Holding people responsible is no waste of time

 

Bill Knight column for 2-8, 9 or 10, 2021

 Sixty-four years ago this week, Illinois’ Argonne National Laboratory activated the first nuclear power generating system, and now energy of another sort is about to start in Washington. There, the Senate trial of ex-President Donald Trump is set to consider charges levied by the House’s impeachment stemming from inflammatory statements he made leading to January 6’s Capitol insurrection but also from months of false claims about a “stolen election.”

Despite comments from staunch Republicans like former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor – who said, “Our elected officials work for us, and they fail us when they decline to tell us truths that we, the people, don’t want to hear” – two House Republicans from Illinois, Mike Bost and Mary Miller, voted to overturn the results, joining 137 other House  Republicans and 8 Republican Senators. In particular, Ted Cruz of Texas and Josh Hawley of Missouri led Senate efforts to deny the certification of states’ ballots, yet they and six traitorous colleagues haven’t recused themselves from taking part in the Senate “jury” deciding on what’s essentially a House “indictment.”

Rand Paul (R-Ky.) moved to dismiss the trial as unconstitutional because Trump’s already out of office, a move defeated but with just five Republicans joining Democrats.

Illinois’ Sen. Dick Durbin and others concede that it’s unlikely that there will be the 17 Republicans needed to join the 50 Democrats to convict Trump, so alternative ways to hold him accountable are being considered.

Durbin has floated the idea of censure, and Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) has drafted a condemnation resolution, which would need just a simple majority to prohibit Trump from holding office.

“If he ever were to decide to run again, which may not happen, then likely a court or somebody would say. ‘OK, what about your behavior in January of 2021 including the congressional fact finding?’,” Kaine said. “Congress finding the facts would be given great deference by a court.”

Trump’s new lawyers Bruce Castor and David Schoen (replacing his previous team, which reportedly resigned rather than stress false claims of voter fraud) filed a legal brief saying he didn’t really incite the riot, and even if he did, he’s no longer in office.

Constitutional experts discount the latter argument. Indeed, the Constitution’s Article I, Section 3, Clause 6, states: “The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments,” not some, and Clause 7 says, “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.”

Trump was impeached while in office, and the Senate must try him. He’s been removed from office by voters, but conviction would also bar him from public office – and seemingly makes him vulnerable to criminal prosecution.

Another compromise needing just a majority instead of the two-thirds vote comes from the 14^th Amendment. Its Section 3 states that no public official who’d “previously taken an oath” to support the Constitution will hold office if they’ve “engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.”

Last week, House impeachment managers spelled out the “incitement of insurrection” accusation, writing, “He summoned a mob to Washington, exhorted them into a frenzy, and aimed them like a loaded cannon down Pennsylvania Avenue.” They also called on Trump to appear under oath about “incontrovertible facts about his conduct” culminating in the melee, which killed five that day, and led to two Capitol Police suicides and almost 140 officer injuries ranging from damaged spines to brain injuries. (He declined to voluntarily testify.)

Polls show many Americans support impeaching Trump. Monmouth University showed 56% backed impeachment and 57% supported prohibiting him from holding office, and Marist found 50% supporting impeachment and 9% unsure.

So: This exercise won’t waste time. If nothing else, it will present evidence, and even if the Senate acquits the defeated president, it will serve to publicly condemn Senators who show they lack the courage to hold him accountable for his words and deeds.