On the eve of an expected vote in the House of Representatives to impeach a President for only the third time in American history, President Trump has sent a bizarre, rant-filled letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi that defies explanation:
WASHINGTON — President Trump on Tuesday denounced what he called a “partisan impeachment crusade” being waged against him by Democrats, calling the effort to remove him an unconstitutional abuse of power and an “attempted coup” that would come back to haunt them at the ballot box next year.
“I have no doubt the American people will hold you and the Democrats fully responsible in the upcoming 2020 election,” Mr. Trump wrote in a rambling, six-page letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent on the eve of House votes to impeach him on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. “They will not soon forgive your perversion of justice and abuse of power.”
Mr. Trump wrote that he knew his letter would not change the outcome of Wednesday’s votes, expected to occur almost entirely on party lines, to impeach him. But he said the missive was “for the purpose of history and to put my thoughts on a permanent and indelible record.”
The president angrily disputed both impeachment charges against him in the letter, saying he had done nothing wrong and asserting that Ms. Pelosi and her allies were using the Constitution to attack him for the successful policies he had implemented.
“More due process was afforded to those accused in the Salem Witch Trials,” Mr. Trump wrote.
President Donal Trump sent a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Tuesday urging her to halt impeachment proceedings one day before the House is set to vote to impeach him, accusing Democrats of an “unprecedented and unconstitutional abuse of power.”
Trump, in a scathing six-page letter to Pelosi, complained about the impeachment process, defended his conduct toward Ukraine and accused Democrats of “interfering in America’s elections.”
“It is time for you and the highly partisan Democrats in Congress to immediately cease this impeachment fantasy and get back to work for the American People. While I have no expectation that you will do so, I write this letter to you for the purpose of history and to put my thoughts on a permanent and indelible record,” Trump wrote.
The lengthy missive contained many of the same arguments and featured the same heated rhetoric Trump has deployed over the last two months via Twitter and public appearances. He complains about former special counsel Robert Mueller, lists off his own achievements, bashes “ranting and raving” Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and denies any wrongdoing.
“This is nothing more than an illegal, partisan attempted coup that will, based on recent sentiment, badly fail at the voting both. You are not just after me, as President, you are after the entire Republican Party,” Trump wrote in the letter, which marked his first personal correspondence with Pelosi on impeachment. “History will judge you harshly as you proceed with this impeachment charade.”
The president, who said in the Oval Office moments after the letter was publicized that he takes “zero” responsibility for facing impeachment, instead accused Democrats of committing the same actions they have alleged Trump is guilty of.
“You are the ones interfering in America’s election. You are the ones subverting America’s Democracy. You are the ones Obstructing Justice,” Trump wrote. “You are the ones bringing pain and suffering to our Republic for your own selfish personal, political, and partisan gain.”
“I have no doubt the American people will hold you and the Democrats fully responsible in the upcoming 2020 election. They will not soon forgive your perversion of justice and abuse of power,” he added.
The letter came on the eve of the House vote on two articles of impeachment against Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The Democratic-controlled lower chamber is widely expected to approve the articles of impeachment with no Republican support.
The White House has refused to cooperate in the inquiry, accusing House Democrats of a partisan and illegitimate effort to overturn the results of the 2016 election and criticizing the process as unfair.
“More due process was afforded to those accused in the Salem Witch Trials,” Trump wrote Tuesday.
(…)
Trump vigorously defended his call with Zelensky in Tuesday’s letter, claiming it had been “fraudulently misrepresented” and reiterating claims about Biden pushing for the removal of a Ukrainian prosecutor to his son’s benefit without providing specific evidence.
Trump claimed that a rough transcript of the call released by the White House, which showed him raising Biden’s name three times, vindicated him and emphasized Ukraine’s president said he felt no pressure on the call.
“You are turning a policy disagreement between two branches of government into an impeachable offense — it is no more legitimate than the Executive Branch charging members of Congress with crimes for the lawful exercise of legislative power,” the president wrote.
(…)
In a personal jab at Pelosi, Trump also blasted the Speaker over what he called a “false display of solemnity.”
“You apparently have so little respect for the American People that you expect them to believe that you are approaching this impeachment somberly, reservedly, and reluctantly,” Trump wrote. “No intelligent person believes what you are saying.”
Trump’s entire six-page screed, which I’ve embedded below, reads more like the script of one of the President’s political rally than it does correspondence from the President of the United States to a duly-elected Constitutional officeholder who is second in line to the Presidency. In any other Administration, it’s something that never would have even been considered never mind drafted and actually sent. The fact that it was is yet another indication of the extent to this President and this Administration not only do not abide by the norms of American politics but the extent to which this President is clearly unhinged and simply unable to act politically without communicating in the vilest, most insulting way possible. In that regard, it says more about him personally, and the people around him, than it does the target of the letter itself. Indeed, throughout this process, Speaker Pelosi has acted in what can only be described as a sane, sober, and careful manner. The President and his supporters, on the other hand, have acted in some of the most bizarre ways conceivable.
This isn’t just about Trump. His top staff were obviously in the loop about this letter, and like the Emperor with no clothes, they said nothing even though it makes Trump sound like a drunk guy standing on the street corner ranting at the sky. Rather than restraining Presidential rages, the people around Trump are reinforcing and defending them. The result is that he sees no problem with pushing the envelope further and further. If nothing else, just like the tweeting, it shows the extent to which this entire Presidency has become a meme from The Simpsons:
This, my friends, is what this Presidency has been reduced to. The only difference is that, unlike Abe Simpson, Donald Trump commands the most powerful military in the world and has control over the most powerful nuclear stockpile on the planet. No wonder I have trouble sleeping some nights.
Here’s the letter:
Donald Trump Letter To Pelosi by Doug Mataconis on Scribd
