Letter to the editor: Trump’s second impeachment
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This week, Donald J. Trump became the first president to become impeached by the House not once, but twice during his four years in office. After a deplorable gang of rioters invaded the Capitol Building last week, Congress deemed that Trump’s rhetoric, during a rally beforehand, incited the violence.
The insurrection on Jan. 6 can easily be traced back to the very words that have been exiting Trump’s mouth for months. From the unfounded claims of voter fraud, to the half-baked notions of overturning the electoral college votes, his message was broadcast loud and clear.
That message: They are trying to steal our country — and the presidency — from us.
The indisputable truth surrounding the election is that it was largely secure, with a few cases of fraud which were addressed and had little impact on the results. Multiple recounts and audits proved the legitimacy of the election, with judges across the country — including the Supreme Court — ruling cases to the contrary were void of any evidence sufficient to overturn the results.
Trump and other voices continued to press on with their conspiracy theories and fueled the fire of resistance, all the way up until Congress met to verify the Electoral Votes and officially declare Joe Biden the president-elect.
During the debate over impeachment on Jan. 13, members of the GOP contended that, despite the inflammatory nature of Trump’s remarks at the rally, he had committed no crime and was protected by the First Amendment.
The constitution does not explicitly define what constitutes an “impeachable offense.” Article I of the document provides vague language, limiting applicable offenses to “bribery, treason or other ‘high crimes and misdemeanors.’” Despite the word “crime” in the text, much debate has suggested that it does not indicate the need for a legal crime to have been committed.
Richard Lempert, sociologist and former Brookings Expert, expounded upon this notion in an article on The Brooking Institution’s website. He wrote that Alexander Hamilton asserted that impeachable offenses “are those offenses which proceed from the misconduct of public men, or, in other words, from the abuse or violation of some public trust.”
Clearly, Trump’s actions surrounding the insurrection on Jan. 6 check all those boxes and more than necessitate a conviction in the Senate.
Ultimately, it is up to the 100 men and women in the Senate to determine whether or not Trump is guilty of such offenses, but the ruling will also serve as an indictment on the American public. Over the past couple decades, our politics and political discourse has descended into a hyper-partisan bloodbath of thoughts and vitriol.
Both sides are to blame for the distrust of one another, but to what end is it acceptable to turn that vitriol into rhetoric?
In the eyes of the Republican party, violence during the Black Lives Matter protests in the summer of 2020 were just as destructive and consequential as the attack on Congress. However, those protests stemmed from an existential threat caused by police brutality and systemic racism within police departments.
The “Stop the Steal” narrative that led to the violence in D.C. was a result of misinformation and a leader who couldn’t (and to this day still can’t) accept the results of a free and fair election. Members of the mob were seeking to undermine democracy and stop the process of certifying votes cast by fellow Americans — something that should not be welcomed or condoned by anyone.
So to the question of whether President Trump should be convicted, and eventually barred from running for public office in the future, the answer is a resounding yes. No leader, Republican or Democrat, should be allowed to incite political violence and not be held accountable.
Scott Froehlich is a journalism student who is in his senior year at Utah State University. He lives in Tooele, Utah with his wife Jessica and son Adam.
swfroehlich@gmail.com