From Far & Near By Shashi Malla Democrats Pile Pressure on Republicans under Fire On the third day of the impeachment trial of President Donald J. Trump in the U.S. Senate, the leading House of Representatives impeachment manager/prosecutor, Adam Schiff relentlessly pressured the handful of Republican senators [jurors/judges] who are considering a vote to call witnesses and demand documents. This would, of course, delay the acquittal that President Trump desperately craves from the impeachment trial (CNN). As long as Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell does not lose the votes of four of his members, he can block a Democratic effort to prolong the trial by subpoenaing crucial witnesses such as former National Security Advisor John Bolton and [still] acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney. On Saturday, the prosecuting Democrats will cede the stage to Trump’s defence lawyers, who plan to argue that the President did nothing wrong in his dealings with Ukraine and that the Democratic charge that he abused his power has no constitutional significance. Republican Stance Republican senators are privately and publicly raising concerns that issuing subpoenas to top officials will only serve to drag out the proceedings. Trump and his defence team is bound to claim ‘executive privilege. Trump and his Republicans have little appetite for such a time-consuming fight, given that legal battles may ultimately not be successful and could force the courts to rule on hugely consequential constitutional issues about the separation of powers between the ‘coequal branches of government’. Senator Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska moderate in the Republican [or GOP/’Grand Old Party’] caucus questioned: “The House made a decision that they didn’t want to slow things down by having to go through the courts,”Murkowski told CNN, “and yet now they’re basically saying you guys gotta go through the courts. We didn’t, but we need you to.” Expert Opinion Chief CNN legal analyst Jeffry Toobin lambasted this line of thinking, saying it was absurd and outrageous. “The whole point of the second article of impeachment is that [Trump] is using his powers to stop an investigation. And what [the GOP] are saying, well, he is still doing it so I guess we better throw in the towel.” CNN’s Editor-at-Large, Chris Cillizza noted that Trump broke his Twitter record for a single day on Wednesday and deduced: “It’s difficult to see the volume of Trump’s tweets and retweets .  .  . and not conclude that he is worried .  .  . Trump’s Twitter frenzy does suggest that he is concerned about the narrative of the impeachment trial turning against him – and what it might mean for his reelection chances.” Court of Public Opinion The latest Pew national poll now indicate one in three Republican voters – 32 percent -- that Donald Trump “probably” or “definitely” did something illegal either while running for president or during his first three years in office! This is a huge number, considering how Republicans have almost unanimously fallen into line behind Trump, no matter what he says or does in office. But at the same time, a whopping 86 percent of the same Republicans believe that he should NOT be removed from office! This means simply that they believe that breaking the law should not be punished with removal from the presidency. The alarming conclusion: party tribalism has trumped [pun fully intended!]. The writer can be reached at: shashipbmalla@hotmail.com