Donald Trump was sworn in 0n Jan.20, 2017 as the 45th POTUS. On that day he swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution and enforce our federal laws. I don’t believe he meant it then and he told over 3300 documented lies while in office. He came up with the big lie about a stolen election in 2020 when the voters actually fired him. Unable to accept the loss, he participated in various schemes to remain in power. There was a pressure campaign on state and local election officials and fake electors were appointed to vote in the electoral college.
He finally tried to pull off an insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, by inciting a group of his loyalists to march on the Capitol to impede the certification of the electoral vote by the vice president and Congress. He was impeached for the second time for that offense but was not convicted in the Senate. A select congressional committee was appointed to investigate the tragic incident. After an 18 month deep dive into the matter the committee made criminal referrals to the Justice Department for violating four federal statutes, one of which was for inciting, assisting and abetting the Jan. 6th insurgency.
The committee presented a mountain of evidence showing Trump to be unfit for office. The 14th Amendment should preclude him from running for office due to his offenses on Jan.6th. It is up to the DOJ to charge Trump with crimes and take him to trial. There is clearly enough evidence to prosecute him, but this is an unprecedented situation and justice requires that a precedent be set. If Trump is not indicted and convicted it would leave the door open for another autarch to follow the Trump/Putin playbook to overthrow a free and fair election.
The electoral process is the backbone of a democracy and the peaceful transfer of power must occur to ensure the integrity of our constitutional republic. The democratic norms of probity must be followed and our institutions must be protected by our leaders. Trump’s last ditch roguery was to advocate the trashing of the Constitution and installing himself as dear leader. In our polarized political scene there has been precious little area for agreement between the parties, but if we cannot agree that Trump’s aberrant behavior disqualifies him for office, then I fear there is little hope for our political unity.
Don Hiddleson, Millcreek
