.
The allegations made in the articles of impeachment are very serious. As a Senator-juror, I swore an oath, before God, to exercise “impartial justice.” I am a profoundly religious person. I take an oath before God as enormously consequential. I knew from the outset that being tasked with judging the President, the leader of my own party, would be the most difficult decision I have ever faced. I was not wrong.
. . . [T]he President’s insistence that [Joe Biden and his son Hunter] be investigated by the Ukrainians is hard to explain other than as a political pursuit. There is no question in my mind that were their names not Biden, the President would never have done what he did.
The grave question the Constitution tasked senators to answer is whether the president committed an act so extreme and egregious that it rises to the level of a high crime and misdemeanor. Yes, he did.
The president asked a foreign government to investigate his political rival. The president withheld vital military funds from that government to press it to do so. The president delayed funds for an American ally at war with Russian invaders. The president’s purpose was personal and political. Accordingly, the president is guilty of an appalling abuse of public trust.
What he did was not “perfect.” No, it was a flagrant assault on our electoral rights, our national security and our fundamental values. Corrupting an election to keep oneself in office is perhaps the most abusive and destructive violation of one’s oath of office that I can imagine.
. . . [M]y promise before God to apply impartial justice required that I put my personal feelings and biases aside. Were I to ignore the evidence that has been presented, and disregard what I believe my oath and the Constitution demands of me for the sake of a partisan end, it would, I fear, expose my character to history’s rebuke and the censure of my own conscience. . . . [W]ith my vote, I will tell my children and their children that I did my duty to the best of my ability, believing that my country expected it of me. I will only be one name among many, no more or less, to future generations of Americans who look at the record of this trial. They will note merely that I was among the senators who determined that what the President did was wrong, grievously wrong.
Related Off-site Links:
Mitt Romney: A Profile in Courage as the American Republic Dies – Michael Hamer (Michael-In-Norfolk, February 5, 2020).
Romney Cites Faith as Inspiring His Vote to Convict Trump – Jack Jenkins and Emily McFarlan Miller (Religion News Service via National Catholic Reporter, February 6, 2020).
“Not Guilty”: Trump Acquitted On Two Articles of Impeachment As Historic Trial Closes – Philip Ewing (NPR News, February 5, 2020).
The Senate Has Spoken: U.S. Presidents Can Abuse Power Without Consequence – Sasha Abramsky (TruthOut, February 5, 2020).
UPDATES: Mitt Romney Just Showed Trump How a President Should Act – Brian Rosenwald (The Week, February 6, 2020).
Historian: With Impeachment Acquittal, the GOP Has Given Trump a Blank Check to Do Anything He Wants – Democracy Now! (February 6, 2020).
“A Pretence of Justice”: The Global Press on Trump's Acquittal – Jon Henley (The Guardian, February 6, 2020).
Donald Trump and His Democratic Opponents Are Grappling With Life After Impeachment – David Lipson (ABC News, February 6, 2020).
Trump Gloats Over Impeachment, But Popular Opposition Mounts to His Administration – Andre Damon (World Socialist Web Site, February 7, 2020).
American Democracy Is Dying – Ryan Cooper (Common Dreams, February 8, 2020).
See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• Quotes of Note Regarding the Senate’s Impeachment Trial of President Trump
• Quotes of Note Regarding the Impeachment of President Trump
• Progressive Perspectives on Corruption in U.S. Politics
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