Friends —

It’s difficult to fathom that, barely a year after the first impeachment trial of Donald Trump, we must force the American people to go through this process again.

And let’s be clear about this: It is Donald Trump who forced us to take this action. Nobody wanted to be doing this during the early days of a new administration and Congress, but it is what must be done because justice matters. We must make clear that nobody is above the law.

This time, my colleagues and I are not just jurors. We’re also witnesses, which makes this a unique situation. We all saw the violence that Donald Trump incited. We were the targets.

Yet some of my Republican colleagues refuse to judge this case on the merits out of fear of Donald Trump and his supporters. They instead want to argue that the process itself is unconstitutional -- despite any serious lawyers willing to present that case on the merits.

Violent, far-right extremists have been emboldened by the January 6 attack on the Capitol.

The bottom line is that Donald Trump is a white supremacist authoritarian who incited an insurrection against the United States, and we will do everything we can to hold him accountable for his crimes.

But the truth of the matter is that the overwhelming majority of the Republican caucus walked into this trial already intending to acquit Donald Trump. They don’t care about the evidence. They are witnesses to the crime, but they have decided to put political calculations above all else.

If the impeachment vote was a secret vote, Republicans would convict Trump without question. The problem is they're too cowardly to do what they know is right.

Some folks may ask why bother if we know the results in advance — especially when there are other pressing crises at hand. I hear that, but I believe it’s important for our democracy that we try. It will not be those of us currently in the Senate who write the history of this moment, but when it is written, it must be known that there were those who did take a stand and sought justice. Those of us who fundamentally believe in democracy and the American experiment lived up to our oaths of office to defend and protect the constitution.

Let me also assure you that this body is capable of doing more than one thing at a time. Confirmation hearings for President Biden’s appointees continued today, and our legislative process will not be slowed down. We will deliver a coronavirus relief package that meaningfully helps working people across this country.

More to come.

- Ed Markey