Trump's coming impeachment trial aggravates rift among Republicans

[webfact 82,145]

Trump's coming impeachment trial aggravates rift among Republicans

By Susan Cornwell

 

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) arrives at a luncheon on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., September 23, 2020. REUTERS/Erin Scott/File Photo

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The coming second impeachment trial of former U.S. President Donald Trump on a charge of inciting the deadly storming of the Capitol has aggravated a rift among his fellow Republicans that was on full display on Sunday.

 

At least one Republican, Senator Mitt Romney, said he believed the trial, which could lead to a vote banning Trump from future office, was a necessary response to the former president's inflammatory call to his supporters to "fight" his election defeat before the Jan. 6 attack.

 

Ten Republicans joined the House of Representatives in voting to impeach Trump on a charge of inciting insurrection, and the House is to present the charges to the Senate on Monday. Leaders of the narrowly divided Senate agreed to start the trial in two weeks, leaving time to confirm some of President Joe Biden's Cabinet nominees and possibly address his call for a fresh round of stimulus for a coronavirus-hammered nation.

 

"The article of impeachment that was sent over by the House suggest(s) impeachable conduct," Romney, a frequent critic of Trump who voted to convict during the first impeachment trial, told Fox News on Sunday. "It's pretty clear that over the last year or so, there has been an effort to corrupt the election of the United States and it was not by President Biden, it was by President Trump."

 

The night after Trump's supporters stormed the Capitol - an attack that left five dead, sent lawmakers into hiding and delayed Congress by a few hours in its duty to certify Biden's election win - multiple Republicans condemned the violence.

 

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell last week blamed Trump for the violent attack, saying he "provoked" the mob.

But a significant number of Republican lawmakers, concerned about Trump's devoted base of voters, have raised objections to the impeachment. Trump is the first U.S. president to be impeached after leaving office.

 

Senator Tom Cotton, another Republican, said the Senate was acting beyond its constitutional authority by holding a trial. "I think a lot of Americans are going to think it's strange that the Senate is spending its time trying to convict and remove from office a man who left office a week ago," Cotton told Fox News on Sunday.

 

Romney said he concurred with what he called the preponderance of legal opinion that an impeachment trial is still appropriate after someone leaves office. He said accountability required the trial, because Trump had led an effort to "corrupt" the national election that Biden won.

 

Not everyone agrees. "I think the trial is stupid," Republican Senator Marco Rubio told Fox News on Sunday, saying he would vote to end it at the first opportunity. "I think it's counterproductive. We already have a flaming fire in this country and it's like taking a bunch of gasoline and pouring it on top of the fire."

 

Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the trial will be fair but move at a relatively fast pace.

 

"It will be a fair trial but it will move relatively quickly," Schumer told a news conference in New York. He said it should not take up too much time because "we have so much else to do."

 

(Reporting by Susan Cornwell in Washington; Editing by Scott Malone and Matthew Lewis)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2021-01-25

 

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[sirineou 17,909]

Rubio said: "I think the trial is stupid,” Rubio said on “Fox News Sunday.” “We already have a flaming fire in this country,” he added, saying the trial would be “a bunch of gasoline. "

He is not a leader, he is a follower of the popular sentiment  of his base, why do we need representatives like him, why not have a computer calculate the popular sentiment of a particular constituency and vote accordingly, we could save a lot of money that way. 

trump's behaviour has to have consequences, otherwise what would deter any other president , Republican or Democrat from behaving similarly? If this does not raise to the level of a guilty verdict, what does?

[Jingthing 70,928]

The act of permanently banning from politics an American president that actively over the course of several months plotted to carry out a self coup climaxing in the incitement of a violent insurrection of white nationalist terrorists attacking the U.S. congress while it was finalizing the election that he lost is hardly stupid or counterproductive. It is necessary to at least try to do the right thing. Of course I have every expectation the republican party yet again will reveal themselves as the American party that is anti democracy and pro authoritarianism and give this disgraced ex president yet another pass.  The republican party deserves to go the way of the Whigs and the Know Nothings Parties of the past.

 

 

Edited January 25 by onthedarkside
graphic removed

[Jeffr2 9,895]

1 hour ago, Jingthing said:

<snip>The republican party deserves to go the way of the Whigs and the Know Nothings Parties of the past.

