So what’s the delay? There are probably a few reasons but my guess is that the Democrats understand that their case is rather weak, as Professor Jonathan Turley wrote over the weekend:
Securing an impeachment so fast does not earn you a historic prize. It simply earns you a historic failure. By not seeking to compel numerous key witnesses, the House now relies on the Senate to complete its case. Since the House has maintained that the record overwhelmingly proves that Trump is guilty, the Senate could simply try the case on the record supplied by the House. Indeed, in the 1999 impeachment of President Clinton, Senate Democrats, including Minority Leader Charles Schumer, fought against any witnesses and sought a summary vote without a trial.
Professor Turley is right. This is a very incomplete effort. My guess is that a real-world prosecutor would be fired for charging a defendant with such a weak case.
Abuse of power — but what’s the actual crime?
Obstruction of Congress — but that’s laughable under our separations of powers.
The Democrats created this mess by listening to their crazy left wing. They will now try to persuade the public that spending months on impeachment was better than sitting down with President Trump and talking heath care or other more pressing matters.
PS: You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.