The New York Post lampooned the opening of the impeachment hearings against President Donald Trump on Wednesday with a front cover that depicted the process as a circus.
The cover depicts Democratic California Rep. Adam Schiff, who is leading the impeachment hearings as the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, as a circus ringmaster with top hat and tails while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is pictured as a clown. The whistleblower is shown as someone wearing a paper bag on his or her head.
“GUILTY! NOW FOR THE TRIAL…
And here we go… NY Post cover for Wednesday: pic.twitter.com/XyflFWYlWQ
— Joe Concha (@JoeConchaTV) November 13, 2019
The impeachment inquiry has largely been spent behind closed doors with Republicans criticizing the process as a Soviet-style kangaroo court. Some Republicans have accused Schiff of selectively leaking portions of the testimony to the media in order to buttress their impeachment claim against the president.
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA) hug as they arrive ahead of comedian Dave Chappelle receiving the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center in Washington, U.S., Oct. 27, 2019. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas
With the hearings going public Wednesday, House Republicans released their list of preferred witnesses last Saturday, with names that included Hunter Biden, the son of former Vice President Joe Biden, and the anonymous whistleblower, whose alleged name has been bandied about my some media organizations. (RELATED: House Republicans Release 18-Page Memo Featuring Their Case Against Impeachment)
Schiff has already rejected their request for the whistleblower to be present for questioning, writing to Republican California Rep. Devin Nunes that the whistleblower’s testimony would be “redundant.”
Even if the House impeaches the president, it remains unlikely that any Senate trial will be successful with the Republicans having a majority in that legislative body. Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham has already said he considers the impeachment process to be “illegitimate” and that the Senate should not even proceed to a trial. (RELATED: Trump Supporters Speak Out Against Impeachment)
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC), talks about the Clinton impeachment while introducing a resolution condemning House Impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump, at the U.S. Capitol on Oct. 24, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
Although some polls show an increasing acceptance of impeachment by voters, Trump has been adamant that he will be vindicated. He recently told cheering supporters that “we’re kicking their ass” with respect to the Democrats and their campaign to oust him from office.
Pelosi has compared impeaching the president to the American Revolution.
