Keeping Democracy Alive with Burt Cohen
Two-fer: Senate Trial Realities and Biden’s China Conundrum
On part one: By strict legal standards, Donald Trump is obviously guilty. But the impeachment trial is a political not a legal proceeding, the Republican majority senate is the jury. And according to Marjorie Cohn, former president of the National Lawyers Guild, the 45 Republicans who pre-emptively declared the trial unconstitutional intentionally gave themselves cover to declare Trump innocent despite all evidence. But his troubles will hardly be over. And on part two, it seems the China hawks are still in power. Biden’s team in State and Defense appear equally aggressive. As Michael Klare, professor emeritus of peace and world security studies, explains, China replaces terrorism as the reason for big Pentagon spending. But with John Kerry taking the lead on cooperating with China on climate change there are great risks as well as opportunities.