WASHINGTON – Following the conclusion of day three of President Trump’s historic second Senate impeachment trial, Constitutional Accountability Center President Elizabeth Wydra issued the following reaction: 

House Managers have presented in damning detail the threat to democracy that former President Trump posed to the country on January 6. They have made a case that Trump’s attorneys cannot refute.  

Trump incited a mob to attack the Capitol and stop the counting of electoral votes, threatening the lives of all those within the US Capitol, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former Vice President Pence.  Seven people, including three Capitol Police officers, died and more than a hundred law enforcement officers injured. The last time our Capitol was sacked was when the British did so in the War of 1812. Not even during the Civil War was Congress disrupted in its counting of electoral college votes. With images and facts we had seen before, and many others we had not, House Managers have shaken the American people to their core.    

One would imagine that the Senators, hearing and watching this presentation, would be shaken to their core, too, and solemnly do the right thing: Stand up for the Constitution and our country, and convict. But unfortunately, it is apparent that some—perhaps most—Senate Republicans are intent on abdicating their duty.  

This would be a historic shame. A president who has engaged in such dangerous and deadly incitement of insurrection should be convicted and disqualified from further office, regardless of whether he is a member of your preferred party. (For heaven’s sake, even if he were a member of your very own family, the facts compel conviction.) This is not a political game. It is no less than a vote on the future of American democracy. 

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Resources:  

Elizabeth Wydra discusses President Trump’s second impeachment trial on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal, February 9, 2021: https://www.c-span.org/video/?508803-3/washington-journal-john-malcolm-elizabeth-wydra-preview-2nd-trump-impeachment-trial

CAC RELEASE: “In Second Trump Impeachment Trial, Senate Republicans Face Stark Choices,” Elizabeth Wydra, February 4, 2012: https://www.theusconstitution.org/news/release-in-second-trump-impeachment-trial-senate-republicans-face-stark-choices/

CAC RELEASE: “Historic Second Impeachment of President Trump: A ‘Critical Step Forward, But Congress’s Work Is Not Done,’” Elizabeth Wydra, January 13, 2021: https://www.theusconstitution.org/news/release-historic-second-impeachment-of-president-trump-a-critical-step-forward-but-congresss-work-is-not-done/  

CAC RELEASE: “Impeach, Remove, and Bar Donald Trump From Holding Federal Office Again,” Elizabeth Wydra, January 7, 2021: https://www.theusconstitution.org/news/release-impeach-remove-and-bar-donald-trump-from-holding-federal-office-again/

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Constitutional Accountability Center is a think tank, public interest law firm, and action center dedicated to fulfilling the progressive promise of the Constitution’s text and history. Visit CAC’s website at www.theusconstitution.org.

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