Dear Journal:
President Trump is being impeached, again, and the whole thing is maddening. First Republicans in Congress said, we need to wait for the impeachment trial until he’s out of office. Then they argued he can’t be tried for impeachment BECAUSE he’s out of office. That’s a fun bit of trickery. So, a president can break the law, commit crimes in the lame duck period, and he can’t be impeached and kept from holding office in the future? Umm, that’s some serious precedent to try to set, Senate Republicans.
However, it didn’t work. Enough senators voted that it IS constitutional to proceed. Maybe because the U.S. Constitution doesn’t say anything about not being able to impeach and try a public official once they’re out of office. In fact, it’s happened before. I feel like a trifecta is needed now, enough senators left with common sense, honesty, and integrity. It used to be that I had no doubt that Congress had enough such people to do their jobs and run our country. Now, I’m not so sure.
Watching and listening to the evidence being presented of what happened on January 6, is harrowing. That mob had weapons, they had handcuffs, they had erected gallows complete with a noose outside the Capitol Building. And they were specifically trying to reach Vice-President Pence, Speaker Pelosi, and others. But my concern is, have the Senate impeachment managers done enough to prove President Trump did, in fact, incite that mob to do what they did? His tweets are a matter of public record, as are his speeches, including the one immediately before the attack on the U.S. Capitol. It seems clear to me, that yes, he incited them. But next, his defenders will argue that inciting a mob is free speech. It’s not. And I have to wonder, are Senate Republicans even paying attention?
One senator appeared to read a book and study a map of Southeast Asia. Others read magazine articles and doodled. What juror, in any trial, would put on such a deliberate show of not doing their constitutional duty? Do they hold such contempt for their own jobs? Meanwhile, other senators, on both sides of the aisle, are paying attention, and taking copious notes. I can only hope it will be enough.
Song of the day: Fortunate Son, Creedence Clearwater Revival
Karen Harris Tully is a novelist living in Raymond with her husband and two small children. She writes sci-fi/fantasy for teens and adults and can be found at www.karenharristully.com.
