The recent second impeachment trial of Donald Trump shows once again the weakness of the Democrats, or at least how they continue to be played by the Republicans.
McConnell and other Republican senators argued that Congress had no jurisdiction to try Trump since he was no longer in office. Therefore, they voted for acquittal even though the Senate had voted 56-44 that it did have jurisdiction.
Precedence also says the Senate did have jurisdiction. The most prominent example of a former government official being impeached is the corrupt Secretary of War William W. Belknap in 1876. He resigned as head of the War Department on March 2, 1876, just hours before the House voted unanimously to impeach him on bribery charges, thinking he could no longer be impeached.
However, the Senate proceeded with the trial. Constitutional law scholars have argued both sides of this issue, providing a flimsy cover for the Republicans.
But Trump’s impeachment happened while he was in office, and he could have been tried while he was in office. But the Democrats got outplayed.
Trump was impeached on January 13, and McConnell immediately said that the Senate would not start the trial until January 19, one day before President Biden’s inauguration. Thus, McConnell blocked the trial while Trump was in office and then had the gall to argue that Trump should be acquitted because he was out of office—a condition caused by McConnell.
What is so outrageous about this is that the House bowed to McConnell’s “wishes” when it could have delivered the articles of impeachment as early as January 14, and the trial would have started the next day.
From the “Senate Impeachment Rules,” established in 1868:
“Whensoever the Senate shall receive notice from the House of Representatives that managers are appointed on their part to conduct an impeachment against any person, and are directed to carry articles of impeachment to the Senate, the Secretary of the Senate shall immediately inform the House of Representatives that the Senate is ready to receive the managers for the purpose of exhibiting such articles of impeachment agreeably to said notice. . .
Upon such articles being presented to the Senate, the Senate shall, at 1 o’clock on the afternoon of the day (Sunday excepted) following such presentation, or sooner if so ordered by the Senate, proceed to the consideration of such articles.”
Being nice to wild snakes seldom works well.
During the trial, the Democrats withdrew their victory to call a witness because they were outplayed by the Republicans who threatened to call hundreds of witnesses and block legislative action (on Biden’s agenda) in the Senate. Sometimes you must call bluffs, and if not, as in this case, you (the House Impeachment Managers) should be duty-bound to make this threat known across the country.
If the Democrats had played hardball as many of us wanted, they would have subpoenaed Donald Trump and let him know that he would be forced to testify in person or have a deposition. Remember President Bill Clinton submitted to a deposition.
But I prefer the testimony. Undoubtedly, Trump would have appealed to the courts. But the U.S. Supreme Court is on record as supporting the fact that Congress, a co-equal branch of government, has the power to enforce its subpoenas, even if it meant sending their Sergeant-at-Arms and deputies to Mar-a-Lago and dragging Trump back to Washington.
With the spectacle of Trump on the stand, the public would have paid closer attention to the proceedings—receiving the facts of the case more firmly in the public mind.
The odds are high that the Republican Senators would still have voted for acquittal, but it would have been in a different environment.
The last straw will be if the Senate Democrats fail to exercise their power under provisions of the 14th Amendment to prohibit Trump–on a majority vote–from holding federal or state office in the future.