SR,

I am glad that you admit that the congressional impeachment process by blocking republican witnesses was a kangaroo court. As the impeachment process does not actually require any evidence, the impeachment itself was "valid".

However, the congress does not any power over the senate trial and is perfectly entitled to base the judgement on the articles of impeachment and the evidence presented. Pelosi's attempt to try and control it by forcing it to call additional witnesses shows emphatically that Pelosi knows that the evidence generated by the enquiries is not worth a pinch of bullcrap.

Anyone that thinks that the hearsay evidence presented by a "prosecution" controlled selection of witnesses would not be thrown out of any normal court is mentally retarded.

The fact that the proceeding of the impeachment happen behind closed doors is a red flag. (Though potentially justifiable if it's national security issues. I don't think these impeachment accusations qualify). The next red flag is not following through giving the process directly to the senate to delegate through as well.

What happens next will show how corrupt the system is and if there are real safeguards against that corruption.

Belly,

As both you and SR believed that Trump was guilty before any evidence was produced forgive me if I don't give it any weight.

The impeachment process is meant to be a "trial" of the president for high crimes and misdemeanours, which means that:

1- The rules of evidence need to be followed, and any opinion, hearsay or conjecture are not only inadmissible but its admission into the process creates grounds for a mistrial,
2- The president has the right to cross examine any evidence meaning that secret witnesses and depositions are not admissible
3- The president has the right to call any witnesses relevant to his defence.

In breaking every one of these cardinal rules not only have the democrats made their impeachment a complete joke, but in failing to get even one republican to accept their case, this has all the markings of a political lynch mob.

Being called a liar by professional liars does not automatically make a liar !

'Dear runner,

The bulge in your pants you get when defending your president is now an embarrassment. Time to tone it down a notch and gather yourself. Very unbecoming.'

typical regressive grubby comments from a mob bereft of any answers or decency.

Dear Shadow Minister,

You wrote;

“I am glad that you admit that the congressional impeachment process by blocking republican witnesses was a kangaroo court.”

I obviously didn't and I don't, so stop being so slippery mate. Attempting to call Joe Biden's son as a 'Republican' witness was hamfisted and plain stupid.

The senate now trying to exclude any witnesses which are central to the case but prejudicial to Trump is utterly contemptable and it is being rightly condemned even by select Republican senators.

And are you really that idiotic to think that the message to suspend aid to Ukraine being delivered just 90 minutes after Trump's call was purely a coincidence?

Stop trying to obfuscate on this. He did it, we all know he did it, it is just whether it warrants his removal.

Dear runner,

You make out that you are an Australian but I do not know a single Aussie who would so prostitute themselves over a foreign nation's leader. Your lip-pucking love for your president borders on treason. Why the hell do you take it so far? We normally only see behaviour like this from those worshiping someone like Jesus. News flash mate - Trump is not Jesus.