NYT Ed board Op Ed "Trump is Guilty"
There’s no doubt who must be held responsible for attacking the Capitol and trying to overturn the results of the election.
By The Editorial Board
The editorial board is a group of opinion journalists whose views are informed by expertise, research, debate and certain longstanding values. It is separate from the newsroom.
Feb. 12, 2021, 7:55 p.m. ET
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/12/opinion/trump-impeachment-guilty.html
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To excuse Mr. Trump’s attack on American democracy would invite more such attempts, by him and by other aspiring autocrats. The stakes could not be higher. A vote for impunity is an act of complicity. It is unfortunate that the country finds itself at this place at this moment, American pitted against American. But there is no more urgent task than recentering the nation’s political life as peaceful and committed to the rule of law.
Mr. Trump stands charged with incitement of insurrection. For three days this week, House managers laid out a devastating case for conviction. Methodically, meticulously they detailed the former president’s effort to undermine and overturn a free and fair election, culminating with his fomenting an attack on Congress that resulted in the deaths of five people, and very nearly more. Mr. Trump spun lies and conspiracy theories to defraud and destabilize his followers. He told them that their votes had been stolen. He made them believe that everyone had betrayed them, from local officials to the media to the Supreme Court. He convinced them that the only way to save their nation was to “fight like hell.” Mr. Trump whipped his loyalists into a rage, summoned them to Washington, pointed them at Congress and then retreated to the safety of the White House to enjoy the show.
The prosecution had a glut of supporting evidence. The nine House managers, led by Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland, came armed with a cache of tweets and other social media posts. These included incendiary messages sent by Mr. Trump during the riot, as well as entreaties from other Republican officials for him to call for an end to the violence. Republicans recognized his power over the mob in the moment, even if some of their Senate colleagues are unwilling to acknowledge that reality today. The managers also presented corroborating news accounts, snippets of Mr. Trump’s speeches and interviews and, of course, video of the siege, some of it posted online by the rioters themselves. Dozens of graphic video clips were woven together in a tapestry of rage and madness. Police officers are seen being shoved, beaten, cursed at and crushed. Members of the mob smash windows and chant their desire to “hang Mike Pence!”
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Many G.O.P. senators made clear heading into this trial that — whether out of fear, fealty or both — they still aren’t prepared to cross Mr. Trump and risk alienating his cultlike following. At moments, some were visibly shaken by the evidence being presented, but a handful were so committed to telegraphing their disdain for the process that they couldn’t be bothered to watch the House managers’ presentation. They doodled or played on their phones or simply averted their eyes as the horror unfolded. This abdication of duty is heartbreaking for the nation. It isn’t just that these senators are putting the interests of a single man ahead of the interests of the nation; it’s also a tacit admission that the only constituents that many Republicans consider worth representing are their most partisan supporters. These lawmakers see themselves less as public servants committed to the common good than as party functionaries serving tribal interests.
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sorry about the paywall - all worth reading, and none a surprise to us here.
= new reply since forum marked as read
