Impeachment Silver Linings

Three Takeaways from Trump’s Most Recent Trial

Like so many liberals and constitutional conservatives, I was disappointed by the outcome of the former president’s recent impeachment trial. But rather than quietly wallow in my despair or feebly decry the obvious danger to our republic such a decision both entails and engenders, I’d instead like to highlight a few positive developments from last week’s proceedings, the collective significance of which should not be overlooked.

The Pathway to Criminal Prosecution against the Former President Has Been Widened Considerably

As even Mr. Trump’s lead counsel, Bruce Castor, conceded in his opening statement, “if my colleagues on this side of the chamber actually think that President Trump committed a criminal offense… after he’s out of office, you go and arrest him…. there is no opportunity where the President of the United States can run rampant in January at the end of his term and just go away scot-free. The Department of Justice does know what to do with such people…”

That sentiment was then echoed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell who, immediately after voting to acquit the former president on a jurisdictional technicality, himself admitted:

Former President Trump’s actions preceding the riot were a disgraceful dereliction of duty…. There is no question that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of that day. The people who stormed this building believed they were acting on the wishes and instructions of their President. And their having that belief was a foreseeable consequence of the growing crescendo of false statements, conspiracy theories, and reckless hyperbole which the defeated President kept shouting into the largest megaphone on planet Earth.

But while McConnell went on to opine that “by the strict criminal standard, the President’s speech probably was not incitement,” that question is far from settled and should be properly adjudicated by a court of law and not summarily dismissed by either the Senate or the court of public opinion.

After all, the former president’s defense against the charge of incitement hinges almost entirely…