Episode 39: Stuck on You
This week witnessed a Senate impeachment trial of Donald Trump. This is the fourth presidential impeachment trial in US history, following Andrew Johnson in 1868, Bill Clinton in 1999, and Trump himself in early 2020 – all of them ended in acquittals. Of course, it's the second impeachment of Trump in the last 12 months, making him number one in that category. The CDC, the nation's top public health agency, made a splash today by providing a roadmap for reopening schools in the middle of a pandemic, paving the way for millions of kids to return to in-person learning. Oh, and Tom Brady won another Super Bowl.
TRUMP IMPEACHMENT TRIAL
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi selected nine House Democrats to be impeachment managers and act as prosecutors to make the case against Donald Trump. Congressman Jamie Raskin of Maryland was the lead manager. Raskin is an expert in constitutional law, where he was a professor on the subject at American University for 25 years before running for Congress in 2017. (As a side note, in the hours before the January 6th attack on the Capitol, Raskin received a standing ovation from colleagues in an expression of condolence over the recent death of his son, Tommy. According to the Raskin family, depression plagued Tommy, and on New Year's Day, he left the following note: "Please forgive me. My illness won today. Please look after each other, the animals, and the global poor for me. All my love, Tommy.")
Trump has three primary attorneys for the Senate trial, Bruce Castor, David Schoen, and Michael Van der Veen. Castor, 59, made headlines as a district attorney in Pennsylvania after he decided not to prosecute Bill Cosby following accusations in 2005 by a Temple University employee, Andrea Constand, who accused Cosby of drugging and sexually assaulting her. (Mr. Castor lost re-election to an opponent who had criticized his handling of the case and went on to charge Mr. Crosby with aggravated indecent assault. Cosby's defense called Castor to the stand where he argued his decision not to prosecute had been appropriate. He even said on the stand, "Andrea Constand's actions during that year ruined her credibility as a viable witness." The defense team lost, and Mr. Cosby was convicted in 2018. Ms. Constand later sued Castor for defamation, and the two settled outside court in 2019.
Schoen, 62, is an Alabama-based civil rights and criminal defense lawyer. Schoen has an eclectic past, working on cases ranging from public interest and civil rights cases to successfully challenging a law that forbade the Ku Klux Klan from marching while wearing hoods without paying a fee. He's also represented an array of notorious clients, including accused mobsters, rapists, and killers. The American Bar Association honored Mr. Schoen in 1995 for his volunteer legal efforts.
Van der Veen, 57, is a confusing choice for Trump because he doesn't have a strong record supporting Republican causes or the former President. As recently as two years ago, according to a former client, Van der Veen described Trump as a "f-ing crook," a statement the lawyer has since denied making. However, in emails last year, Van der Veen railed about what he described as a campaign by Pennsylvania Republicans to "unfairly and illegally intimidate voters." And in the run-up to the 2020 election, he represented a client suing Trump, arguing that the administration suppressed mail voting with last-minute changes at the USPS.
THE PROSECUTION
The case against Donal Trump has a three-part strategy:
I. "Trump told us to do it."
House Impeachment managers used Trump's own words—in speeches and tweets—against him and cited his supporters' language. The goal was to illustrate that the group of supporters who turned from a rally crowd to a band of insurrectionists intent on storming the Capitol did so because they believed Trump requested them to act.
II. An escalating pattern of unrest
The nine impeachment managers attempted to show a pattern of escalating unrest that first took shape in Michigan last year when 13 people plotted to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. The scheme included plans to overthrow several state governments "believed to violate the US Constitution," based on coronavirus response efforts and decisions to issue stay-at-home orders. A few weeks before the failed kidnapping plan, Trump tweeted "LIBERATE MICHIGAN," an apparent opposition statement to several governors' stay-at-home orders and what some argue was a dog whistle to his supporters to act.
III. Trump showed "no remorse."
The prosecution hinges on proving that Donald Trump knowingly incited his crowd of supporters in front of the White House on January 6th to attack the Capitol and stop Congress's joint meeting from certifying Joe Biden's election victory. To prove this, they documented the months the then-president spent convincing his followers that the November election was fixed and stolen. House managers also argued that Trump has a history of inciting violence at his rallies.
House Impeachment managers concluded their case against Donald Trump yesterday. Their presentation was as much about setting the evidence for the American public and the history books as it was about getting a conviction. The media applauded the work of the House Managers' efforts, and even Senate Republicans largely praised the Democratic managers' presentation, saying it was both compelling and disturbing.
