We had trouble mustering enthusiasm to wrap up our final episode of this second season of Pardon Me. Last week's roller coaster of a trial culminated in 43 senators choosing to acquit on a weak and deceptive defense -- despite a factual and painstaking accounting of how bad the breach was, how bad it might have been, and how Donald Trump incited it.

We talk to a former CIA analyst about how bad it could have been and a TV critic on the power of the visual. We also bring you factoids with Chion Wolf and Colin's closing essay.

GUESTS:

• James Poniewozik - Chief television critic for The New York Times and the author of Audience of One: Donald Trump, Television, and the Fracturing of America
• David Priess - A former intelligence officer at the CIA; his most recent book is How To Get Rid of a President: History's Guide to Removing Unpopular, Unable, or Unfit Chief Executives
• Chion Wolf - The host of Audacious with Chion Wolf on Connecticut Public Radio

Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Pardon Me is a production of The Colin McEnroe Show on Connecticut Public Radio.

Support the show: https://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Donald Trump's legal team delivered their defense of the former president Friday. They followed a tightly argued and visceral presentation delivered by House managers that, some say, has made it easy for Republican senators to convict Trump. They likely won't.

We wondered if our show, recorded in part on Thursday, would omit important events that occurred thereafter. Given that many Republican senators have already decided to acquit, why would the defense feel the need to address the 144 constitutional lawyers who debunked their First Amendment argument, the 150 constitutional lawyers who say the impeachment of Trump is constitutional, or the people of this country?

We knew the ending before it even began.

GUESTS:

• Dahlia Lithwick - Writes about the courts and the law for Slate and hosts the podcast Amicus
• Sascha Paruk - Lead oddsmaker and editor at Sports Betting Dime
• Robyn Walsh - Assistant professor of the New Testament and early Christianity at the University of Miami and the author of The Origins of Early Christian Literature: Contextualizing the New Testament within Greco-Roman Literary Culture
• Chion Wolf - The host of Audacious with Chion Wolf on Connecticut Public Radio
• Bill Yousman - Professor of media studies at Sacred Heart University

Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Pardon Me is a production of The Colin McEnroe Show on Connecticut Public Radio.

Support the show: https://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We took a chance that House Democrats were going to send the Article of Impeachment to the Senate this week. We were wrong. Instead, the House will transmit its Article of Impeachment charging former President Trump with "incitement of insurrection" to the Senate on Monday.

Why should the House wait any longer when more than a dozen Republican senators are trying to dismiss the impeachment trial before it begins, based on the disputed claim that it's unconstitutional to try an ex-president. And House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is already walking back his prior claim that Trump incited the riot at the Capitol.

We talk about proving "incitement" and the fashion legacy of Trump. We also bring you factoids with Chion Wolf and our first second-season AccuFrankie dispatch from reporter Frankie Graziano.

GUESTS:

• Vanessa Friedman - Fashion director for The New York Times
• Frankie Graziano - A reporter for Connecticut Public Radio
• Catherine J. Ross - Professor of law at the George Washington University Law School and the author of a forthcoming book, Presidential Lies, The First Amendment, and Democracy
• Chion Wolf - The host of Audacious with Chion Wolf on Connecticut Public Radio

Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Pardon Me is a production of The Colin McEnroe Show on Connecticut Public Radio.

Support the show: https://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.