This week, despite explosive new allegations  implicating Trump in leaked portions of the manuscript for John Bolton’s  upcoming book, the Senate voted 51–49 on Friday not to call witnesses,  all but ensuring Trump will be acquitted in the impeachment trial. This  marks the first time in U.S. history that an impeachment trial will  occur with no witnesses. Both House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate  Minority Leader Chuck Schumer asserted an acquittal without witnesses  and documents would be meaningless.

The gravity of what many viewed as a cover-up  was summarized by presidential historian Jon Meacham, who noted after  the Senate vote, “Trump may well have now become the most powerful  president in American history,” and he is “functionally a monarch at  this point.” Meacham added, “think about the long term implications of  having a president who is above the law.”

In fact, Trump’s lawyer Alan Dershowitz actually  asserted Trump’s actions of seeking foreign help were in the U.S.  interest, before reversing himself and blaming the media for  misinterpreting his words. The rest of Trump’s legal team danced around  questions and obfuscated the truth, leading Pelosi to call on them to be  disbarred. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo continued his battle with  NPR, kicking one of their reporters off his plane, while Trump  congratulated him for verbally attacking reporter Mary Louise Kelly,  saying, “You did a good job on her.”

Read the full list here: https://theweeklylist.org/weekly-list/week-168/