On Tuesday, NBC's Jonathan Allen analyzed the state of Republicans' impeachment defenses of Donald Trump. And his central conclusion is that they are attempting to stall to let Trump formulate a coherent message to defend himself — regardless of whether it is true.
"Often in lieu of delving into the facts of the case, they've lined up behind one of a series of arguments for Trump staying in place that include: Trump's personal favorite — that he did "nothing wrong;" But if he did, whatever he may have done wrong does not rise to the level of an impeachable offense; Maybe Trump withheld U.S. funds from Ukraine while he sought an investigation into the Biden family — but there's no proof that the release of funds was conditioned on a promise for the probe to begin (though testimony and reporting show the condition was clear); Still, even if there was a quid pro quo, there was no corrupt intent on the part of the president (Democrats say proof of bribery is not necessary for impeachment); And no matter what Trump may have done, the investigative process Democrats have pursued has been so unfair to him that it has invalidated impeachment," wrote Allen.
"But splintered as it has been, that GOP defense has been working so far in one concrete respect: Not a single Republican lawmaker has said publicly that he or she will vote to impeach Trump or remove him from office, highlighting just how difficult the task will be for Democrats as they pursue the most serious sanction a president can face," he added.
Former Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele, Allen noted, said that the GOP wants "a coherent, factual, central, agreed-upon pushback" for impeachment, but does not actually need it. "That seems difficult if not impossible given the facts, and ultimately it probably won’t matter — because assuming the Senate does not vote to remove the president from office, he will immediately declare total exoneration in all caps. What every Republican is doing today is essentially a holding action to get them to that point."
The upshot is that Republicans are, as usual, unlikely to abandon Trump over scandal — and are explicitly taking a strategy that would prevent them from having to do so.
