Well, today was quick concerning the Trump impeachment circus that’s engulfed D.C. The president’s legal team concluded their opening remarks around 3 P.M. They said it would be a short day. Now, Senators will have a couple of days to ask questions. For one top Democratic Senator, she might vote to acquit Trump. Yeah, you heard that right. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) might be on that train, despite her reservations about the president’s judgment and character, according to the LA Times. If true, this means the Democratic impeachment push could be heading towards absolute disaster:
FEINSTEIN — the top Dem on Judiciary — is leaning toward acquital, per the LA Times. https://t.co/3XyvbTKeAS
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) January 28, 2020
If Feinstein is considering acquittal, you know what that also probably means... pic.twitter.com/aZJnLBrU2r
— Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) January 28, 2020
If Feinstein is voting to acquit, so are Manchin, Sinema, and handful of other Dems https://t.co/gvRWxV3Rgf
— Ryan James Girdusky (@RyanGirdusky) January 28, 2020
BREAKING: Sen. Feinstein suggests she may acquit Trump; the CA senator is the first Democrat to say they’re learning toward acquitting the president in his impeachment case https://t.co/F3i72tyUxK
— KTLA (@KTLA) January 28, 2020
LA TIMES: Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) suggests she could vote to acquit President Donald Trump
— Josh Caplan (@joshdcaplan) January 28, 2020
Just after President Trump’s defense lawyers ended arguments in their Senate trial Tuesday, Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California became the first Democrat to suggest that she could vote to acquit him despite serious concerns about his character.
“Nine months left to go, the people should judge. We are a republic, we are based on the will of the people — the people should judge,” Feinstein said Tuesday, after the president’s team finished a three-day presentation in his defense. “That was my view and it still is my view.”
Still, she indicated that arguments in the trial about Trump’s character and fitness for office had left her undecided. “What changed my opinion as this went on,” she said, is a realization that “impeachment isn’t about one offense. It’s really about the character and ability and physical and mental fitness of the individual to serve the people, not themselves.”
Asked whether she would ultimately vote to acquit, she demurred, saying, “We’re not finished.
Only one other Democrat had been considered a possible vote against ousting Trump from office -- Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia -- but he has not tipped his hand. Manchin told CNN on Saturday that Trump’s team did a “good job” in its initial arguments, “making me think about things.” He said separately on Fox, “I am totally undecided.”
If Feinstein goes, observers noted that Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) could follow. If true, this is quite the development. Yet, does that mean the GOP will clinch victory on this whole issue over witnesses? Right now, there aren’t enough votes to block the Democratic demand to bring in former National Security Adviser John Bolton and others to discuss this alleged quid pro quo allegation between Ukraine, Donald Trump, Hunter Biden, and this supposed scheme to withhold aid until a corruption probe was opened into the former vice president’s son. Yet, if it seems too good to be true, it usually is, and Feinstein just now walked it back. Can you imagine the mob that would have formed to go after her? My word.
Still, I think Manchin could be a Democrat who crosses over and votes to acquit Trump over these bogus charges.
The LA Times misunderstood what I said today. Before the trial I said I'd keep an open mind. Now that both sides made their cases, it’s clear the president’s actions were wrong. He withheld vital foreign assistance for personal political gain. That can’t be allowed to stand.
— Senator Dianne Feinstein (@SenFeinstein) January 28, 2020