An ice storm hit Washington on Saturday. Snow hit the capital, sealing cars and glazing sidewalks.
But inside the US Capitol, a glacial ice storm froze the United States Senate. Fifty-seven senators voted to condemn former President Trump in his second impeachment trial. The Senate was frozen. Everyone knew before the trial that there would never be 67 votes for sentencing. It didn’t matter whether the impeachment managers in the Chamber proved their case or not. It didn’t matter whether Mr. Trump’s lawyer adequately defended him or not.
A National Guard soldier stands at a post while snow falls in front of the United States Capitol on Sunday, January 31, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo / Alex Brandon)
Mr Trump’s lawyer, Michael van der Veen, knew this. The Senate passed this impeachment trial in just five days. President Andrew Johnson’s impeachment trial mired the Senate for three months in 1868. The Senate devoted five weeks to President Bill Clinton’s trial in 1999. Senators sat for more than two weeks at President Trump’s first impeachment trial in the last year.
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This year’s verdict was an accomplished fact. The trial would be concluded on Saturday afternoon, exonerating the former president. Van der Veen would return on I-95 to his law firm in van der Veen, O’Neill, Hartshorn and Levin in Philadelphia. Van der Veen would again represent people invaded by dump trucks. Defending defendants from DUI and rape.
This would be the shortest impeachment trial for a president in American history.
Much of what is going on at the Capitol is planned. There are rarely any real surprises. Real drama. Visitors can have an advantage of six races in the eighth. But you know that the home team will always scold at the end of the ninth. And then, moments after the Senate issued the order on Saturday, the impeachment trial took a wild turn, O. Henry.
Impeachment managers demanded testimony from witnesses. In particular, they wanted an interview with Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA). The managers hoped to probe the congresswoman about what she knew about a dispute between President Trump and minority leader in the House, Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), in the middle of the January riot. McCarthy criticized the former president, demanding that he take steps to contain the insurrection.
In a statement, the congresswoman challenged the “patriots” who were aware of the talks to “add” to the register.
Impeachment manager, Dep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), described Herrera Beutler’s statement about the McCarthy / Trump call as “an additional critical piece of corroborative evidence”. Raskin then called to summon Herrera Beutler and his “contemporary notes”. He said the Senate could proceed with a deposition via Zoom.
This proposition would open the door for dozens of witnesses. This had the potential to delay the verdict of the trial. The “floor” part of the trial would likely disappear when the Senate hears witnesses on both sides. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) threatened a panoply of witnesses.
“I want to interview (Senate majority leader) Chuck (Schumer, D-NY). I want to interview (President) Joe Biden. I want to interview (Vice President) Kamala (Harris). I want to interview (Mayor) Nancy) Pelosi ( D-CA). I want to interview (Chairman of the Chamber’s Financial Services Committee) Maxine Waters (D-CA). I want to interview (Sen.) Cory Booker (D-NJ). (Former Attorney General) Eric Holder “, warned Graham at Fox.
The House managers’ plea to testify was a political earthquake that rocked Washington. Van der Veen made his disdain for DC Beltway clear at the start of the trial.
“This is the worst experience I’ve ever had here in Washington, DC,” growled van der Veen to Raskin on the floor on Friday. “There is nothing fun about that.”
“Dude, you should be here on January 6th,” replied Raskin.
On Saturday, van der Veen had a volcanic disease in response to the idea of a prolonged trial. A frown curved van der Veen’s forehead in a magnificent field worthy of a ski resort. His eyebrows formed a ‘V’. Van der Veen postulated that if Democrats needed to hear from Herrera Beutler, he would require “more than 100” testimonies. Pelosi. Harris. Many others.
“And not by Zoom. None of these statements should be made by Zoom. We didn’t audition for Zoom. These statements should be made in person! In my office! In Phil-ee-delphia!” shouted Van der Veen, hammering the pulpit.
The camera burst out laughing at Van Deer Veen’s theatrical pronunciation for the city of brotherly love. It was like a schoolyard tease. As of Saturday morning, Van der Veen had played Washington’s game for this trial. But if the Senate insisted on witnesses, it would move the case to its territory. The land of Ben Franklin, Rocky Balboa, Dr. J. and Phillie Phanatic.
It would be quite a scene.
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If Pelosi, Harris and half of the Washington officer were to travel to Philadelphia to receive depositions, van der Veen’s law firms would become the most important political location in Pennsylvania since Four Seasons Total Landscaping.
Some lawmakers were surprised by the temperament and tactics of van deer Veen displayed on the floor.
“He is furious at having to continue working for Trump,” said a House Republican who asked not to be named. “He wanted this over with. How fast.”
Van der Veen resented the senators laughing at him because of his Philadelphia pronunciation.
“I didn’t laugh at any of you. And there is nothing laughable here,” van der Veen barked at the senators like an Eastern League manager taking down a second base referee.
The Senate then voted to accept witnesses, taking the entire future of the trial off course. Nobody knew exactly what would happen. Everyone expected some kind of structure to proceed with the trial, including individual votes on specific witnesses.
And, just as suddenly as the trial went off course, the House’s impeachment managers and President Trump’s council signed a deal. They agreed to accept Herrera Beutler’s statement as part of the record. There would be no need for additional testimonials. No zoom. No AMTRAK trips to Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station. No daily rates for Philly’s cheesesteak. No Wawa Gobblers.
The Senate then voted to absolve the former president in an impeachment trial for the second time in 12 months. But it was the closest verdict in a president’s impeachment trial since senators narrowly acquitted President Andrew Johnson in 1868.
“Nothing in life is so stimulating as to be shot without result,” said Winston Churchill.
The same could be said about Trump – although his detractors note that he is the only president against whom the House has been accused twice.
Van der Veen boasted of the verdict of the trial in an interview with Fox colleagues Gillian Turner and Griff Jenkins.
“We demolished their box. They were like a dying animal that we had trapped in a corner,” van der Veen boasted.
In an interview with CBS, van der Veen shouted at anchor Lana Zak. He crossed his arms as if he was bored with her questions. Van der Veen dramatically stuck his lavaliere microphone on the floor at the end, with the camera still recording.
The trial has ended. But van der Veen and Trump’s other lawyers didn’t have to do much to release their client. The result was defined before starting.
Van der Veen was ready. He was done with Washington. Path done with Washington. And he was coming home.
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For Phil-ee-delphia.