SMERCONISH: On Monday, I'll be in Oklahoma City at the National Memorial and Museum. The survivors of the Oklahoma City bombing, the worst case of domestic terror in our nation's history, regard Monday as day one, the first of a 168-day countdown to April 19, 2020, which will mark the 25th anniversary of the bombing. One day for each citizen who died, 19 of whom were children. Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols were convicted in the attack. The two former army buddies were motivated by retribution for the events in Waco, Texas, when federal agents stormed the compounding of Branch Davidians led by David Koresh. That occurred two years prior to Oklahoma on the same day, April 19. McVeigh died by lethal injection in 2001. Nichols is serving life in prison. A third man, Michael Fortier was sentenced for 12 years for failing to warn authorities about the bombing plans. After appearing as a prosecution witness, he served 10 years and was released and entered the witness protection program. I've never been to the memorial. Many have warned me to be prepared for an overwhelming emotional experience. I will see the 168 empty chairs made of glass, bronze and stone, each inscribed with the name of one of those killed on April 19, 1995. I was invited by Sara Sweet, who lost her father, Steven Williams, a claims representative for the Social Security administration. As she said to me in a note, he will always be 42. Younger than me now. In 2016, she left this shirt on the memorial chair that celebrates his life. He was a lifelong Chicago Cubs fan and one of Sara's fondest memories was watching games with her dad. Still to come, your best and worst tweets and Facebook comments and we'll give you the result of the survey question from Smerconish.com. Go vote if you have yet to do so. This impeachment process, is it going to remain partisan from start to finish?
168 Empty Chairs In Oklahoma City.