December 18, 2019: It was my 50th Birthday, and I got my favorite birthday present of all time: Donald Trump was finally held to some form of account for his crimes.
It wasn't for any of the crimes he committed before becoming President, including that of stealing the 2016 election. They were 2 specific charges:
* Abuse of power: Trump tried to intimidate President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine into giving him damaging political information on former Vice President Joe Biden, then believed to be the front-runner for the Democratic Party's nomination for President the next year; and into saying that it was Ukraine, not their threatening neighbor Russia, who had interfered in the 2016 American Presidential election.
The damaging information on Biden was supposedly connected to a business deal made in Ukraine by a company that employed Biden's son, Hunter. Zelensky refused to go along with this, in spite of Trump's known ties to President Vladimir Putin of Russia. Zelensky knew that none of Trump's accusations were true.
* Obstruction of Congress. Trump did everything he could to prevent Congress from investigating his abuse of power.
One of the lessons of Watergate, the scandal that forced Richard Nixon from the Presidency under the threat of impeachment in 1974, was, "It's not the crime that gets you, it's the cover-up." The biggest lesson that should have been learned is "Don't do things like this."
But, as Ronald Reagan proved in Iran-Contra, as George W. Bush proved in the Iraq War, and as Trump proved in all his scandals, the main lessons the Republican Party seem to have learned are "Don't get caught,""Deny everything,""Destroy the evidence," and "Point out that the Democrats have done worse things" -- even though they haven't.
On December 13, the Committee on the Judiciary of the U.S. House of Representatives voted along party lines, with 23 Democrats voting for and 1 not voting at all, and all 17 Republicans voting against, approving the 2 Articles of Impeachment.
On December 18, the Article alleging abuse of power passed by a vote of 230-197, with the 218th vote being tallied at 8:22 PM. There was 1 Democrat, Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii voting "Present"; and not voting were 1 Democrat (Jose Serrano of New York, who was ill) and 2 Republicans (Duncan Hunter of California, who soon had to resign due to scandal; and John Shimkus of Illinois, who was visiting his son overseas and could not return in time).
All 229 Democrats voted Yea. So did Justin Amash of Michigan, formerly a Republican, by this point an Independent. There were 195 Republicans voting Nay. None switched sides to vote Yea. There were 2 Democrats voting Nay: Collin Peterson of Minnesota and Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey.
The Article alleging obstruction of Congress passed 229-198. The only member to change his vote for this Article was Jared Golden, a Democrat from Maine, who switched from Yea to Nay.
Trump joined Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998 as the only Presidents ever to be impeached by the House. Nixon would have been, but he resigned before that could happen.
The next day, Van Drew announced that he was switching parties, becoming a Republican, devoted not to the Party's principles, but to Trump.
There wasn't really a trial in the Senate. Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky saw to it that no member of his caucus would support anything the Democratic "Impeachment Managers" wanted to do. A 2/3rds majority, or 67 out of 100 Senators, is needed to convict. That meant as few as 34 Senators could sustain Trump. McConnell was never going to allow any member of his caucus to stray.
On February 5, 2020, Trump was found "Not Guilty" on abuse of power, 52-48. Mitt Romney of Utah, the 2012 Republican nominee for President, joined all 45 Democrats and 2 Independents (Angus King of Maine and Bernie Sanders of Vermont) in voting Yea. On obstruction of Congress, Romney stuck with his party, for a 53-47 vote.
Trump, of course, claimed complete vindication and exoneration. Of course, as his old friend O.J. Simpson found out, being found "Not Guilty" didn't mean the public thought you were innocent. Indeed, many of Trump's supporters knew he was guilty; some continue to support him in spite of this, while others approved of his actions, anything to keep the Democrats out of power.
It didn't work: After an early Primary threat from Sanders, who didn't even belong in the Democratic Primaries, Biden won the South Carolina Primary, and most of the other Democratic candidates dropped out to support him, showing Sanders that he could never, ever win the Democratic nomination for President.
As it turned out, Trump was right to fear Biden's candidacy. In a year dominated by the COVID-19 epidemic, Trump's heartless response to it, and Trump's other inhumanities, an opposition leader who was a compassionate human being as well as being thoroughly qualified for the post was exactly what the American people needed -- and, ultimately, decided they wanted. The election was close, but Biden won majorities in both the popular vote and the Electoral Vote.
Trump didn't handle this well, and that led to his becoming the 1st President ever to face a 2nd impeachment.
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December 18, 2019 was a Wednesday. Baseball was out of season. Football was in midweek. There were 9 games played in the NBA that night:
* The Miami Heat beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 108-104 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
* The Chicago Bulls beat the Washington Wizards, 110-109 in overtime at the Capital One Arena in Washington.
* The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Charlotte Hornets, 100-98 at the RocketMortgage Arena in Cleveland. In a losing effort for the Hornets, Terry Rozier led all NBA players on the night with 35 points.
* The Toronto Raptors beat the Detroit Pistons, 112-99 at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.
* The New Orleans Pelicans beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 107-99 at the Target Center in Minneapolis.
* The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Memphis Grizzlies, 126-122 at what's now named the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.
* The Boston Celtics beat the Dallas Mavericks, 109-103 at the American Airlines Arena in Dallas.
* The Denver Nuggets beat the Orlando Magic, 113-104 at the Ball Arena in Denver.
* And the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Golden State Warriors, 122-112 at the Moda Center in Portland.
There were 3 games played in the NHL that night, including my home-State team giving me a birthday present:
* The New Jersey Devils beat the Anaheim Ducks, 3-1 at the Prudential Center in Newark. Former Devil Adam Henrique opened the scoring, but the Devils got goals from Nico Hischier, Kyle Palmieri and Sami Vatanen.
* The Colorado Avalanche beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 4-1 at the United Center in Chicago.
* And the St. Louis Blues beat the Edmonton Oilers, 2-1 at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis.