WS Chronicle

By Dr. James B. Ewers Jr.

Sometimes in life, the picture is as clear as water. We know what we want, but it is not what we get. So, we are left frustrated and wanting.

Stating the truth and laying out the facts do not always get you the outcome you desire.

The second impeachment trial of former president Donald Trump began on Feb. 9. If you recall, the first impeachment trial ended up in his favor.

The basis of this impeachment trial was the insurrection that occurred at our Capitol on Jan. 6. Trump started it by calling people to Washington and then exhorting them to storm the U. S. Capitol.

Supporters of his were violent and it resulted in five people dying and more than 140 people injured. This armed insurrection by Trump loyalists and zealots was more than this country had ever witnessed.

House Managers made a compelling case to convict the former president. Video evidence showed him urging protestors to riot. Following his insistence, they did.

With that much visual evidence, you would think a conviction would follow. That would be in normal times. These are not normal times.

Proof and evidence did not mean much, at least during this Senate trial to convict Donald Trump. There were only seven senators who believed that evidence mattered.

The majority of the Republican senators sided with Trump. Was that surprising? No.

It has been well documented that he has a stronghold on the Republican Party. The Senate Republicans who sniff at his heels are simply afraid of him.

Bruce Castor and Michael van der Veen led the defense of Donald Trump. Their arguments were poor and puny. They did not have a case. The facts weighed against them and Trump was guilty as charged.

However, Castor said, “It is about cancelling 75 million Trump voters and criminalizing political viewpoints. It is the only existential issue before us. It asks for constitutional cancel culture to take over the United States Senate.”

Some may say the words were put together well. However, the sad reality was that there was an insurrection and Trump instigated it.

Van der Veen said, “The president’s remarks explicitly encouraged those in attendance at the rally to exercise their rights peacefully and patriotically.”

Mr. T’s lawyers had the facts wrong and were spreading falsehoods throughout their defense of him. It was appalling to me that his defense team wallowed in lies. We know that you can’t defend the indefensible.

The former president had been setting the stage for months before the insurrection. Even then, he was talking about voter fraud and having the election stolen from him. Noah Feldman, professor of law at Harvard University, said as much on a recent CNN interview.

On Saturday, the Senate voted to acquit Trump by a vote of 57-43. Seven Republican Senators brought their own guts and voted against him. They will end up on the right side of history. Those that voted for him will hide in a trough of lies and alternative truths. They will return to their districts having been bought for a few pieces of silver and two minutes of failed fame. They will be marked for life with the stain of ineptitude.

Don Lemon, CNN anchor said, “What a terrible legacy Donald Trump has left.” America agrees, at least those of us who know right from wrong.

The GOP has lost its direction. They are in a political wilderness.

In my opinion, there might just be two Republican-type parties in the future. Neither will have any power.

Their demise and decay will be because of one man, Donald Trump. He was a former television jock who fooled some Americans into believing he could be a U. S. president.