Swiftly Reject: As President Trump’s impeachment trial opens today, a 110-page legal brief submitted by his lawyers admits he leaned on Ukraine and basically says, “So what?”. They say the Senate should “swiftly reject” the case. 

  The brief says the articles of impeachment “do not remotely approach the constitutional threshold for removing a president from office” and that they would, “permanently weaken the presidency and forever alter the balance among the branches of government in a matter that offends the constitutional design established by the founders.”

  Some of the language, the word “rigged” for instance, suggests that Trump put his own pen to the document. 

  In admitting what the president did in pressuring Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, Trump’s lawyers say he was within his authority. The brief says, “House Democrats’ concocted theory that the president can be impeached for taking permissible actions if he does them for what they believe to be the wrong reasons would also expand the impeachment power beyond constitutional bounds.”

  Trump’s lawyers say the articles do not accuse Trump of an actual crime. They say, “House Democrats’ novel theory of ‘abuse of power’ improperly supplants the standard of ‘high Crimes and Misdemeanors’ with a made-up theory that would permanently weaken the Presidency by effectively permitting impeachments based merely on policy disagreements.”

  They skip over the accusation that Trump was attempting to use his power to improve his domestic political position, not to establish an element of foreign policy.

  The brief dismisses the finding by the Government Accountability Office that Trump broke the law withholding $391 million in military aid from Ukraine because that’s not part of the articles of impeachment. The lawyers say Trump ultimately released the money … and “so what?”

The Rules: As he sets out to limit the impeachment trial, Sen. Mitch McConnell laid out rules that gives each side 24 hours over two days to argue for and against removing Trump from office. The trial starts at 1pm in the afternoons, which means it will go on into the night.

  After the arguments, McConnell will call a vote to determine whether there will be witnesses and evidence introduced — you know, like in an actual trial. That will be the critical moment when Republicans with any kind of conscience will have to put it to work.

  It’s going to be rough for the senators. They will not be allowed to talk to each other during the proceedings, fiddle with their phones, or read anything that is not related to the trial. They’re going to have to listen.

The Gun Beat: Thousands of gun ownership activists, many of them carrying weapons and dressed in camouflage, massed around the Virginia capitol yesterday in protest against gun legislation proposed in the Democratic majority legislature.

  The event never broke into the violence that Virginia’s governor feared when he declared a state of emergency in advance. 

  Among the gun-toting throngs were armed militias carrying assault rifles marching in formation. Who are these people who dress up and play army?

  The Virginia legislature is considering laws that would limit buyers to one handgun purchase a month and background checks would be tightened. Authorities would have the power to ban guns at public events.

  Some of the pro-gun crowd has threatened violence if Virginia passes the new laws, which is another argument in favor of gun control.

The Gray Lady Speaks: In a break with tradition, and with former Vice President Joe Biden, The NY Times endorsed both senators Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren for the Democratic presidential nomination.

  Notably, the Times says both Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders are too old.

 The Times editorial says, “Both the radical and the realist models warrant serious consideration. If there were ever a time to be open to new ideas, it is now. If there were ever a time to seek stability, now is it.”

  The paper says Sen. Warren “speaks elegantly of how the economic system is rigged against all but the wealthiest Americans, and of “our chance to rewrite the rules of power in our country.” But, as a qualifier, the endorsement says, “American capitalism is responsible for its share of sins. But Ms. Warren often casts the net far too wide, placing the blame for a host of maladies from climate change to gun violence at the feet of the business community when the onus is on society as a whole.” 

  In its double endorsement, The Times says, “Amy Klobuchar has emerged as a standard-bearer for the Democratic center.” It goes on, “The senator from Minnesota is the very definition of Midwestern charisma, grit and sticktoitiveness. Her lengthy tenure in the Senate and bipartisan credentials would make her a deal maker (a real one) and uniter for the wings of the party — and perhaps the nation.”

What’s in Your Wallet?: Britain’s soon to be former Prince Harry made his first public statement Sunday night explaining his decision to cease royal duties and abandon his title, Duke of Sussex.

  “There really was no other option,” he said “Our hope was to continue serving the Queen, the commonwealth, and my military associations, but without public funding, unfortunately, that wasn’t possible.”

  The lack of title brings to question what name Harry will put on his driver’s license. The royals don’t use last names, but traditionally the last name for the male heirs of the queen is Mountbatten-Windsor. Harry and his brother William put the last name Wales on their military dog tags because their father is the Prince of Wales. So maybe it’s just going to be Harry Wales, the new neighbor.

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