I read Norm Eisen’s book, and I’m ready with my Book Report. You can learn more about Norm Eisen here. (Screenshots are from the Kindle edition.)
The book is in the form of arguments to the jury (the American voters) for why Trump must be voted out.
For Eisen, the moral, legal, and ethical White House crisis began shortly after Trump’s inauguration, when he refused to put his assets into a blind trust, and then immediately began violating the emoluments clause by using his office for the profit of his business.
The real problem: “Trump was not going off the rails; instead, he believed that there were no rails.” (p. 15.) A little research showed Eisen how Trump had gotten away with it for decades: First he abused the law, then he covered it up with confusion and spectacle.
Eisen describes what I’ve called Trump’s Firehose of Lawbreaking:
Eisen responded with a Firehose of Lawsuits⤵️
Regarding the Mueller investigation, Eisen believed that even if “collusion” wouldn’t arise to an indictable crime, Trump’s obstruction of justice certainly would.
Eisen describes how Barr (who he calls Trump’s “enabler in chief”) succeeded in lying and spinning the Mueller Report to shield Trump—despite the valiant efforts of so many people to get the truth in front of the American people.
In Eisen’s words, Barr pulled off a “masterful spin.”⤵️
The House Judiciary Committee’s legal team tried to overcome these obstacles, but Barr’s spin, so many sycophants shielding Trump, and Mueller’s lackluster testimony before Congress meant there were still too many impediments to moving forward with impeachment.
Not long after Bary Berke told Eisen that Trump would provide the seeds of his own destruction, we all learned about the May phone call in which Trump asked Zelensky to “do us a favor though.” This (in Eisen’s view) was worse than the Russian story:
As of August, support for impeachment was still under 40%, but Nadler felt if Congress came around, the public would, too. So Eisen drafted ten possible articles of impeachment—well, nine. The tenth was: “what he will do next.” 😂
Eisen knew he was up against masters of spin and coverup. They had to work fast to stay ahead of Trump.
About the Zelensky quid pro quo, Eisen writes:
(I’ll assume readers of this Twitter Book Report followed the unfolding of the Operation Ukraine Shakedown impeachment)
When the enormity of Trump’s conduct emerged, Eisen thought surely this would be the breaking point: Now enough Americans would see and the GOP would act. He and Barry Berke got right to work.
Eisen reveals the backstage deliberations that led to narrowing the articles to two, and not leading with bribery. (As some people, including myself, guessed, they didn’t want to get bogged down in recent Supreme Court cases governing bribery or offer Trump and Barr such good spin material.)
Remember during the proceedings when we were so frustrated listening to the Republicans at the Senate trial spew all those lies? Here’s how Barry Berke responded:
You all know how the impeachment ended. Most of the GOP fell in line and voted to acquit. If you didn’t watch the impeachment hearings, at least listen to Adam Schiff’s closing arguments, and keep in mind a pandemic was on the way.
When Republicans did Trump’s bidding, Eisen describes them as “being sucked into Trump’s dark vortex” where they lose their moral compasses.
For a look at how they lost their moral compass, see the Twitter Book Report I wrote last week, Let Them Eat Tweets.
On Feb. 5, during the impeachment proceedings, alarm bells rang in Congress and the Trump administration about a new virus.
Trump knew the pandemic was coming, but underplayed the danger. His behavior followed the same pattern since the first day of his presidency. He managed the pandemic by guarding his own personal interests: He lied about the danger because he was afraid moving quickly would spook the markets, and he believed a strong economy would get him elected.
Eisen ends his book with a plea to the jury. He has done all he can possibly do. It’s now up to the American voters.
(I know, I know. It’s what I (and others) have been saying. I swear I didn’t read the book until now! I guess I’ve been channeling my inner Norm Eisen.)
A strength of the book is the writing. (Love to see a lawyer who can write fun, readable prose) This book is for those who don’t yet see Trump’s pattern— and also for those who say: “The Democrats haven’t done enough.”
