For anyone who is objective, and that’s the key word here, these impeachment hearings simply can’t be reasonably considered a “’sham” of any sort. The damning charge made against Trump is very clear and provable via the facts: that he attempted to extort the president of a foreign nation to get involved in the 2020 election process by threatening to unconstitutionally withhold $400 million in Congressionally approved military aid.

  The specifics backing the allegation are clear and damning for anyone wishing to objectively examine them (once again, the key word is objectively). As Trump said, knowing no one in his base would, “read the transcript.” Even abridged by Trump to remove some of the most negative language, the transcript still shows him asking for (extorting?) a political favor designed to help himself in the 2020 election rather than help our country. And that’s why Trump supporters prefer to spuriously attack the process versus the charge itself.

  Obviously, Rep. Hice has been listening to fellow right wing talk show host Rush Limbaugh who falsely stated in October that Chairman Schiff was conducting the process: “behind closed doors in a so-called impeachment inquiry that doesn’t feature the opposition party, it doesn’t feature cross-examination, no transcripts are released, everything’s being done in private, only selected leaks.”

  Limbaugh lies for a living and can be easily ignored because he’s an entertainer and buffoon. But we should expect more from our elected representatives like Hice.

  There’s no “sham impeachment” inquiry, no matter how many times partisans in the House repeat the Trump lie about a witch hunt and a hoax. Hice knows very well that the GOP had full representation and equal participation in the closed-door hearings, despite the ridiculous October march of the GOP House members disrupting closed door proceedings, which were obviously designed solely as a stunt to show up on Hannity and Fox and Friends. Obviously, the underlying GOP strategy is to turn a very serious investigation into a circus.

  Now that the inquiry has become open and televised, the vital purpose of the inquiry should become even more obvious to the voters. And, the GOP should be ashamed about their conduct in those televised hearings. Nothing that any GOP member has brought up has been designed to bring out the truth. Instead, they have promoted outlandish conspiracy theories having nothing to do with the serious accusations made against Trump.

  The reality is that Hice and the GOP House members have been playing to the right wing “peanut gallery” for the entire process, ignoring facts and instead using flashing lights and mirrors to divert attention from the truth which is proving to be more and more embarrassing for the GOP to acknowledge. Trump is clearly guilty of “high crimes and misdemeanors,” even if the GOP leadership absolutely refuses to do anything about it.

  Once again, Trump attempted to bribe the President of Ukraine via swapping military assistance for 2020 election assistance. The fact is that only when the whistleblower turned the lights on to Trump’s failed extortion plot, did the frozen money suddenly flow a few days later. The timing is just confirmation of the fact that Trump was unconstitutionally holding it up until that point.

  It is a very sorry state of affairs when our elected officials put their political party ahead of their nation. Senator Barry Goldwater, the father of our modern conservative movement, must be turning over in his grave.