THE DEFENSE
Trump's defense strategy commenced today and rested a few hours ago. (If you are a glutton for punishment, you can see their full 75-page legal brief.) The legal team had two primary goals: 1) Make their client happy. (Trump was allegedly extremely unhappy after Tuesday's opening remarks.) and 2) Present enough evidence and make arguments that would give Trump supporters enough Democrat red meat to keep them loyal and provide cover for Senate Republicans in the face of the final, public vote.
The defense arguments consisted of three key points:
I. The trial is unconstitutional.
The defense team's central focus has been and will continue to be that the entire trial is invalid; that as an ex-president, he is ineligible for punishments meant for presidents. This argument failed to prevent the impeachment trial from proceeding on Tuesday as six Republicans voted with Democrats, but could be enough to prevent an impeachment conviction. Democrats need to sway 17 Republicans. Before the trial, 40 Senate Democrats said they would convict Trump, with 10 making no official statement. For Senate Republicans, 35 said they wouldn't convict, with 15 offering no official word. In Trump's first impeachment trial last year, Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah was the only Republican to find him guilty.
II. First Amendment protection
The defense team argued that Trump was exercising his constitutional right to free speech during his rally the morning of January 6th. The attorneys argued that Mr. Trump's language before the riot fell short of what could yield an incitement conviction because of the First Amendment. The parameters of freedom of speech are often measured by what's known as the "Brandenburg Test." In 1969, the US Supreme Court delivered their judgment in Brandenburg v. Ohio. Clarence Brandenburg, one of the leaders of the Ku Klux Klan was arrested and charged with advocating violence and terrorism as a means for achieving reform. The primary evidence against him was a video clip in which Brandenburg made a speech to those who had assembled at his rally. In his remarks, he suggested violence against the government and asked his followers to join him in Washington. Brandenburg claimed protection under the US Constitution's First Amendment, and all nine judges of the US Supreme Court agreed with him. In their judgment, the judges held that "constitutional guarantees of free speech and free press do not permit a State to forbid or proscribe advocacy of the use of force or law violation except where such advocacy directly incites and produces imminent lawless action and is likely to incite or produce such action." In other words, there must be advocacy for imminent illegal activity and also intention.
III. Democratic hypocrisy and a double-standard
Defense attorneys accused Democrats of a double-standard by presenting a video montage of Democratic leaders in Congress using the word "fight" and other "inflammatory" language at rallies and in interviews. Below is a sample from the video:
"The American people are going to have to fight. We must continue to fight. It Is a fight born out of patriotism." - Kamala Harris
"We can whimper and whine or stand your ground and fight back. We are in the fight for our lives. Get in this fight! - Elizabeth Warren
"Absolutely harass Trump supporters when appearing in public." - Maxine Waters
"This is a fight, and I'm a fighter" (political ad with a picture of a Congressman driving a truck with a rifle behind him) - Jon Tester
"I thought about blowing up the Whitehouse" - Madonna
The defense also showed Democratic objections to the certification of votes from Trump's 2016 election, including Lead House Manager Jamie Raskin.
By all accounts, even from CNN anchors, Trump's attorneys were effective in accomplishing their two primary goals. You may disagree with the arguments, but the audience for the message got what they needed. This impeachment hearing had a slim chance of conviction entering the week, and at this point in the trial, "slim" has left the building. Now that both sides have presented, the Senate will have up to four hours to ask the legal teams written questions. House managers could seek a vote on hearing from witnesses as a next step. It's not clear yet whether they plan to do so. If there is no effort to seek testimony from witnesses, the trial will likely wrap up with a final vote this weekend.
OTHER NEWS
America's No. 2 dating app went public (NASDAQ: BMBL), gaining 63% on the day to close at an $8+ billion valuation. Founder and CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd, 31, created Bumble to combat rampant sexual harassment on dating platforms. Herd previously co-founded Tinder but left after suing the company for sexual harassment and discrimination. Herd is the youngest woman to take a company public, and her $900+ million stake pushes her fortune above $1 billion.
Bumble has 12+ million monthly active users but earns most of its revenue from premium subscriptions and in-app purchases. In the first nine months of 2020, Bumble posted an $84 million net loss on nearly $377 million in sales. Match Group, which owns Tinder, Hinge, and OkCupid, is the market leader in the category and boasts a $45 billion market cap.
Tessica Brown, a 40-year-old Louisiana teacher, ran out of Got2b Glued Blasting Freeze Spray—a holding spray for hair to secure front wigs. So she used an alternate, Gorilla Glue adhesive. Unfortunately for Brown, Gorilla Glue is not designed for hair or human contact. Instead, Gorilla Glue is an adhesive famous for its polyurethane formula and described as "industrial strength."
