raskin was able to restrain himself but it shows who the real man is. That guy was just another Trump whose only ability was to insult others because he knows he will never be half the person his opponent is.

[sop]

11. Did Ari manage to work in some cool hip hop references and lyrics?

[renate]

13. I never miss Ari's show because I love all his hip-hop references

Oh wait. I mean I never watch Ari’s show because his constant hip-hop references being shoved into every discussion whether they’re applicable or not make me want to scream.

[Joinfortmill]

12. Raskin is a rock star.