Trump denies impeachment charges as Democrats make clear their case for conviction
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WASHINGTON — Already clear, former President Donald Trump put the lives of all members of Congress in danger when he incited a mob of supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. House Democrats on Tuesday made their most detailed case yet for why they believe the former president should be convicted and permanently barred from holding any public office in the future. Trump, in a document, completely denied the allegations through his lawyers calling the upcoming trial unconstitutional.
The trial to be held in the very same chamber where the insurrectionists stood on Jan. 6. Democrats have been aggressively more accountability and transparency surrounding the events of that horrible day.
The impeachment trial, Trump’s second, begins in earnest on Feb. 9.
In a recent legal brief, a likely move by Democrats is to find any link between Trump’s baseless efforts to overturn the results of the presidential election and the deadly insurrection at the Capitol.
“His conduct endangered the life of every single member of Congress, jeopardized the peaceful transition of power and line of succession, and compromised our national security,” stated the Democratic managers of the impeachment case. “This is precisely the sort of constitutional offense that warrants disqualification from federal office.”
According to the 80-page document, Democrats write, “The only honorable path at that point was for President Trump to accept the results and concede his electoral defeat. Instead, he summoned a mob to Washington, exhorted them into a frenzy, and aimed them like a loaded cannon down Pennsylvania Avenue.”
Throughout the entire document, Democrats cite Trump’s unsuccessful plans to sway the Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger along with former Attorney General William Barr in helping him find fraudulent votes. Even as far back as September, Trump incited a radicalized group, Proud Boys, to “stand back and stand by,” which was recorded in a tweet at the time.
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Open in new tab Along with Trump’s 14-page filing, 5 times shorter than the brief written by the House, the Senate also unveiled their brief in an attempt to signal that Republicans may end up acquitting Trump when he stands before the Senate.
In the brief, laid out by Trump’s attorneys, his defense team claims that Trump’s remarks during his speech were taken out of context. His lawyers have ended up denying that Trump had ever endangered national security and that he played no role in the attack.
Many have continued to question whether Congress should simply move on and if it’s even Constitutional to impeach Trump even though he’s no longer in office.
In the week prior, 45 Republicans, along with party leader Mitch McConnell, voted in favor to dismiss the trial.
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As far as the whether it’s possible, the Constitution states,
No Person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
Amdt14.S3.1.1 Disqualification Clause
“This is not a case where elections alone are a sufficient safeguard against future abuse; it is the electoral process itself that President Trump attacked and that must be protected from him and anyone else who would seek to mimic his behavior,” the Democrats wrote in their brief.
“There is no ‘January Exception’ to impeachment or any other provision of the Constitution,” Democrats continued. “A president must answer comprehensively for his conduct in office from his first day in office through his last.”
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ATR News Social Media Editor Norman Malecki in Columbus, OH contributed to this report.
