The Senate trial took some twists and turns last week, but still ended up on the path to its expected conclusion when the Democrats failed to muster enough votes to call witnesses. This was probably most frustrating to Sens. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Amy Klobuchar, who no doubt would have preferred to be in Iowa campaigning for Monday’s caucus.
They weren’t there, but our own Andrew Egger was. In case you were busy this week, here’s a summary of his article (including a cameo featuring two indoor ducks at a house party) and the best of the rest of our offerings. Please share widely with your friends and encourage them to sign up.
The event had everything a candidate could have asked for: a nice crowd, a quasi-celebrity endorser, and a specialty dish from her home state. What was missing from the dinner at a supporter’s house near Des Moines on Thursday? Oh, just the candidate. Andrew Egger reports on how Amy Klobuchar is juggling her campaign and her Senate duties with the help of her daughter and staff.
For almost all of the 2020 Democratic campaign, Joe Biden has been the front-runner and the presumed nominee. But Bernie Sanders is surging at just the right time. That has prompted some hand-wringing from some on the left that the Democrats are setting themselves up for a replay of 2016. But David French argues that there is no reason Sanders can’t triumph over Trump: “If Bernie wins the nomination, he would have triumphed over impossible odds and a small army of scoffers. Just like Trump. If Bernie wins, his core base voters will start to believe that their dreams can be a reality, and they’ll stand with him even if he shoots a man on Fifth Avenue.”
On the surface, it makes sense. How can the Democrats impeach Donald Trump if he didn’t commit a “high crime” or “misdemeanor”? That’s the case that Alan Dershowitz tried to make this week. But not only does it not stand up to historical scrutiny, Jonah Goldberg argues that it defies logic and morality. “Say the president decides to follow a Grateful Dead tribute band around the country for a year. That wouldn’t be illegal, strictly speaking. … [But a] president who spends his time in a smoke-filled VW van isn’t fulfilling his oath to see that the laws are faithfully executed.”
Other highlights from The Dispatch this week:
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Trump will be acquitted next week, and the Democratic primary will come to dominate our news cycles. But before impeachment fades from our minds too much: Gregg Nunziata makes the case we need more impeachments.
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Thomas Joscelyn explains why the Trump administration and the allies that make up the “Five Eyes” intelligence-sharing partnership are troubled by Boris Johnson’s decision to allow Chinese telecom giant Huawei to build part of the U.K.’s 5G network.
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Paul D. Miller goes back and reviews the Washington Post’s “Afghanistan Papers” series and finds it lacking.
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And a second entry from Jonah, whose G-File highlights a near-perfect example of the growing (and mistaken) view that media outlets ought to operate in the service of political parties and candidates.
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And, finally, some great Dispatch podcasts this week. (If you’re not a regular podcast listener, we’d encourage you to give these a try. It’s really easy—click the link and click play). On the flagship Dispatch podcast—which in its third episode last week broke into Apple’s Top 100 news podcasts—Sarah leads a spirited discussion of impeachment, Middle East peace, Huawei, Iowa and the Super Bowl. The Remnant featured conversations with longtime Jonah research assistant, Jack Butler, who is headed to National Review, and AEI scholar Charles Murray, who dropped by to talk about his new book. Finally, in the new Advisory Opinions podcast, Sarah and David discussed John Bolton, impeachment, and the shocking death of Kobe Bryant.
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