It is going away.  Been doing that for years.  The only way they can get the presidency is by gerrymandering.  They can't win the popular vote.

[candide 12,088]

From a tactical point of view, It's a win in any case for the Dems. If the GOP Senators finally support Trump and he is not convicted, it may even be more positive for the Dems.

[scorecard 21,317]

1 hour ago, Jingthing said:

The act of permanently banning from politics an American president that actively over the course of several months plotted to carry out a self coup climaxing in the incitement of a violent insurrection of white nationalist terrorists attacking the U.S. congress while it was finalizing the election that he lost is hardly stupid or counterproductive. It is necessary to at least try to do the right thing. Of course I have every expectation the republican party yet again will reveal themselves as the American party that is anti democracy and pro authoritarianism and give this disgraced ex president yet another pass.  The republican party deserves to go the way of the Whigs and the Know Nothings Parties of the past.

 

Agree, how true there's a lot to do at the moment but preventing trump from coming back ever again is also critical and cannot be pushed aside. And the process doesn't need to take that long.

 

Meanwhile Biden's teams can be 100% focused on Covid 19 stuff, their work doesn't need to be delayed. I can't accept that trump stuff needs to delay other processes. 

 

Further, I wonder if it's possible to pass an order that he is prohibited for life to be involved in any way in any form of politics or hold any position, official or otherwise which connects in any way to politics, any party. 

[Tug 22,341]

Hopefully after this the criminal trials can begin guilty politically then guilty criminally off to prison were he belongs 

[Paul Henry 1,699]

Trump tried everything he could to corrupt the election. He had his minions do all they could. From hiding and interrupting the ballot collections by removing collection boxes, have the post office sabotaged by its own head, a Trump appointee acting at the behest of Trump. Have his thugs intimidate voters at polling places the list goes on and this lying cheat says the Democrats tried to rob the election, just another outlandish lie from the king of all liars. The best place for him is have him gaoled, this would also be best for the Republican party, his follower will have deserted him by the next election...

Edited January 25 by onthedarkside
trolling comment removed

[Jeffr2 9,895]

This is enough to justify impeachment.

 

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/01/22/politics/trump-doj-attorney-plan-replace-acting-ag-false-election-claims/index.html

 

New York Times: Trump and DOJ attorney had plan to replace his acting AG and undo Georgia election result

 

Justice Department lawyer Jeffrey Clark nearly convinced then-President Donald Trump to remove then-acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen and use the Department of Justice to undo Georgia's election results, The New York Times reported Friday.

 

Clark -- who appealed to the former President's false claims of election fraud -- met with Trump earlier this month and told Rosen following the meeting that the then-President was going to replace him with Clark. Clark would then move to keep Congress from certifying the election results in then-President-elect Joe Biden's favor, according to the paper.

[Jeffr2 9,895]

This is a must watch.  Shows why Trump's supporters live in an alternate reality.

 

https://edition.cnn.com/videos/media/2021/01/24/fox-news-newsmax-coverage-of-biden-administration-political-divide-stelter-rs-vpx.cnn

[Jonnapat 1,884]

2 hours ago, Jeffr2 said:

It is going away.  Been doing that for years.  The only way they can get the presidency is by gerrymandering.  They can't win the popular vote.

Gerrymandering AND continued voter suppression as was witnessed last November with ridiculously long queues in many states.

[Berkshire 16,818]

 In the mean time, the rest of America is moving on without Trump...a pathetic and lonely man....

 

[New York (CNN Business) Many once-loyal members of Mar-a-Lago are leaving because they no longer want to have any connection to former President Donald Trump, according to the author of the definitive book about the resort.]

 

["Even here, people don't like him," Leamer said, referring to residents of Palm Beach -- many of whom voted for Trump in hopes of lower taxes and a booming stock market. "It's just another measure of how his power has declined."]

 

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/01/24/business/mar-a-lago-donald-trump-guests/index.html

 

Edited January 25 by onthedarkside
quote of hidden post removed

[Almer 1,085]

I didn't see the talks with Kim ending to well, 

Edited January 25 by onthedarkside
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[Rimmer 10,886]

A troll/flame has been removed

[Rimmer 10,886]

A troll post and replies have been removed