Member-only story
Trump’s Winning Streak Has an Expiration Date
Eluding the jaws of truth twice was a miracle, but a litany of pending lawsuits means three times is all but impossible
Update 6/7/22: Level has a new home. You can read this article and other new articles by visiting LEVELMAN.com.
For a few moments there on Saturday morning, it appeared as if the House impeachment managers were actually going to turn Trump’s second go-round into something resembling an actual trial.
Specifically, they wanted to bring Republican Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler in to testify about a heated call between House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Trump during the middle of the insurrection. Calling witnesses would have established Trump’s remarks during the call (“Well, I guess Capitol rioters are more upset about the election than you are,” he’s alleged to have said to McCarthy) as a matter of the case, and would have opened the door to subpoenaing other witnesses, who would then be under oath to tell the truth about Trump’s incitement of the January 6 insurrection. A shocking concept, maybe — but also the only weapon the prosecution had left when faced with Republican senators who clearly were going to acquit Trump no matter what.
