![]() They also showed that the seeds of this insurrection were planted last spring when Trump’s supporters twice stormed the Michigan State Capitol to protest the state’s stay-at-home order – designed to help combat Covid-19 pandemic – and plotted to kidnap Michigan Gov. The managers presented evidence of the former President’s support for the “fine people” whose conduct resulted in the tragedy in Charlottesville and subsequent occasions when he condoned violent behavior. Over the last two days, the House managers did just that. In any trial, the accusing party must connect the dots between the words and actions of the defendant to the harm that occurred. The only question for the senators is a factual one: Did the then-President’s conduct incite the insurrection? Second, no serious constitutional scholar argues that the First Amendment protects speech that incites violence. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images) SAUL LOEB/AFP/AFP via Getty Images US President Donald Trump looks on during a ceremony presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom to wrestler Dan Gable in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC on December 7, 2020. The Tuesday vote is binding in this case and leaves only the issue of guilt or innocence to be determined. In my view, the House impeachment managers presented a concise and compelling case that former President Donald Trump incited the insurrection of January 6.Īt the outset, it is important to be clear that two “legal” issues have been dispensed with and should not be part of any senator’s deliberations.įirst, regardless of one’s personal opinion about the Senate’s jurisdiction to hear the impeachment case, this issue was decided by a bipartisan vote of the Senate on Tuesday evening: It is constitutional to try a former president following the presentation of the articles of impeachment. And when those consequences include a violent insurrection in our nation’s Capitol like the one on January 6, accountability is an absolute necessity, in order to protect our democracy. Coming from Alabama, where we all too often have witnessed political figures using “dog whistle” style rhetoric to inflame passions and in many cases incite violence, I also remind people that words have consequences as well. ![]() In today’s partisan political world, we often hear folks on both sides of the aisle say, “Elections have consequences,” to explain policy shifts they support.
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