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Senate Show Trial Sets Dangerous Precedent
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On January 13, 2021, the Democratic-led House of Representatives voted by 232 to 197 to impeach President Trump of “incitement of insurrection.” This week, the Senate kicked off the impeachment trial.
On Tuesday, the upper chamber voted on the Constitutionality of the proceedings or rather whether or not it is Constitutional to impeach a non-sitting President. As a reminder, Article 1, Section 3, of the Constitution states:
“The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two-thirds of the Members present.
Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.”
The punishment for impeachment is removal from office and “…disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States…” It does not say or the “…disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States…”
Unfortunately, in a purely political move, the majority of the Senate, including 6 Republicans, voted to proceed with the trial, despite the clear unconstitutionality of the process.
After this vote, things took a more dramatic turn. The House Managers repeatedly used security footage from the January 6th insurrection in the Capitol. But this “evidence” most likely won’t change the minds of any Republican Senators who are on the fence about the acquittal. It is quite obvious that Republicans, as well as Democrats, objected to the violence, but the “prosecutors” did not prove their case that President Trump was to blame.
CNN reported that “Sen. Lindsey Graham said he couldn't believe "we could lose the Capitol like that" but added that it didn't change his mind on whether to acquit Trump during the trial. ‘"I think there's more votes for acquittal after today than there was yesterday"’
CNN goes on to report that:
“Sen. Mike Braun said the managers' visual presentation was "riveting," adding, "It's just as kind of hard to take now as it was then." But when asked if it had changed his view, the Indiana Republican said, "When you think the process is flawed in the first place, I think it's going to be different to arrive at a conclusion on the facts and the merits itself." And Sen. Ted Cruz said a direct link from Trump to the pro-Trump riot was "strikingly absent." The Texas Republican claimed that "there's not a political candidate in the country," including "every single one of the Democratic senators," who hasn't used the same language as Trump, who told his supporters ‘"to fight like hell."’
Instead of using the outrageous violence on January 6th to exact political revenge on President Trump, Congress should do its job, to defend the Constitution and the American people, by asking questions about why it was so easy for the Capitol to be breached, and to continue to cooperate with law enforcement personnel to convict those that perpetrated the criminal behavior, not to simply punish speech. It is important to note that no committees, in either the House or Senate, have held hearings related to security following the insurrection. Instead, the Acting U.S. Capitol Police Chief indicated that the fencing, around the Capitol and its campus, should be permanent.
The Senate impeachment trial is another liberal show of their hatred for President Trump. And, as Eagle Forum warned previously, this unconstitutional proceeding sets a very dangerous precedent. If President Trump is convicted, this opens the door to allow the legislative branch to impeach any former President, Supreme Court Justice, or Governor, etc. for purely political purposes.
While the events that happened on January 6th are deeply regrettable, it was not President Trump’s fault that they did happen. It’s worth repeating, as Senator Cruz stated that “there’s not a political candidate in the country… who hasn’t used the same language as Trump.”
For these reasons, we encourage you to contact your Senator and ask them to vote against convicting President Donald J. Trump of “incitement of insurrection.”
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Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121
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