John —

As a prosecutor trained to listen to the facts, I’m appalled the Senate did not hear from witnesses or request documents.

As a North Carolinian who aspires to represent our state in the Senate, I’m appalled by its members’ abdication of their duty — in particular, Senator Thom Tillis, who raised his hand and swore to be an impartial juror yet announced his judgment months ago and voted to block witnesses and documents.

North Carolinians know what a fair trial looks like and that’s not what we just witnessed. However flawed the Senate proceedings, the time has now come to render judgment on the question in front of us.

Our country owes gratitude to the brave men and women who came forward to testify in the House at great risk to themselves, to share serious, uncontradicted evidence that Donald Trump abused the office of president for personal political gain, and, when caught, then obstructed Congress’s investigation into his wrongdoing.

After considering the evidence and the constitutional arguments on both sides, if I were a member of the U.S. Senate I would have voted to convict Donald Trump.

Thank you,

— Cal