by Michael Goodwin
Given that there have been only four presidential impeachments in American history, and given that only one man has twice suffered the indignity, viewers who tuned into the start of Donald Trump’s second Senate trial had a right to expect a buzz of excitement and a sense of drama.
What they got instead was buzz-kill and all the drama of watching paint dry. Who knew impeachment could be so lifeless and history so meaningless?
Certainly Chief Justice John Roberts knew. His refusal to preside reveals the exercise to be a cheap knockoff rather than the real thing.
And it’s impossible to believe the Founders would approve of Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont acting as both a juror and presiding officer, a conflict of interest so large that it alone renders the trial out of bounds, as Trump lawyer David Schoen effectively argued. His display of Leahy tweets calling for conviction sealed the argument that Leahy cannot be viewed as neutral.
For viewers, Day One was mostly a dud, in that they didn’t even get a trial, only a debate about whether there should be a trial. The dueling videos were the most interesting part, but they were also irrelevant to the threshold question of constitutionality.
Although it passed in a late-afternoon vote with six Republicans joining all 50 Dems, the impeachers’ victory will be temporary. Their fundamental problem is that there can be no tension about the proceedings because there is no tension about the outcome, and thus no logical reason for the trial.
Trump is a private citizen in Florida, Joe Biden sits in the Oval Office and acquittal is rightly a foregone conclusion. The smart idea would be to call the whole thing off, on both constitutional grounds and common sense.
THANKS SO MUCH,, IT MEANS THE WORLD TO US IN THESE DIFFICULT TIMESֱ