Impeachment: “A charge of misconduct made against the holder of a public office”.
It seems like such a simple premise backed by hundreds of years of law and history, however in a modern America impacted by not only civil unrest but also a global pandemic, it is harder to hold people to certain standards. Everything is so divided that placing obvious blame to those who bolstered wrongdoing sometimes becomes difficult. This is especially seen towards the end of Donald Trump’s presidency and the emergence of a new Democratic leader.
This is the first time in American history that a President has been impeached twice, let alone be impeached after their time in office has commenced. Not a great thing to be known for, I’d say. Former President Donald Trump is under fire once again for his outwardly vocal opinion which some say helped to incite the attempted insurrection at the Capitol by rioters on January 6th. The conviction by the Senate would punish Trump with the “disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States”. This means Trump could never run for or hold public office ever again. So perhaps, and thankfully, no more #MAGA2024.
The House of Representatives lists off that Trump’s crimes are placed under “high crimes or misdemeanor”. On January 13th, in a shocking turn of events, ten House Republicans voted to impeach. This is incredibly rare. If Republicans themselves can see these transgressions, then it is truthful to say that Trump blatantly lied. Not only about election results, falsely proclaiming his win over now President Joe Biden, but also urging state officials to “find votes”. Yes, these are terrible and unfair, “sore loser”-like things to do, but I find his aggressive need to encourage Capitol rioters to be the most heinous. His words and actions during the months leading up to the insurrection fueled the rioter’s fire. Trump’s call to his supporters to “fight” and telling them to march through the statement, “You’ll never take back our country with weakness” is all the proof needed to showcase his aiding in this act of domestic terrorism.
The trial began on February 9th, 2021 with the House and Trump’s attorney’s presenting around four hours of argument. The arguments completed with a 56-44 vote permitting the trial to continue. Between the 10th and the 12th, each side was given sixteen hours (set over the course of 2 days) to argue once again about the impeachment. Neither side used all of their time. I wouldn’t want to either if I were them, as I’d personally get tired of hearing us all drone on and on. On the 13th, possible witnesses are to be called, and who may those be? That’s a mystery, especially since Trump’s lawyers may not use any at all since, they wish for a quick acquittal. If witnesses are called that can add even more length to the trial, so we’ll see if the Democrats call any as well. *Update: no witnesses were called*
As of the 13th the public now knows the final verdict to the riveting series that is Donald Trump’s presidential misdeeds. In the end, he was acquitted. Some may have hoped for his swift acquittal and others hoped he would’ve gotten a tough sentencing. Everyone should recognize that this is a true piece of history being created right before our eyes and how cool yet sad it is. I wish I wasn’t writing about our former President committing a crime within his last week in office, but here I am, and I’m more than happy to watch our government work hard to fix this mess.