{"id":30607,"date":"2021-02-08T16:44:16","date_gmt":"2021-02-08T16:44:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/radiofree.asia\/?guid=56fad2b316cbe92b1b519f038d04e92a"},"modified":"2021-02-08T16:44:16","modified_gmt":"2021-02-08T16:44:16","slug":"with-trumps-second-impeachment-set-to-begin-how-will-it-differ-from-the-first","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2021\/02\/08\/with-trumps-second-impeachment-set-to-begin-how-will-it-differ-from-the-first\/","title":{"rendered":"With Trump\u2019s Second Impeachment Set to Begin, How Will It Differ From the First?"},"content":{"rendered":"\"donald<\/a>

The era of Donald Trump is not over, unfortunately. Yes, he has retreated to his compound in Southern Florida and has been uncharacteristically out of the public eye since he left office on January 20th. But <\/span>his presence still hovers<\/a> <\/span>over the Republican Party like an evil genie pulling the party leadership’s strings and keeping the rank and file under his spell despite the fact that he’s been banned from social media and is refusing to appear on TV or talk radio.<\/p>\n

This week, Trump will be very much at the center of our political world once more when his second impeachment trial begins.<\/p>\n

As exhausting as it may seem to have Trump on the stage again, it is vitally necessary. The man tried to overturn the election and illegally install himself in the White House for four more years. While it’s still unlikely the impeachment managers from the House of Representatives will be able to get 17 Republicans senators to put their country before their party, the record will be kept for posterity and hopefully the country will figure out a way to close the holes in our system that Trump exposed during his four years in office. The impeachment managers had better get to work doing that because just as it is highly unlikely they will be able to convict Trump of his abuse of power it’s equally unlikely that they will be able to disqualify him from running again (although that is disputed<\/a>). God forbid, it is possible that we could have President Trump again<\/em> on January 20th, 2025.<\/p>\n

There has been a lot of back and forth on the issue of whether or not it’s constitutional to even hold an impeachment trial of a president who is no longer in office. The brief Trump’s lawyers submitted suggests that they will be leaning hard on the idea that it’s unconstitutional as their defense, which is understandable since the GOP senators signaled that was the ticket out <\/span>when 45 of them voted for a resolution saying that it was<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, there has been pushback on this from some highly respected conservative legal scholars from the Federalist Society, notably former federal judge Michael McConnell<\/a> and Charles J. Cooper, who is as stalwart a right-winger as exists in the Republican legal world. Cooper has worked closely with Ted Cruz of Texas and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy as well as provided counsel for every conservative legal crusade from anti-abortion cases to gun rights. Writing in the Wall Street Journal<\/em><\/a> <\/em>on Sunday, Cooper points out that the idea a president cannot be impeached after leaving office makes no sense considering the provision that allows the Senate to bar him or her from holding office again. He says, “it defies logic to suggest that the Senate is prohibited from trying and convicting former officeholders.”<\/p>\n

There was a time when an opinion from Charles Cooper would hold great sway with Republican senators. But they have mostly been immune to reason when it comes to Trump for years now and that hasn’t changed since he left office. Still, if there are any conservatives looking for some back-up to argue the point, he’s given it to them.<\/p>\n

The House managers will be presenting a case that says, “you all know what you saw, here’s a reminder.” They will air video clips showing that for weeks Trump riled up his voters with the Big Lie about the election and then called them to Washington, promising it would be “wild<\/a>,” and then incited them<\/a> to storm the Capitol to stop the counting of the electoral votes. He told them he was going up there with them but went back to the White House instead. Did he suspect there was going to be violence? It’s a question worth asking. Back at the White House he watched the insurrection on television and did nothing for hours<\/a> until he reluctantly issued this video:<\/p>\n

\n

“Go home, we love you, you’re very special” <\/p>\n

President Trump repeats false claims the US election was ‘fraudulent’, following one person shot and an improvised explosive device found on #Capitol<\/a> grounds. <\/p>\n

Follow live: https:\/\/t.co\/9WUWn0WfmL<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/5gWVrb3tBz<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Sky News (@SkyNews) January 6, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n