No 'January exceptions' allowed

The second impeachment trial of Donald Trump kicked off in the U.S. Senate today with a debate on the constitutionality of the proceeding. House impeachment managers Jamie Raskin, Joe Neguse, and David Cicilline presented the opening argument, drawing strongly from historical precedent, that convicting Trump on the charge that he incited the violent insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6, is not only constitutional but necessary to prevent anything similar from happening again. Raskin pointed out that not holding Trump accountable would be akin to creating a "January exception," in which presidents at the end of their term could do almost anything with impunity.

• — Damning evidence. Democrats opened the trial with a dramatic video compilation of scenes from Trump's rally and the violence that followed. They highlighted Trump's urging of his supporters to "fight like hell" and followed with clips of the insurrectionists violently attacking the Capitol building as members of Congress were forced to flee. The footage also focused on jarring images of rioters confronting police: yelling epithets, throwing objects, and pushing past barricades. —The Boston Globe
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• — The defense rests? The ex-president's legal defense team—the latest in a series—has constructed an alternate reality of what transpired on and around Jan. 6. Its defense relies largely on the idea that former officials cannot be impeached, and heavily cites the work of Brian Kalt, a professor at Michigan State's College of Law, who says that Trump's lawyers have "badly" misrepresented his work and engaged in "flat-out misrepresentations." —NBC News
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• —"Remember this day forever." Trump's attorneys also claimed he was "horrified" by the violence at the Capitol—a contention unsupported by his own tweet, hours after the insurrection, in which he called the perpetrators "great patriots." An unidentified former senior White House official is also quoted as saying that Trump was "loving watching the Capitol mob." —The Daily Beast

Kinzinger: Save America. Convict Trump

"Impeachment offers a chance to say enough is enough. It ought to force every American, regardless of party affiliation, to remember not only what happened on Jan. 6, but also the path that led there. After all, the situation could get much, much worse—with more violence and more division that cannot be overcome. The further down this road we go, the closer we come to the end of America as we know it." —Adam Kinzinger in The Washington Post

Adam Kinzinger, a Republican, represents Illinois's 16th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.

MORE: Chuck Cooper: The Constitution doesn't bar Trump's impeachment trial —The Wall Street Journal

Hacker attempts to poison water supply

It was a very close call in Oldsmar, Fla., on Friday. The city nearly had its water supply poisoned by an excess of sodium hydroxide—also known as lye, a main ingredient in liquid drain cleaners—following a hack of the operating system at the city's water treatment facility. The plant operator on duty noticed in real time that a hacker had remotely hijacked his mouse and opened various applications. The operator immediately reversed the changes the hacker made. State and local authorities are working with the FBI to investigate the breach. The hacker could face state and federal felony charges. —The Hill

Legal trouble in the Peach State?

The Georgia Secretary of State's office has launched a formal investigation of Donald Trump's phone calls to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and other election officials in which he urged them to overturn the state's election result by "finding" votes for him. A complaint filed by George Washington University Law Professor John Banzhaf alleges Trump may have violated three Georgia state laws, including conspiracy and criminal solicitation to commit election fraud. Following the investigation, a criminal referral could be made to the state attorney general or district attorney. —ABC News

MORE: Voting groups call Georgia investigations empty partisan attacks —Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Moulthrop: We must choose democracy 

"I used to believe our democracy was fiercely resilient. I don't anymore. Now I understand that to make it so, we must all work harder. We should start by choosing democracy. None of us ever thought we'd have to do this, but given what has happened, this has to be our starting place. And in choosing democracy, we must be clear that we are choosing to put the nation's and community's interest before our own, choosing to participate and ensure access to the means of participation by all, and choosing to honor the outcome of elections." —Dan Moulthrop in Cincinnati Enquirer

Dan Moulthrop is CEO of the City Club of Cleveland, a free speech platform founded in 1912. 

