Mark Twain once said a half-truth is the most cowardly of lies. Never was a group more determined to define themselves by that insight than the Republicans of the House Intelligence Committee yesterday. Were it only so that full throated, 100 percent deceit could somehow be a badge of courage, then they would have more than nullified their abject cowardice by hearing’s end. Throughout the day, within the full spectrum of rank GOP dishonesty was the kind of overt disgrace that always accompanies authoritarian impulse…..kabuki in service to absurdity.
To find more impressive and unimpeachable witnesses than William Taylor and George Kent one would have to take pen to paper with Twain’s talent for creating characters. There was Taylor, the distinguished war hero and consummate diplomat, and Kent, seemingly his younger protege with an encyclopedic grasp on protocol and procedure. Both are trained professionals at saying exactly what they mean to convey, and nobody was in a position to question their veracity.
Devin Nunes went a step further, however, and attacked their motivations. With facts replaced by Hannity fever dreams, Nunes insulted both witnesses, contending they “auditioned” in secret hearings and were part of a “media orchestrated smear campaign” along with other “partisan bureaucrats.” Whatever the truth may be, unless it somehow can be connected with the Steele dossier and Fusion GPS, Nunes isn’t interested. His special gift is clarifying exactly what a lawmaker in full service to or possibly just as compromised as Trump acts like. Look at Nunes’ manic eyes and there always seems to be fear, as if he’s certain they’re coming for him. His opening statement employed Trump’s dependable “hoax” standby, a term even his most servile spin meisters avoid.
Perhaps as recently as just 10 years ago Nunes would have been the committee’s nutty outlier whose five minutes would have come and gone with a bipartisan eye roll; now he’s the ranking member and set the ugly tone for his colleagues to emulate. It’s both ironic and significant Nunes nonsensically charged the committee with auditioning its witness list because that’s exactly what each and every Republican was doing with their time. Whether for Trump or the wretched core back home, it hardly matters; coming up with new shades of lipstick to apply to their pig was the paramount aim of each. And make no mistake, this swine needs whatever edge cosmetics can provide.
The case is open and shut, as both Taylor and Kent’s “hearsay” testimony laid out. The President dispatched Rudy Guiliani and Gordon Sundland to extort a newly elected leader to dig up dirt on a principle domestic political opponent, shocking foreign service professionals they enlisted, who made clear today they had never seen the like before and considered the scheme an outrageous act at odds with US national interests. Moreover, both witnesses testified Vice President Biden’s efforts to press Ukrainian officials to up their anti-corruption game was a legitimate part of established US policy designed to bolster the nation’s law and order institutions, apples and oranges compared to Trump’s quid pro quo duplicity.
Like the entire Mueller saga, GOP questioning starts with a buffet of options that each member selects from. A little “does or doesn’t the Ambassador work at the pleasure of the President?” here, and a little “but you have never even met with the President, right?” there. A bit of “it really all boils down to the call, this piece of paper” here, and a spoonful of “I move that we subpoena the whistleblower” there. Yet and still, nothing they choose contains any meat for their defense. Everything is a side order meant to fill the proceedings with empty carbs, which hopefully will make everyone forget the main course.
The stunning surreality of the Republican counsel using much of his 45-minute time allotment to parse ridiculous internet conspiracy brought to life by, first Sean Hannity, and then his biggest fan, our POTUS, for serious public servants without a notion of what he was talking about, perfectly illustrated the perilous cliff our governance teeters at. It was a tale of two counsels, one focused on facts and timelines, the other on staccato gibberish designed only to elicit a pregnant pause from the witnesses, which could later be sold by Fox/AM as a gotcha exchange, proof of Trump’s noble intentions. And what to make of rabid dog for hire Jim Jordon? It gets increasingly harder to witness his unhinged antics without immediately conjuring Taxi Driver’s Travis Bickle… “you talking to me.?!”
To be as fair as one can be navigating a sea of bad faith, Joe Biden has a problem he can’t ignore. Kent in particular was frank and even a bit expansive on the corrupt history of Barisma and its ownership. While making clear Biden’s actions as VP were only informed by established US policy, Kent had no issue agreeing that Barisma was part and parcel of Ukraine’s panoply of bad actors. That Biden’s son was game to take a paycheck from them, and his dad had nothing more to say than “I hope you know what you’re doing” is a legit issue voters should consider. What it’s not is an excuse or justification for Trump’s two-bit extortion racket.
The Republicans today have the same problem they had back in the summer of 2016, their wretched core base wants nothing to do with anything thoughtful or intelligent, experienced or constructive. Before Election Day 2016 they figured a lopsided loss would wipe the slate clean and permit recalibration, perhaps lead their followers for a change. Trump’s impossible victory offered a deal with the devil they were all glad to make: power for raw undisciplined populism, complete with fully erratic and egocentric behavior. Most thought White House handlers could offset the bargain’s worst elements; yesterday’s hearing is yet another appalling confirmation of how wrong they were. Worst of all, though, is the reality, fully clarified every other five-minute interval, that the devil’s agreement has reconfigured its recipients, now they embrace its worst and dutifully attend to the results. Another shade of ruin. BC