Trump’s new defense team says they will argue due process but will not introduce a shred of evidence proving fraud. Apparently Lindsay Graham has convinced Trump that if he mentions fraud he will be impeached. Since 45 senators already agreed with Rand Paul that the entire process is unconstitutional, at least five of them would have to flip and vote to convict in a process they already said was unlawful.

If the D’s have a week to put on a show that Trump incited a mob with “false” claims of voter fraud and Trump and his lawyers sit like a potted plant and say nothing, it will give them cover to say his silence is an admission of guilt and anyone who claims otherwise is a conspiracy theorist or Russian stooge. That means everyone here.

If, on the other hand, Trump showed up himself, took to the podium with a binder of evidence and spent three hours going piece by piece through it and basically read the Navarro report into the record, it would be watched live by a billion people. There would be nowhere for any of the Senate to hide and Trump could turn the table on them, but first he must have the will to act. It seems like his handlers are pushing him away from this option.

If he fails to lay out the evidence, the Dems will claim, not without support, that Trump ran and hid from the case. Whether or not they convict, they will put a stake in the heart of the Trump movement, which is far more important to them than his scalp.