You’re Goddamn Right He Did

I see the inevitable retreat from “Trump is innocent” to “using extortion to ratfuck elections is great, frankly he should be doing more of it” has already started:

A growing number of Senate Republicans are ready to acknowledge that President Trump used U.S. military aid as leverage to force Ukraine to investigate former vice president Joe Biden and his familyas the president repeatedly denies a quid pro quo.

In this shift in strategy to defend Trump, these Republicans are insisting that the president’s action was not illegal and does not rise to the level of an impeachable offense as the Democratic-led House moves forward with the open phase of its probe.

But the shift among Senate Republicans could complicate the message coming from Trump as he furiously fights the claim that he had withheld U.S. aid from Ukraine to pressure it to dig up dirt on a political rival, even as an increasing number of Republicans wonder how long they can continue to argue that no quid pro quo was at play in the matter. 

Again, when senators are willing to acknowledge that Trump did what he’s accused of because they don’t actually care that he did it and won’t do anything about it narrowing the impeachment inquiry in the hope that Senate Republicans will take it more seriously is a counterproductive exercise.