This Monday afternoon, President Donald Trump’s defense team took the stand in the Senate impeachment trial to try and make their boss’s case. It didn’t go well, at least in terms of whether or not they seem to have made a case compelling to anyone at all who wasn’t already all-in for the president. In a particularly grossly wild highlight, former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi launched into a tirade about the supposed corruption that the Bidens were involved in that supposedly necessitated Trump’s attempt to bribe Ukraine into investigating them. The wild part is — Bondi herself accepted a large “donation” (meaning apparent bribe) from Trump shortly before she abruptly abandoned an investigation into one of his schemes. The president’s team’s brazenly belligerent cover-up went on from there.
Bondi attracted a whole lot of attention for her hypocrisy. As she pompously led with at one point:
‘Here’s what happened very shortly after Vice President Biden was made U.S. point man for Ukraine. His son Hunter Biden ends up on the board of Burisma.’
Well, here’s what happened when Bondi’s office as Florida Attorney General was confronted with the facts of Trump’s completely fraudulent “educational” venture called Trump University, which had no relationship to any kind of actual university whatsoever — she abruptly received a $25,000 donation from Trump’s supposedly charitable foundation (which has since ceased operations) and she dropped any further interest in the Trump University scheme.
Other high points of hypocrisy from her Monday Senate floor rants include a diatribe that she delivered against nepotism, as if she’s completely unaware of the large number of the president’s own family members who work for his administration and campaign. None of the president’s family members have any more prior political experience than he did — which is none — but Ivanka, her husband Jared, and others are hard at work doing who knows what anyway!
For Bondi and the president’s other defenders to resort to completely glossing over these facts constitutes another smoke and mirrors tactic. Rather than addressing the fact that Trump tried to bribe Ukraine into investigating the Bidens, they’re trying to convince observers that the hoped for investigations were legit in the first place. There’s no evidence for this.
Check out Twitter’s response…
#Trump defense is now putting Hunter Biden on trial. So why didn’t #Barr investigate Hunter? #ImpeachmentTrial
— Maya Wiley (@mayawiley) January 27, 2020
What Pam Bondi won’t say is the fact Shokin was fired because he *wasn’t* investigating corruption and that it was the policy of America *and* our global allies to get him removed.
Just blatant dishonesty on the Senate floor.
— Ahmed Baba (@AhmedBaba_) January 27, 2020
It's been almost four years and if the Bidens did anything illegal — why hasn't Trump investigated them? #ImpeachmentTrial
— (((Charles Young))) (@CharlieYoungEsq) January 27, 2020
Just a little something #PamBondi omits:
US Ambassador 2015 speech, coordinated with VP Biden, excoriating Ukraine Prosecutor Office for having covered up Burisma corruption.
That's right: They went after Prosecutor Office for failing to confront Burisma.
(Also Kent testimony) pic.twitter.com/ACfOwsrPyW
— Ryan Goodman (@rgoodlaw) January 27, 2020
Assume Hunter Biden committed crimes in connection with Burisma. Assume the FBI somehow missed it. Why is Trump’s response is to ask Ukraine to investigate (with strings attached) instead of making sure it’s referred to US law enforcement for investigation? Not a defense.
— Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) January 27, 2020
Pam Bondi has thus far outlined how Hunter Biden benefited from nepotism in defense of a president who has employed his adult children in his administration and his presidential campaign.
— Jacqueline Alemany (@JaxAlemany) January 27, 2020
As Pam Bondi regales the Senate with the tales of Barisma and Hunter Biden (ironic she would raise the spectre of "nepotism"), the happiest man in America is Donald Trump! What this has to do with Trump's "perfect phone call"?Well, nothing when the goal is to smear the #Bidens
— Michael Steele (@MichaelSteele) January 27, 2020
The irony of Pam Bondi invoking nepotism as a defense. What about Jared and Ivanka? What qualifications do they have to be White House advisors besides nepotism. They are profiting enormously off their positions. #DefendOurDemocracy #ImpeachmentTrial #IMPOTUS pic.twitter.com/zotq3n2WMb
— Curly Chrys (@CurlyChrys) January 27, 2020
Also a little something that #PamBondi left out — what @AshaRangappa_ said.👇
Why did the President of the United States ask Ukraine to announce a criminal investigation of the Bidens? What's the crime? https://t.co/kX7clPzdcA
— Ryan Goodman (@rgoodlaw) January 27, 2020
The odd part of the Trump team's takedown of Hunter Biden just now is that it serves to confirm the House managers' case that the President was indeed engaged in impeachable behavior by asking a foreign government to investigate his political opponent. A terrible legal argument.
— David Jolly (@DavidJollyFL) January 27, 2020
