Impeachment - Round II
In the history of the United States, exactly one presidential candidate has lost and refused to concede. That same candidate, Donald Trump, is also the only sitting president to have been impeached twice in the House of Representatives. Many on the political right question whether it makes any sense to impeach Trump a second time, but it is the correct move. First, Trump incited the violent insurrection on January 6 that led to five deaths, and it is also likely that his team helped coordinate it. For these two crimes, there must be accountability. The other benefit to the second impeachment is that it can prevent Trump from ever holding federal office in the future.
Trump’s words near the end of his speech on January 6 are perhaps the most incriminating. After listing his achievements as president and calling President-Elect Biden an “illegitimate president,” he says the following:
“And we fight. We fight like hell. And if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore. Our exciting adventures and boldest endeavors have not yet begun. My fellow Americans, for our movement, for our children, and for our beloved country. And I say this despite all that’s happened. The best is yet to come. So we’re going to, we’re going to walk down Pennsylvania Avenue.”
It is worth mentioning that Trump is saying all of this from behind bulletproof glass, a rare sight at his rallies. Why is it there? It is there almost certainly because the Secret Service knew that there would be thousands of armed people at the rally. So here Trump is exhorting thousands of his armed supporters to march to the Capitol and “fight like hell” for their country.
Beyond Trump’s incendiary remarks on January 6, there is also evidence that the violent insurrection that followed was carefully coordinated by people working with the president. One key piece of evidence is a letter sent to the head of the DC National Guard by acting Secretary of Defense Christopher C. Miller on January 4. Maj. Gen. William J. Walker had requested that he be permitted to mobilize the DC National Guard after receiving credible reports that the January 6 rally was likely to turn violent. In Miller’s reply, he makes it clear that the DC National Guard did not have permission to engage in any sort of meaningful crowd control. They could not wear helmets or body armor, they could not make arrests, and they could not coordinate with law enforcement or other National Guard units (@lukebroadwater). How is one to read this letter? Why would Trump’s recently appointed acting Defense Secretary put such limits on the activities of DC’s National Guard? President Trump ended his January 6 rally speech at 1:10pm, and by 2:20pm, the rioters had breached the Capitol and were moving freely through its chambers and halls. It was only at 3:04pm that Miller finally gave permission to mobilize the DC National Guard. Since it took time for members of the DCNG to arrive at their posts, the first group did not arrive at the Capitol until 5:40pm. Perhaps Miller is simply inept (a possibility), but his January 4 letter and January 6 delay in calling up the DCNG certainly make it look as though he was aiding and abetting the rioters.
The benefit of the current impeachment trial is that the American people will know the extent of the plot to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Who was involved and to what extent? Without an investigation and accountability, we will never know. And if we never know, then it is highly likely that such an insurrection could occur again. We need to determine who is culpable for the crimes of January 6, and since the president himself seems to have triggered it, the process must involve him. Whatever the extent of Trump’s guilt, the other benefit of this second impeachment is that we might be able to ensure that he is never eligible to hold federal office again.
The Republicans are right that no president has ever been impeached after leaving office, and they’re also right that Trump’s second impeachment is legally unprecedented. This does not mean that it is unconstitutional, and it also does not mean that it is a bad idea. If we are ever to restore democratic normalcy to our country, we must find the people behind the January 6 coup attempt (let’s call it what it was) and bring them to justice. This includes the former president, and to get there, we need a trial. In the end, the second impeachment is about turning the page on the past four years and building a foundation for moving forward.
Works Cited
@lukebroadwater. “Here’s the Jan. 4 memo from former acting Defense Secretary requiring “personal authorization” for DC National Guard to employ riot control agents & other tactics at Jan. 6 “March for Trump.” This same day Capitol police knew of a “strong potential” for violence against Congress.” Twitter, 28 Jan. 2021, 9:00 AM, twitter.com/lukebroadwater/status/1354836817925832705.
