The impeachment drama loses its edge

Already the Trump impeachment drama in the Senate trial is losing any sense of excitement or freshness or, well, drama. The reason for this is that the Democratic impeachment "managers" are going over the same ground again and again and again and the Republicans are just sayng the president didn't do anything wrong. Those not involved in the toing and froing in the Senate are all obliged to stay quiet. The only person who felt the need to intervene was Republican Senator Susan Collins who didn't like the way House Representative Jerrold Nadler, one of the Democratic advocates, and White House counsel Pat Cippolone, went hammer and tongs at each other. Very un-Senate like, breaking all the protocol rules in her view. So she wrote a note to the Chief Justice John Roberts in charge of the proceedings pointing out her dismay. Sure enough the chief judge called for order. But apart from that the Senate has sat quietly, and some of the Republicans have even left the room, presumably out of boredom. The only way this trial is going to become a dramatic event again, like it was on the first day, is if the Republicans give in and vote for new witnesses to be brought in to give evidence and be cross-examined. Witnesses like John Bolton, the former national security adviser, whose presence at the trial would certainly wake everyone up. But the Republicans show no sign of allowing this, and Trump himself has apparently said he can't allow Bolton to give witness evidence because he knows too much about what his former boss has said about individual foreign leaders and doesn't want any of that to come out. The presence of Bolton and his moustache at the trial would be brilliant. But I fear it's not going to happen. Trump and the Republicans say the House Democrats should have called all the witnesses they needed during the House phase of the impeachment process. But that was a dilemma for Nancy Pelosi and co. If they had subpoenaed Bolton and others from the White House, they would have had to take the matter to court to overturn Trump's refusal to let them be questioned. That would have gone on for months, dragging on the whole process. No one wanted that, so Pelosi went ahead with what they had managed to glean from all the officials who did appear as witnesses. It was probably the right decision but it now gives the Republicans what they see as justification for saying, no more witnesses. So the trial will continue into next week and then probably be wrapped up with the expected Republican majority acquittal. Life for Trump will continue and Pelosi will wonder whether she did it right.