Republicans can't defend the indefensible [View all]

[SunSeeker]

McCarthy, though he struggles with spoken English, stumbled onto inadvertent honesty: Trump might have done wrong, but McCarthy thinks the transgression isn’t impeachment-worthy. Fair enough. But Trump’s violation of the law is as clear as if he shot somebody on Fifth Avenue. Trump’s partisans are free to choose their president over the law, but make no mistake: This is the choice they face.

“It shall be unlawful for —

(1) a foreign national, directly or indirectly, to make —

(A) a contribution or donation of money or other thing of value, or to make an express or implied promise to make a contribution or donation, in connection with a Federal, State, or local election .?.?.

(2) a person to solicit, accept, or receive a contribution or donation described in subparagraph (A) .?.?. of paragraph (1) from a foreign national.”

— 52 U.S. Code 30121

“There’s a lot of talk about [Joe] Biden’s son, that Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that so whatever you can do with the attorney general would be great. .?.?. I will have Mr. Giuliani give you a call and I am also going to have Attorney General [William] Barr call and we will get to the bottom of it. I’m sure you will figure it out.”

— President Trump, soliciting a
“thing of value” for his reelection from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky 
on July 25

But we’re not hearing Republicans defend Trump’s illegal behavior — because there is no defense.

McCarthy simply pretended it didn’t happen. “Let’s be very clear: The president did not ask to investigate Joe Biden,” he told reporters. (Which part of “look into it,” “get to the bottom of it” and “figure it out” did McCarthy not understand?)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trump-has-fired-the-campaign-law-equivalent-of-a-fifth-avenue-gunshot/2019/09/27/af278664-e13a-11e9-8dc8-498eabc129a0_story.html