Impeachment – Again
The Impeachment Trial starts today, and with it, we begin the era of political show trials. Impeachment exists because of the separation of powers. It allows officers of the Executive and Judiciary to be removed from office. It makes no sense to put a former official on trial, nor is there any need. It is generally believed that a sitting President cannot be indicted, and thus there is a need for impeachment. Once out of office, the limitation is gone, and they can be charged with a crime. When Clinton left office, he reached an agreement to settle his case before leaving.
If Trump is really guilty of the crimes charged in the impeachment, then charge him in a regular court. The problem is that even immediately following the events, it was clear that Trump’s comments did not constitute incitement under the law. Since January 6th, it has been increasingly clear that a small group had planned this well in advance and independent of Trump’s speech.
In addition, it appears that Trump offered additional National Guard troops to enhance security, but the offer was rejected. There were many failures that day, and many people committed crimes and deserve to be charged. Sadly for Trump’s opponents, he was not one of them.
This is not to say that there was nothing wrong with Trump’s behavoir that day. Our behavior falls on a spectrum with noble at one end and evil at the other. Not every bad action deserves to be charged with a crime. To be charged with a crime, you must violate the law. So far, I have seen no evidence that Trump did this.
Though given the lack of any actual investigation, that lack of evidence should not be surprising. The House Impeached Trump, not on evidence, but emotion. For a large majority, that emotion was hatred. This was not the rule of law but the heat of passion about which the founders warned so frequently.
As it looks now, those who hate Trump will brag that he was the only President to be impeached twice. They neglect to realize it appears likely he will also be the only President to be acquitted twice. As time passes and emotions cool, this is likely to work in his favor.
Historians in the future will look back and see a black mark. It will not be a black mark on Trump for being Impeached, but a black mark on the House for abandoning the rule of law and letting their hatred for Trump rule their actions.