Brown realized her mistake fairly quickly as her hair formed into a hard shell. Brown attempted to wash her hair more than 20 times, soak it in various liquids--rubbing alcohol, conditioners, coconut oil, and tree oil. Brown even visited an emergency room where health care workers applied nail polish remover and saline water, but the feedback was all the same—it's stuck on you. All the efforts to use moisture made the bonding worse by encouraging a curing process.
Brown shared her situation on TikTok, and the video went viral and was viewed 16 million times. A GoFundMe page was started and raised more than $21,000. Cardi B, Wendy Williams, and Chance the Rapper all chimed in with support, along with some jokes at her expense. Brown used the funds to hire legal counsel and is allegedly evaluating lawsuit options. Is it possible to sue yourself for negligence and bodily harm?
Michale Obeng, a plastic surgeon with a private practice in Beverly Hills, offered to fly Brown to LA and perform a four-hour, $12,500 procedure for free. TMZ taped the process, and the cure involved medical-grade adhesive remover, aloe vera, olive oil, and a dash of acetone. After the procedure, Brown said, "I need to get her hair done before Valentine's Day!"
I. Below are the articles I found interesting the past week:
Why is the mainstream media arguing that divorce is good? (Disclaimer: Marriage Helper is a client, and I am Executive Coach for the CEO)
The second COVID shot is a rude reawakening for immune cells
How carbon prices will transform industry
Five things to get right before the next pandemic
Everything you need to work from home, according to people who do it every day
II. Stats that made me go WOW!
- In October, hard-seltzer company Basic surveyed 2,000 single under 35-year-olds in the US and found that 58% had had virtual sex during the pandemic. Of those, 77% did so with someone they'd never had sex with in person. Per a Bumble survey of 5,000 UK singles, 32% said "digital intimacy" was necessary for a relationship "both during a lockdown and when measures lifted."
- Coca-Cola is testing a new paper bottle as part of a longer-term bid to eliminate plastic from its packaging. Coca-Cola was ranked the world's number one plastic polluter last year, followed by Pepsi and Nestle. Coca-cola has set a goal of producing zero waste by 2030.
- Fossil fuel emissions account for one in five deaths each year or more than 8 million lives.
- Tom Brady has now led his team to win 12.7% of all Super Bowls ever played. Super Bowl LV was watched by 96.4 million viewers on CBS and other platforms, an 8% drop from last year and the lowest network audience for a Super Bowl since 2006. However, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 31-9 win over the Kansas City Chiefs set a new streaming record with 5.7 million viewers per minute, a 65% increase over 2020. The most-watched Super Bowl was Super Bowl XLIX in 2015, between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks, with more than 114 million total viewers. That game remains the most-watched television broadcast of all time.
- During China’s Spring Festival travel period, about 1.152 billion passengers will travel nationwide, with an average of 28.8 million passengers per day. Spring Festival began on January 28th and ends on March 8th.
- China has 27 firms among the top 100 global construction contractors, up from nine in 2000, Europe has 37, down from 41. The US has seven, compared to 19 two decades ago.
- Of the roughly 560 IPOs from the last 12 months, Bumble is the third with a female founder; only eight IPOs from last year had a female CEO. Over 70% of Bumble's board is women, a rarity in corporate America. Bloomberg reported that of the 500 wealthiest people globally, self-made women account for <5%.
- University of Copenhagen researchers developed an AI tool that they claim can predict, with 90% accuracy, whether an uninfected person will die from COVID. They used AI software to determine the highest risk factors, including higher BMI, older age, high blood pressure, neurological diseases, COPD, asthma, diabetes, heart disease, and being male. The AI tool can reportedly predict up to 80% accuracy whether an infected patient will require a respirator once they are in the hospital.
III. Name that Tune!
As I write this email, I am listening to "Stuck on You" by Lionel Richie.
Lionel Brockman Richie Jr is an American singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actor. He was born and raised in Tuskegee, Alabama. A star tennis player, he accepted a tennis scholarship to attend Tuskegee Institute, where he graduated with a BS in economics. Richie considering studying divinity to become a priest n the Episcopal Church but realized music was his calling.
During the 1970s, Richie recorded with the band the Commodores. However, Richie's solo career made him one of the most successful balladeers of the 1980s. Richie released the song "Stuck on You" on his second studio album, Can't Slow Down, in 1984. The piece differs from Richie's other compositions, as it displays a country-pop influence rather than R&B. As such, the single's cover photo shows Richie wearing a cowboy hat.
If you enjoyed the newsletter, please add a friend and share it on social media!