The one man who can possibly thwart the planned Republican subversion of their solemn duty during Donald Trump’s Senate trial is sadly a right wing partisan who was nominated by an extremely right wing President based primarily on that partisanship. Chief Justice John Roberts is set to preside over Trump’s trial in the Senate and that scares me. Roberts will be asked to serve as presiding officer during the trial so he will have control over narrative, witnesses, evidence admitted and court procedures in the Republican controlled Senate. Since he is a dyed in the wool, card carrying conservative that would seem like bad news for those of us trying to prevent Trump from declaring himself Emperor.
Roberts was nominated by George W Bush in 2005 with replacing a retiring Justice Sandra Day O’Connor in mind but when Chief Justice William Rehnquist died, Bush decided to push his nomination through as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States of America instead. Roberts was selected precisely because he has a history of ruling against the powerless and for the moneyed interests but since he got confirmed by the full Senate with a solid 78-22 margin, he has had more of a checkered record, becoming somewhat of a post Kennedy, conservative leaning, swing vote. But make no mistake, Roberts is a Republican through and through who shares an ideology with the Senate majority. Despite his record and political leaning, he must be prevailed upon to handle this trial in a non partisan and fair way or the Republicans could very well win the battle of public opinion.
With the Senate Republicans brazenly bragging about having already made their minds up and conducting a scorched Earth strategy of defending Trump by turning the trial into a shit show, the presiding Justice, John Roberts is the only possible check on the upcoming Senate trial becoming a cartoon court which Republicans intend to use as a platform from which to discredit the process and the Democrats who seek to hold Trump accountable. McConnell has essentially handed the trial process over to the White House and has already announced that there is no way Trump doesn’t get away with his crimes. It’s a sham and a farce and they are so confident in their ability to get away with it that they stopped playing coy long ago. I think it could be made to cost them electorally even though Trump will certainly still be acquitted. If Republicans succeed in what they are boasting about doing, there will be essentially no check on this President’s power. Winning the battle for public opinion is the best thing that we can reasonably hope for at this point.
It is clear to anybody who is willing to look at this objectively that there is no limit to the Republicans’ malfeasance or to the damage that they are willing to do in order to turn this country into a dystopian hell hole in which a few at the top wield all of the power and wealth while the resources and the less fortunate citizens are ruthlessly exploited and then discarded when their usefulness is gone. Someone or something has to stand up and say “enough” and the only person who can prevent Republicans turning this trial into Trump’s coronation is John Roberts. He must be reminded of his duty to his oath and of what is at stake.
No court in the land would seat a juror who goes on television and announces that he or she has already made up his or her mind or that no amount of evidence will sway them yet that is exactly what is going to happen in the Senate. No Judge, Justice or Magistrate would allow a trial of a mob boss to become a trial of the accuser based on claims already proven to be fictions over and over. No trial lawyer would be allowed to present verifiable lies to a jury nor would the judge allow said perjurer to just walk away when it was over. This is exactly what Republicans are saying that they are going to do and Mr. Roberts must not allow it to happen.
I was discussing these issues with a friend of mine and she had what I thought was a brilliant idea and that is for a public groundswell to contact SCOTUS and especially Chief Justice John Roberts and respectfully reminding him of our supposed shared values and his duty as Chief Justice and that there is no way he can faithfully execute both by allowing what Republican Senators are openly, even gleefully discussing: a subversion of the entire process to bias it in favor of the “President” and a huge blow to the integrity of our Republic. It is time to write him and tell him what we expect of him. He must conduct a fair trial and not one in which idiotic and long debunked conspiracy theories are given oxygen. He must not allow Republicans to call witnesses that have no factual testimony to offer or who are only being called in order to derail the trial. He must not allow the Republicans to grandstand and prevent Democratic testimony. In short, he must not preside as a partisan Republican with a dog in this fight. He has to be reminded that he works for we, the people and not they, the conservative insane asylum. We must point out that the rule of law is what our divided nation has in common and it must be applied without regard to party or office.
Only a large volume of folks contacting him and the SCOTUS will suffice. The Court should be flooded with phone calls, letters, emails, tweets, etc to have any impact, the larger the volume, the greater the impact will be. We’re only asking that Roberts conduct this trial in a manner that all other trials in this country are supposed to be conducted: with dignity and even handedness. I’m asking you to help spread this message to take action. Roberts must be reminded of his duty and his oath of office and be left with the sure knowledge that we are watching and that we will take notice. He has one chance to make history and to do it right. But we must be respectful. There is literally nobody who I know or have ever known that responds well to threats, abusive language or condescension. Please be cool, we also have to get this right.
So write to them at:
U.S. Mail:
Supreme Court of the United States
1 First Street, NE
Washington, DC 20543
Or call them at:
Telephone: 202-479-3000, between the hours of 9:00 am and %:00 pm EST.
You can also contact the Public Information Office via the provided link.
The Public Information Officer can be reached by snail mail at:
Public Information Officer
Supreme Court of the United States
1 First Street, NE
Washington, DC 20543
Some more relevant phone numbers are:
Other Helpful Telephone Numbers
Clerk's Office: 202-479-3011
Visitor Information Line: 202-479-3030
Opinion Announcements: 202-479-3360
The trial is set to begin in January and we must make our voices be heard before then.
One more thing: Please no doom crying and telling me how pointless it all is. If that’s what you believe, then I’m sorry that you feel that way but I think this is an avenue worth pursuing and costs so little in effort or resources that it makes sense to attempt. I’d rather have your voices, even those with whom I’ve clashed, we’re still on the same side in this. But if I can’t have your voice, I’d ask for your forbearance. I have no illusions that our action will change the preordained verdict of this trial but if it changes the conduct of the trial, then it will be a victory and perhaps the next election will have positive results for us and for the nation.
Thanks.
Sunday, Dec 15, 2019 · 2:54:32 PM +00:00 · MargaretPOA
Some people have commented that it is pointless to attempt to persuade the Supreme Court to change a verdict but that is not the point of this post. I’m asking folks to remind Roberts to be fair in the way he conducts the trial, not that he should or could decide whether Trump is guilty or not. Roberts isn’t presiding over the Supreme Court in this case, he is presiding over a Senate trial. I’m also not suggesting storming the building and waving signs and shouting slogans, I’m suggesting that we respectfully write and phone the court as we should in no way attempt to contact him personally. I don’t want to bias him. I want to encourage him to be unbiased.