There is a lot riding on this impeachment trial, not the least of which is the survival of democracy and free and fair elections over partisan rule and the overthrow of the majority. It’s been stated many times that America dodged the bullet this time, this election. But what about next time? What about a scenario where it’s not a 7 million popular vote and 74 electoral college vote lead, but something much narrower? We are looking at a very dark scenario indeed if the GOP votes to acquit Trump. The issue here is a lot larger than the reality TV actor from Hell walking scot free yet again. The issue here focuses on impeachment itself as a constitutional remedy.  The Triad:
The end result of this impeachment acquittal will be to destroy impeachment as a constitutional mechanism. From here on out, impeachment will be nothing more than a censure. And the censure will be erased completely from our legislative toolbox.
Again: This is very bad.
Our separation of powers is a delicate balance, which relies in part on the credible threat that when push comes to shove, the legislature can remove the chief executive. And this credible threat then creates a second, failsafe threat: That a political party might pressure its president to resign in order to avoid being removed.
Failing to convict Donald Trump makes impeachment a dead letter. And since future presidents will know that they can’t be removed from office, it will be impossible for members of their own party to force them to resign.
The already over-powered executive branch will be, going forward, basically unaccountable to Congress.
And at that point the stability of our political order will rest entirely on a gerrymandered Electoral College not allowing a minority of voters to install a wicked individual as president.
Fat chance of that. The reality is that there will be no stability in our political order and the democratic experiment in this country will sputter to an end, a car out of gas. That’s not hyperbole, that’s the simple fact of the matter.
Joe Biden has been in office only a few weeks and is already unearthing the fact that the coronavirus response was mishandled even more than was thought. Pence, McConnell, the lot of them were complicit in covering up the most spectacular mishandling of a public health crisis ever and contributing to the loss of life in this country.
This has stopped being about Republican v. Democrat. This is about democracy vs. those who would sabotage it. And that is what this impeachment trial is about.
The framers foresaw every possibility, with the exception of a Republican party so corrupt that it would rally to protect the worst sleaze ever to hold public office, because it’s afraid of its own voters. If the Republicans acquit Trump — and they most probably will — it will be a shot at the heart of the constitution itself and lasting damage will be done.
I’m, getting confused here with Schoen’s claims that the Trompador is being ‘denied due process’. He has refused to attend, question witnesses or make any plea even though that was offered. Equally there is nothing to stop his lawyers doing that on his behalf.
As far as I know, there is not, nor ever has been, the right to sit in on the decision whether or not a defendant should be present if charged and go to trial.
The trial is what is happening – what happened before was just a presentation of charges
I regret to say you are 100% right.
The framers could not conceive of the moral and ethical black-hole of the current Republican party because who could?
How can you cope with people with no moral boundaries?
Utterly frustrating and heartbreaking, Ursula. Because it’s utterly true. The odds are way too good that he will be acquitted again, and then what? Impeachment will become an empty threat to any future president, no matter what he/she does. It makes me totally sick at my stomach.
Impeachment as a constitutional mechanism to remove corrupt officials was actually destroyed with tRump’s first impeachment trial when the GQP proved that all that is necessary to thwart it is lock-step party loyalty.
The only silver lining I can discern from this bleak situation is that ordinary Americans will be so appalled by the evidence against Trump, they will support a criminal prosecution by the DOJ. Of course, Sen. Graham and others who now say “go ahead and arrest Trump” will sing a different tune then.