MORE: Bill Scher: Making it easier to vote is good for Republicans, too —Washington Monthly

Focus on global democracy

An attempt by Republican state senators in Arizona to hold the Maricopa Co. Board of Supervisors in contempt failed yesterday. The lawmakers, insisting there were widespread irregularities in the November election, issued subpoenas demanding copies of the county's mail-in ballots and access to voting machines, but county officials have not complied without a court order. The Senate measure, which could have led to the supervisors' arrests, might have passed, but Republican Sen. Paul Boyer broke with his party. "Today's vote merely provides a little bit more time for us to work together charitably and amicably as friends," he said. What a concept. —Arizona Republic

• — California. A member of the far-right group the Proud Boys and a recently-elected member of the Sacramento Co. Republican Party Central Committee has said he will not resign, despite calls from Committee Chair Betsy Graves Mahan for him to do so. Mahan described the Proud Boys' views and actions as "inconsistent with the values of the Republican Party." Not so sure about that anymore. —Newsweek
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• — Virginia. Two Republicans are threatening third-party bids if they don't claim the GOP nomination in Virginia's gubernatorial race. On one side is Amanda Chase, a state senator known as "Trump in heels," who's won over the MAGA crowd with her anti-establishment positions and embrace of the false notion that Trump won the November election. On the other is former congressman Denver Riggleman, who has railed against Trump and his acolytes. The race is destined to be a test of Trumpism's staying power post-Trump. —Associated Press
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• — Wyoming. On the same day Wyoming's Republican Party censured Rep. Liz Cheney for her vote to impeach Trump, it also passed a resolution calling for a tightening of the state's voting laws, including the abolition of any form of mail-in balloting, curbside voting, or drop boxes; a requirement for people to register to vote in person rather than over the internet or by mail; and the rejection of electronic machinery to tabulate votes. —Casper Star Tribune

Charen: Republicans are now enemies of democracy

"In opposing Trump and working for a Biden victory, many of us in the Never Trump camp have been happy to make alliances with progressives and others who are committed to decency and the rule of law. Where we go from here is less clear. Some will become Democrats. Others will work to reform the Republican Party. Still others will consider forming a new party. America desperately needs a sane center-right party. The matter is urgent because as things now stand, every general election between Democrats and the current Republican Party will be a contest between democracy and its enemies." —Mona Charen in Haaretz

Mona Charen is a syndicated columnist, policy editor at The xxxxxx, and host of the Beg to Differ podcast.

I don't think the gravity of current disinformation campaigns and the conspiracy theories they fuel can be overstated. The way I see it, we are a nation at war. But war in the information age is hard to recognize—lies and deceit are much easier to produce and deploy than guns and bombs, and the ammunition flies freely over mass/social media. But the devastation wrought by this seemingly virtual combat is actually WORSE than conventional warfare, and VERY real.

Over-dramatization? Case-in-point: many lies and conspiracy theories have flown about coronavirus and official mitigation efforts. The deceit has sown enough doubt and confusion that many Americans (still!) refuse to abide rules like wearing face masks, social distancing, etc. The fallout is some 27 million Americans infected and some 463,000 dead in the space of one year. (By comparison, in the nearly four years that the U.S. was involved in World War II, American casualties numbered 1,076,245, with 405,399 dead, per Wikipedia.)

Moreover, the U.S. is LOSING this war. I have stated before, and it still holds true, that our 4% of the world's population accounts for roughly 20% of the world's COVID-19 cases and deaths. Our defenses need to be updated to effectively combat this new kind of enemy, and we citizens need to learn to discern factual information from competent sources, rather than indulge the temptation of more appealing alternate realities.

On that note, thank you, Topline, for your dedication to TRUTH. This is the best protection we have against the pandemic, threats to democracy, and the gamut of issues exacerbated by so much disinformation. —Brian S., Illinois

The views expressed in "What's Your Take?" are submitted by readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff or the Stand Up Republic Foundation.