I hate to bring this up...
But, does anybody have any idea what’s going on with brilliant conservative jurist J. Michael Luttig?
He’s repeating himself, telling us everything is “…of the United States…” from Vice President of the United States, to Congress of the United States to President of the United States to Constitution of the United States. It’s like he’s searching through his mind for something he forgot and substituting “of the United States…” every time he hits a dead end.
Not to mention talking so slowly, he has taken up about 30 minutes of the hearing as he meanders around in the circles.
This guy is the conservative rock star that was on the short list for the Supreme Court about three times?
No wonder the committee is reluctant to call witnesses in person when they can use video tapes of their depositions.
Luttig has personal connections to Ted Cruz and John Eastman - and probably others deeply involved, given the insular nature of the upper levels of our government. I think he was struggling with the knowledge that he was not just throwing those people under the bus but driving it over them and still processing the fact that he had no choice because they had abandoned what is clearly, for him, a fundamental principle - that every person, and especially one who wields governmental power, owes to this nation an unwavering commitment to the rule of law.
I think that he's very uncomfortable being in front of a committee that is trying to put together a historical record, and that he's very unused to the spotlight.
Judges as a rule try to keep their words concise and precise. I don't think he's used to being in public with a bank of cameras trained on him as he speaks.
I would not want to be there.