I mean you’ve got to be kidding me with this, CNN. Forget the Democratic hypocrisy about fairness after ramming through the most partisan and weak sauce impeachment articles in our history, this is just rich. CNN’s Don Lemon said that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is trying to conduct this trial under the cover of darkness. No, seriously, he said that. The rest of the remarks are just idiotic. Yes, Don, this is meant to make things uncomfortable for senators with the timeframe of the opening remarks. Yes, this is meant to get this over with as soon as humanly possible. Have you been asleep since this whole circus came to town? This isn’t a serious impeachment push. The charges reek of Trump Derangement. And speaking about the cover of darkness, are we just giving Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and his antics a pass?

First, this whole impeachment push was drawn from a so-called whistleblower complaint from a reported CIA agent, who is also a registered Democrat and had helped a 2020 candidate. He reached out to Schiff’s staff prior to filing the report; Schiff knew and planned to weaponize its contents before this all became official. Being chair of the House Intelligence Committee and someone who is desperate to impeach Trump, you knew where this was going. The allegation is that Trump threatened to withhold aid from Ukraine unless a corruption probe was opened into how Hunter Biden got his board position at Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company. It’s even more embarrassing than the Russian collusion nonsense. Trump made a phone call in July—impeach!

So, the second wave in this impeachment push was under the deep state cover. And the official salvo was in the bunker with secret hearings and selected transcripts released that only supported the Democrats’ angle of course. Trump’s impeachment was executed under the cover of darkness. The initial protocols to this fiasco caused Rep. Elise Stefanik’s (R-NY) jaw to drop. Let’s circle back to this story, which Wall Street Journal columnist Kimberley Strassel covered last October:

Democrats had informed Republicans that, from here on out, the committee would produce a single, printed transcript of every interview it conducted as part of its impeachment inquiry. Only members of the three committees involved in the purported inquiry would be allowed to view that printout, and only in the presence of a Democratic staffer. Ms. Stefanik—an elected member of Congress who sits on the Intelligence Committee—will be babysat while reading by an unelected employee of the Democrats. […] Democrats view control over the narrative as essential, having learned from their Russia-collusion escapade the perils of transparency. They banked on special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation proving impeachment fodder, but got truth-bombed. Their subsequent open hearings on the subject—featuring Michael Cohen, Mr. Mueller and Corey Lewandowski —were, for the Democrats, embarrassing spectacles, at which Republicans punched gaping holes in their story line. Mr. Schiff is making sure that doesn’t happen again; he’ll present the story, on his terms. His rules mean he can issue that controlling decree about “only one” transcript and Democratic staff supervision of Republican members. It means he can bar the public, the press and even fellow representatives from hearings, even though they’re unclassified. It means he is able to shield from scrutiny the whistleblower who prompted this impeachment proceeding. It means he can continue barring Republicans from calling opposing witnesses. It means he can continue refusing to allow White House counsel in the room to hear the accusations against the president. […] Mr. Schiff has intimated he will eventually make some things public. But Democrats’ barring of Republicans and the White House from this “fact finding” stage ensures what is presented later will be a one-sided narrative. How could any senator vote to convict based on such a rigged proceeding?

Usually quiet, Stefanik has become one of the president’s most vocal defenders in the House. She’s also a key player in the House GOP advisory team that’s assisting the president’s legal team in the Senate. To get someone who eschews the limelight to come out guns blazing is probably a sign that this is a witch-hunt, which it is. Also, when the House made impeachment official and this was brought out of the bunker, out of the darkness, the case for impeachment was made even weaker. Most of the so-called witnesses the House Judiciary and Intelligence Committees brought forward were liberal hacks or career bureaucrats who were upset with Trump over policy. That’s not impeachable. In the meantime, Trump’s approval rating has ticked up, swing-state voters are sour on this impeachment push, and the overall approval of it is now underwater.

Luckily, Democrats don’t get the dictate the terms of the trial in the Senate. All of their amendments were shot out of the sky by Republicans because this is a clown show and the sooner it ends the better. But yeah, it’s only the GOP who are operating under the cover of darkness. What absolute garbage, but then again—we’re talking about CNN.