Brady’s right, transcript speaks for itself

In a Dec. 31 letter, Jane Brady, state Republican chair, affirmed her party’s support for Donald Trump in his impeachment battle.

Brady said that, as a former “prosecutor and attorney general,” she knows the impeachment proceedings against Trump “would be thrown out of court.

“There was no misconduct that would warrant the impeachment,” she wrote, “and the transcript speaks for itself.”
Indeed it does.

Brady doesn’t list the actual charges, but the first one was for soliciting foreign interference in the 2020 election.

The transcript shows Trump asking President Zelensky of Ukraine for a favor. He wants him to investigate the man he fears most as an opponent, Joe Biden.

We know this had nothing to do with investigating “corruption.” In an earlier call with Zelensky, Trump didn’t even mention “corruption” despite it being one of the talking points his staff drew up for him.

And while Trump didn’t discuss corruption in that phone call, the White House put out a false statement claiming he did. Lie upon lie.

But instead of rehashing evidence and sworn testimony, I have questions for the former AG:

• Would Brady like to prosecute a case where witnesses with firsthand knowledge refuse to testify?

• Would Brady like to prosecute a case where the defendant’s side refuses to turn over documents?

That’s what happened in the House impeachment inquiry. How can Brady be so sure of her opinion without hearing all the evidence? And as a prosecutor, wouldn’t Brady find that stonewalling suspicious?

Also, in an impeachment, the U.S. Senate plays a role akin to a jury.

I wonder if Brady can imagine prosecuting a case where the head juror said he was working with the defendant.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell can.

On Dec. 13, McConnell told Fox News, “We’ll be working through this process … in total coordination with the White House counsel’s office.”

Would Brady have tolerated such behavior?

Or consider another “juror,” Sen. Lindsay Graham, lawyer and chair of the Judiciary Committee. Graham said he won’t read the impeachment transcripts, describing the whole process as a “bunch of B.S.”

Some juror.

But you don’t have to know constitutional law or follow the news closely to know where the truth lies. Common sense tells you.
It comes down to simple questions about Trump’s integrity and credibility:

• Why won’t he let his top aides testify under oath?

• Why is he fighting to hide his financial records?

• Why won’t he release his tax returns?

• In other words, what is Trump hiding?

Which brings us back to Biden and one more question for Brady.

Trump, through his own words and those of his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, makes Biden out to be a big-time crook, guilty of “multiple crimes.”

But Biden’s clean. In 2007, before he became vice president, Biden ranked, in terms of wealth, 625th out of 639 top government officials. In 2015, his net worth was listed as -$947,987 (Politifact, 2019). And yes, that’s a minus.

Since leaving office, Biden’s made a lot of money from speaking fees and a book deal. So what. We know where it came from because Biden’s released 21 years of tax returns.

Trump, on the other hand, hides everything about his finances and counters by calling other people crooks. It’s way past time for this nonsense to stop.

So here’s one more question for Brady:

Do you believe Biden is a crook, as Trump says he is? If you do, say so plainly. You would be doing the citizens of Delaware a great service. After all, we kept him in office for 40 years. We deserve to know.

If you’re not willing to say that, what does that say about Trump?

Don Flood
Lewes