“In other democracies, a leader who tried to overthrow an election result and incited a violent insurrection might well be cooling his heels in prison by now.
“In this country, the job of policing the President falls largely on the legislative branch. For four years, it has failed dismally to carry out this task. Even after the unprecedented events of last week (January 6, 2021), it’s far from clear that Congress will prove up to the task now. But this time, surely, and for the sake of American democracy, Trump must be held accountable.”
– John Cassidy, author and staff writer at The New Yorker
Donald Trump must be punished for his part in encouraging and leading the riot on Congress on January 6, 2021. A President of the United States is not above the law. His actions caused a coup bent on destroying democracy. He is guilty of the charges of high crimes and misdemeanors for whipping up an insurrection and for disrupting the peaceful transfer of power.
Yet, it is possible that Trump could do, again, even in the face of all of this traitorous behavior, what he’s done over and over: evade the most serious consequences and emerge darkly emboldened.
Former Trump publicist Alan Marcus said …
“He (Trump) is fueled by grievance. This is his fuel. They just gave him high octane. If it were possible to find a form of overreach that could restore him on some level, a swing-state GOP consultant said of another round of impeachment, 'it’s this.'”
(Michael Kruse. “How Trump Wins Impeachment, Again.” Politico. January 13, 2021.)
It appears most Republicans want Trump to go scot-free. They fear for their own political futures even after the violent insurrection. Instead of punishing and purging Trump – swiftly sending him into well-deserved political exile – they are tempted to let the moment pass and allow Trump's corrosive control over the GOP – and, in turn, over the country – to persist.
(John Cassidy. “Trump Can’t Be Allowed to Escape Justice Yet Again.” The New Yorker. January 11, 2021.)
Or Republicans could act with resolve and save whatever face is left in their party. However, with many G.O.P. members already trying to shirk their responsibilities in the immediate aftermath of the insurrection, how much less likely are they to answer the call in coming months? They will not. Instead, they remain indifferent and complicit in the crimes of Donald Trump.
USA TODAY reported …
“As the Senate takes up the House-passed article of impeachment, evidence of Trump's guilt is overwhelming: inciting anger among millions of followers for weeks with lies about a stolen election; exhorting thousands to march on the Capitol on Jan. 6 just as Congress was ratifying the victory of President-elect Joe Biden; and resisting pleas to call off the insurrection.”
(Editorial Board. “Trump Senate trial offers Republican Party an escape from his death grip on its future. USA TODAY. January 21, 2021.)
Trump must be barred from ever holding public office again – something impeachment would do. However, legal experts say only a criminal prosecution could hold Trump fully accountable for his actions. He should face criminal charges for his reckless behavior.
Mary B. McCord, a former Justice Department official and Georgetown University law professor, says …
“The facts currently known warrant a criminal investigation of the president and others who were involved in inciting the insurrection at the Capitol. Whether charges should be brought will depend on the results of that investigation and considerations of prosecutorial discretion, but accountability is important in the face of such grievous and dangerous abuses of power and privilege.”
(David G. Savage. “How likely is it that Trump will face criminal prosecution after leaving office?” The Los Angeles Times. January 09, 2021.)
Many people wonder why the crooked, autocratic leader didn't give himself a pardon before leaving office on January 20. Here's why – doing so would mean Trump would then be seen as admitting he committed serious crimes necessitating that pardon.
David Savage, who has covered the Supreme Court and legal issues for the Los Angeles Times in the Washington bureau since 1986, reports: “The Justice Department is not likely to stand aside and allow such a precedent to go unchallenged because it might suggest that a future president with criminal tendencies could steal billions, sell national secrets or even murder opponents, and then walk away scot-free.
In fact, if Trump were to pardon himself, federal prosecutors might be more likely to charge him with a crime, some experts say. Doing so would then require judges and ultimately the Supreme Court to decide whether the president has an absolute power to commit crimes with impunity.
So, here we are on January 24, 2021. Trump's Senate impeachment trial will begin the week of February 8. The Senate will need 67 votes to convict him. If all 50 Democrats support a guilty verdict, they will need 17 Republicans to join them. The chances of that happening are slim and none.
Republicans will likely vote to let Trump go unpunished. They continue to fear his influence. Think of it. A president will escape all responsibility for his criminal actions. Perhaps charges will be pursued in courts. But, as we all know, his political allies will not hold Trump accountable. More insane division will come and Trump will persist in lying and power grabbing.
Consider the future actions of this Republican Frankenstein monster. The beast will not fade from existence and will likely roam the political arena, no matter the actions brought against him. It is GOP theater steeped in fear and divisive loathing.
Hank Sheinkopf, a longtime, New York-based Democratic strategist, says …
“He will continue to have this power. Because to his followers, he will be a victim of the powerful, who are now turning this into a racially diverse, non-white-male-dominant, non-blue-collar environment. He will be the hero of the put-upon who have been stabbed in the back … by those who run government. Which is how shame and disgrace become honor and a battle cry.”
This will be true, Sheinkopf said, regardless of whether or not Trump is still the president, regardless of whether he was impeached twice, and perhaps in some twisted way because he’s no longer the president and because he was impeached twice.
Sheinkopf says …
“What he represents to those who follow him is a very simple phrase, which is: ‘Look what they did to us again.’ And Trump is the guy that says, ‘Look what they did to me—now help me finish them off.’”
(Michael Kruse. “How Trump Wins Impeachment, Again.” Politico. January 13, 2021.)
After all good old Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs, speaking in defense of the president, made a version of this very point. He warned the Democrats, “even if you are successful today, and were the Senate to convict President Trump, yours will be a Pyrrhic victory. For instead of stopping the Trump train, his movement will grow stronger, for you will have made him a martyr.”
Republicans have the power to stop the scourge. They will not and the monster will live to abuse, divide, and destroy once more. Donald Trump has proven to the nation that political affiliation is more powerful than justice. The GOP endorses a deranged leader because he has a loyal cult that votes for their party of White nationalists. It is too late to say “We're sorry” and too late to reverse the indelible damage inflicted by their brutish creation.
“Liberty, however, had been a useless gift to me, had I not, as I awakened to reason, at the same time awakened to revenge. As the memory of past misfortunes pressed upon me, I began to reflect upon their cause – the monster whom I had created, the miserable daemon whom I had sent abroad into the world for my destruction. I was possessed by a maddening rage when I thought of him, and desired and ardently prayed that I might have him within my grasp to wreak a great and signal revenge on his cursed head.”
– Victor Frankenstein from Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley (1817)
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