BOO BOO THE FOOL T SHIRTS

©Wendell Griffen, 2020

Little Rock, Arkansas

February 5, 2020

When I was a child there was a popular television cartoon show about Yogi the Bear.  Yogi and his sidekick Boo Boo were bears in Jelly Stone Park.  In the show, Yogi often got into trouble because he thought he was “smarter than the average bear.”  Boo Boo sometimes tried to act as his conscience.  Yet Boo Boo typically went along with what Yogi said or did - even when it was ridiculously wrong – because Yogi thought he was “smarter than the average bear.”   Now when I now hear people make ridiculous assertions I occasionally respond that although I wear a T shirt, it does not read “Boo Boo the Fool.”  I don’t believe obviously untrue claims merely because other people consider themselves “smarter than the average bear.”

The U.S. Constitution requires that the President of the United States shall be convicted on impeachment charges only when two-thirds of the Senators present agree.  There are currently 100 Senators, so 67 Senators must agree in order to convict Trump.  All signs indicate that 67 Senators will not vote to find Trump guilty of either charge.  When that happens, Trump, his followers, and media pundits will declare that he was acquitted.  They will be wrong.

The term “hung jury” describes decision-makers who are unable to reach consensus to render a decision or reach a verdict.  If 67 (two-thirds) of the Senate agree that Trump is not guilty of abuse of power or obstruction of Congress, he will be acquitted of those impeachment charges.  If 67 Senators agree that Trump is guilty of one charge or the other, he will be convicted.  There is no verdict – to convict or acquit – unless 67 Senators agree. 

Politicians, media pundits, and others who say that Trump will be acquitted because 67 Senators will not agree that he is guilty of the impeachment charges may, like Yogi Bear, think they are “smarter than the average bear.”  However, I’m not Boo Boo the Fool.  I know a hung jury means no verdict could be reached and results in a mistrial.  A mistrial will not mean Trump has been acquitted for the same reason it will not mean he has been found guilty.  The law treats a mistrial as invalid.

The mistrial today will not invalidate the impeachment charges against Trump.  A mistrial won’t prevent another trial on those charges.  A mistrial won’t hinder the parties from searching for additional evidence to prepare for another trial. 

After today’s mistrial, House impeachment managers can go to court and seek to enforce subpoenas for the witness testimony and documents Donald Trump refused to honor.  Federal courts can issue rulings on the validity of the subpoenas.  If the courts rule that the subpoenas are valid, the testimony and documents can yet be obtained. Then the impeachment managers can seek another trial and the testimony and documentary evidence Trump has concealed can be admitted into evidence.    

Donald Trump can and will claim that he has been acquitted today even though that will obviously be untrue.  Media pundits and politicians can and will inaccurately say he has been acquitted even though that will obviously not be true.  However, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, and the other impeachment managers are not wearing Boo Boo the Fool T shirts. 

Schiff was formerly a federal prosecutor.  He knows how to prepare for a retrial.  Schiff will discover additional evidence relevant to the impeachment charges.  I won’t be surprised, therefore, if he seeks another trial after he gets the evidence Trump has concealed and which the Senate shamelessly voted not to consider thus far. 

Gloating by Trump, his Senate enablers, and his sycophants about the expected vote in the Senate today will not end his impeachment woes.  Instead, it may spur Schiff and the other impeachment managers to prepare for another trial on the impeachment charges.  Good trial lawyers don’t wear Boo Boo the Fool T Shirts.  Neither should the rest of us.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said the moral arc of the universe swings wide, but always bends towards justice.  Let those of us who believe in justice and despise Trump’s impeachable conduct watch, wait, and hope.  The arc of the universe still bends towards justice.  Trump's mistrial can't stop it.