When I have been empaneled on juries in the past, I am pretty sure we were forbidden from talking to either the prosecution attorneys or the defense counsel while a trial was in session. And that seems like a reasonable thing if jurors are supposed to be impartial. Obviously, the rules and ethics norms are different for United States senators. After the House managers rested their case for the impeachment of Trump today, three senators who are ardent Trump supporters, met with Trump’s defense counsel. Senators Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), Mike Lee (R-Utah), and Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who are supposed to be ‘impartial jurors’ in this trial met with Trump’s attorneys as they were preparing for the presentation of their defense tomorrow. I guess I must have a different understanding of what ‘impartial juror’ means. My bad!
As Jamie Raskin, the lead House manager, was finishing his closing remarks he asked the simple question along the lines of, “If a president cannot be impeached and convicted for inciting an insurrection, what can he be impeached and convicted for?” It’s a very reasonable question. Trump was acquitted in his first impeachment trial for abusing his office to coerce President Zelensky of the Ukraine into opening an investigation in his political rival, Joe Biden. The acquittal was basically along party lines with Mitt Romney the only Republican to break ranks and vote to convict Trump on one of the two charges.
Now, it appears that Trump will once again be acquitted because not enough Republicans have the courage to vote to convict him and some, like the three mentioned above and the 15 Republicans who were not even in the Senate chamber during the hearing yeaterday, have obviously already made up their minds that inciting an insurrection against the United States of America is not a sufficiently egregious crime to warrant conviction.
Early in the Trump campaign in 2016, Trump made the statement that his support was so strong that he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and not be convicted. Sadly, that appears to be a true statement. The majority of Republicans defended Trump after the Mueller Report came out. The majority of Republicans defended Trump and failed to convict him in his first impeachment trial. The majority of Republicans appear ready to acquit Trump in his second impeachment trial. Trump must be feeling pretty emboldened by all of this.
It kind of reminds me of John Gotti. John Gotti, as you may remember, was the head of the Gambino crime family in New York. He staged his own ‘insurrection’ to get into that position when he had Paul Castellano, the former head of the Gambino crime family, assassinated in 1985. Gotti took over control to the Gambino criminal organization at that point.
“At his peak, Gotti was one of the most powerful and dangerous crime bosses in the United States. During his era, he became widely known for his outspoken personality and flamboyant style, which gained him favor with some of the general public. While his peers avoided attracting attention, especially from the media, Gotti became known as “The Dapper Don”, for his expensive clothes and personality in front of news cameras. He was later given the nickname “The Teflon Don” after three high-profile trials in the 1980s resulted in his acquittal, though it was later revealed that the trials had been tainted by jury tampering, juror misconduct, and witness intimidation. Law enforcement authorities continued gathering evidence against Gotti that helped lead to his downfall. According to Sammy Gravano, Gotti earned between $5–20 million per year during his tenure as Gambino boss.
Gotti’s underboss Salvatore “Sammy the Bull” Gravano aided the FBI in finally convicting Gotti. In 1991, Gravano agreed to turn state’s evidence and testify for the prosecution against Gotti after hearing the boss making several disparaging remarks about Gravano on a wiretap that implicated them both in several murders. In 1992, Gotti was convicted of five murders, conspiracy to commit murder, racketeering, obstruction of justice, tax evasion, illegal gambling, extortion, and loansharking. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole and was transferred to United States Penitentiary, Marion in southern Illinois. While in prison, Gotti died of throat cancer on June 10, 2002, at the United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri. According to former Lucchese crime family boss Anthony “Gaspipe” Casso, “What John Gotti did was the beginning of the end of Cosa Nostra”.1
I think the comparison between Trump and John Gotti is perfectly appropriate. They are both self-centered, ruthless, and believe they can act with impunity. Gotti murdered his opponents, while Trump uses character assassination to the same effect. They were both surrounded by enablers who allowed this to continue unabated for years. John Gotti’s crimes and misdeeds eventually caught up with him and I suspect that same fate is in store for Trump. The only question is how much more damage can he do to our country and our institutions before he is finally held to account. ‘Teflon Trump’ and ‘The Teflon Don’ – two of a kind.
What you have written is so true. I never thought that our government leaders character would degrade to emulating the Mafia. Our nation has become corrupt as a banana republic.