Every Friday afternoon, our faithful group of conservatives gather on the south side of the bridge in Wiscasset, Maine to wave patriotic flags in support of Donald J. Trump.

In the summer, Route 1 in Wiscasset is one of the busiest stretches of road in America. Thousands of cars cross that bridge each day in the summer. They come from all over the United States. In the short time we stand there, we see a little slice of America and that little slice of America sees us.

We smile and wave at everyone. We don’t frown or yell obscenities. We don’t flip anyone the bird or threaten anyone. Even though some people stick their thumbs down or flip us the bird or even yell a few obscenities, most of the folks who drive by are very happy to see us. We get waves and smiles, cheers and horn honks. My favorite reaction is when you see a fist in the air and the driver yelling “Fight Fight Fight!”

Like most conservatives, we are a happy lot. We know that waving patriotic flags is an easy thing to do, but we know how serious it is. We are happy warriors who have a deep faith in Jesus, and are willing to stand up for conservative values.

This leads me to the second part of my story. Early this summer we were waving our flags on the bridge when a man drove by in his car and saw what we were doing. When he crossed the bridge, he parked his car, got out and began walking towards us. You never know what could happen at one of these events. He spoke to a few of us, shook some hands, and then he went on his way.

After he was gone, my sister-in-law and fellow flag waver told me “You are not going to believe who that was," she said. “That was one of Donald Trump’s lawyers from his second impeachment trial.”

We were all astonished.

“How cool is that?” I answered. He wanted us all to know that he appreciated what we were doing out there for President Trump.

To make a long story short, someone in our group got his contact information and a new connection was made. One thing leads to another….

Fast forward a month or so, and over 60 people are gathered at the American Legion in Boothbay, Maine for a special event. The man who met us on the bridge was none other than Michael Van Der Veen, one of President Trumps defense lawyers who helped oversee Trump’s second impeachment trial. He agreed to visit with us and talk about how the trial went, what he witnessed and how it all went down. He also brought along two of his fellow trial lawyers, William J. Brennan and Adam Leasure.

As a refresher, President Trump’s second impeachment trial accused the president of inciting the January 6th riots. Apparently, when he said “I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol Building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard,” it really meant he was calling the MAGA nation to overthrow the government.

It didn’t take long for the knives to come out. The deep state wanted the head of Donald Trump, and this was their latest attempt to get it.

Michael Van Der Veen and his friends began to tell us a tale that few get to hear. It was astonishing, highly fascinating, maddening, but not too far from our collective suspicions.

A week before the trial was to begin, President Trump’s defense team quit. President Trump wanted to make sure election fraud was going to be a topic for the defense. His team did not agree so they quit.

In stepped Michael Van Der Veen’s law firm. They were hired to do the job at the last minute.

The three men shared what it was like when they drove to Washington D.C. from their offices in Philadelphia. With boxes full of files they arrived in the Swamp on Super Bowl Sunday. It was snowing and they soon realized they had no place to set up an office.

It seemed like the Swamp was already working against them. Surprisingly, a liberal politician friend found them a place for them to hang their hats and start organizing their defense. Mr. Van Der Veen said it reminded him of the old Washington D.C. when public enemies like Ronald Reagan and Tip O’Neil were friendly behind the scenes.

Those days were over as the prosecution and big media had already tried and convicted Donald Trump long before the opening statements were spoken. This was going to be the moment the deep state took him down once and for all. And so the trial began.

Van Der Veen clearly admitted to us that on the first day of the trial “they got creamed.”

They were clearly playing with Swamp monsters who cared little for the law or the Constitution. It was a David and Goliath story, and David didn’t have any stones nearby. At least not at the beginning.

One thing I have to mention, which I believe is crucial to this story, is the way the defense team handled themselves. They considered themselves happy warriors. They were going to give it their best to defend the ex-President and the Constitution. They likened it to the Rocky movies. Take the punches. It looks bad, but don’t throw in the towel just yet.

Thank goodness they didn’t.

They understood that it wasn’t a broken law that caused this impeachment trial. It was blind partisanship that fueled the anger and hatred from the prosecutors, the Constitution be damned.

Eventually however, the defense team had to take their gloves off.

Facing ridicule and outright mocking laughter from Democrats during the live trial, Michael Van Der Veen and his team helped to bring a much-deserved acquittal for Donald Trump.

We were riveted by their story, yet as they began to wrap it up for the evening, they described to us the state of our nation’s capital. They used words like “tainted” “broken” and “cesspool.” Lord Acton’s famous quote was spoken “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

Van Der Veen told us that all the Senate has been tainted with corruption. Even the ones we admire are not free from it. That was a sobering thought. Be careful if you pick up a Ring of Power. It will corrupt even the wise and well-meaning.

The evening ended however on a positive note. I knew these men were fighting the good fight when Van Der Veen told us in closing. “The most important thing you can do for this country is pray for it. Pray hard. Ask Almighty God for intervention” I made sure to shake each one of their hands before they left. I said “Thank you” to all three.

As for our faithful little group, we are more energized than ever, and you will find us this Friday on the bridge in Wiscasset, Maine being happy warriors!

Image: RawPixel.com