Discussion on The Crirical Hour of Upcoming Senate Impeachment Trial (1/14/2020)

Another Democratic Debate, Less Diverse And More Polarizing - Why This Matters

On Tuesday night, Democratic presidential candidates will gather for their seventh debate, the last before the Iowa caucuses. The event is set to be the smallest and least diverse debate thus far. Between impeachment, the recent assassination of Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani and US President Donald Trump planning to divert an additional $7.2 billion in Pentagon funds for a border wall, not to mention the infighting within the Democratic Party itself, there are a lot of new challenges for the Democratic presidential field. What are we to make of all of this?

"Top Senate Republicans on Monday rejected President Trump’s call for outright dismissal of the impeachment charges against him," the Washington Post reported. "Senior Republicans said immediate dismissal could not win approval in the chamber, where Republicans hold a 53-seat majority. ... Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has said that he wants the trial — only the third impeachment of a president in US history — to follow the format used 21 years ago in the trial of President Bill Clinton. In that case, the Senate approved a resolution that would have allowed the Senate to vote to dismiss the charges. But senior Republicans signaled Monday that they are not inclined to include such a provision in the resolution that will kick off Trump’s trial, perhaps as soon as Thursday."
[Dead Man’s Hand: The Impeachment Gambit, Defeat or Impeach? The (Il)Logic of Impeachment, Impeachment: What Lies Beneath?]

"WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is not getting the time he needs with his legal team to discuss his fight against extradition to the United States, causing delays to the case, his lawyer told a British court on Monday," Reuters reported. This issue has been out of the public eye for a while. What’s going on?

GUESTS:
Teresa M. Lundy — Government affairs and public relations specialist and principal of TML Communications, LLC.

Jim Kavanagh — Political analyst and commentator and editor of The Polemicist.

Daniel Lazare — Journalist and author of three books: "The Frozen Republic," "The Velvet Coup" and "America's Undeclared War."

[My segment begins a 20:00]
Listen to "Another Democratic Debate, Less Diverse And More Polarizing - Why This Matters" on Spreaker.

The Critical Hour is a daily 60-minute news analysis and talk radio program on Radio Sputnik hosted by Dr. Wilmer Leon. Introduction above is theirs, with related articles of mine referenced in brackets.