Chris Cuomo Calls Out GOP’s ‘Scorched Earth, Kill or Be Killed, Ride or Die’ Fealty to Trump on Impeachment
In his final “Closing Argument” segment of the week, CNN host Chris Cuomo took aim the stubborn intransigence and unwavering fealty Republicans in Congress have displayed during the public testimony portion of the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.
Recounting the nine witnesses, and 30-plus hours of sworn testimony, Cuomo compared the evidence against Trump to the two other most recent impeachment investigations in US history. He then played a clip of House Intel Chair Adam Schiff making the case that the misconduct by Trump transcends that of Presidents Richard Nixon or Bill Clinton.
“So why aren’t Republicans reeling right now?” Cuomo asked. “The difference between then and now is not the difference between Nixon and Trump. It’s the difference between that Congress and this one. We have never seen the party of the president to be more partisan in a process like this than we’re seeing right now.”
“Now, I often go at both sides of Congress for not doing their job enough and for making political plays, but that’s because I know they can do better than this,” Cuomo said. “Trump has brought in a new mentality for his party: Scorched earth, kill or be killed, ride or die. Now, it’s measurable. And I’ll show you.”
Cuomo then rolled archival footage of Republican Senators condemning Nixon and pointed out he bipartisan nature of both the Nixon and Clinton impeachment votes.
“What Nixon and Clinton were accused of was certainly nothing on the order of the scheme that’s been outlined here,” Cuomo claimed. “Yet Trump has already clearly won one fight. And it is the fight to have complete control of his party. Supporters are loud and proud, defiant in the face of fact, operating exclusively as defense counsel for the president in a manner that we’ve never seen. Dissent minimal, muted. Why? Fear of toxic Tweets. Punishing primary challenges. There can be no question that Republicans are ignoring the facts for favor.”
The Constitution gives Congress the responsibility to exercise oversight and act as a check on the executive branch, Cuomo pointed out. Yet almost every question from the 10 members of the Republican cohort on the Intelligence Committee council was predicated on defending Trump or casting doubt on the witnesses. “They were shielding. They were trying to protect the president,” he said. “There was not one question asked to elicit any negative information. That is not their job…or maybe now it is.”
“And here’s the shame,” Cuomo concluded. “You can own what is obvious here and still argue that the consequence of impeachment, let alone removal, is too severe. You may not like that argument, but it can be argued in good conscience. Ignoring facts, facilitating conspiracy theories about Ukraine interference, that cannot be done in good conscience. But [Republicans] are right to argue one point. An election is right around the corner. And what happens now will be fresh in the minds of voters, especially undecided ones, all over this country. There will be another quid pro quo in play. Will the voters give you their vote in favor of what you’re offering them right now?”
Watch the video above, via CNN.
