Biden and Congress must heal the nation

Donald Trump is now the United States’ first president to be impeached twice. And his latest trial in the Senate will not start until after he leaves office today. For that reason, some have said that the nation should move on.

We disagree. This trial must — and will — be held and we call on new President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Congress itself to help us in that healing.

For the sake of our democracy, the country needs a fair inquiry, accountability and appropriate consequences to ensure we never again see an insurrection in the Capitol or an attempt to undermine our electoral system.

As deep as the desire may be for national healing, that recovery requires that we fully understand and confront what happened. Of late, the more we learn, the greater the outrage. Expecting Americans to just set that aside is ridiculous. It’s as ridiculous as being assaulted in your own home and then giving your assailant a pass because he’s “learned his lesson” and probably is moving away and won’t ever hurt you again.

This trial won’t be the witch hunt the president claims. This will be the trial our Constitution calls for. Trump will have his opportunity to defend himself before the 100 jurors. Rather than rail against the process, Trump would serve himself best by working within it.

The nation deserves to hear all the facts. With each passing day, more personal accounts, videos and pictures surface documenting what happened before and during the Capitol insurrection the president incited.

We suspect much more information will see the light of day before the Senate renders a verdict on Trump’s actions and, if there’s a conviction, decides whether to bar him from holding office again.

The good news is that, because Trump won’t be in office during the proceedings, senators will be able to evaluate the case without facing threats and intimidation from the White House.

The president’s last impeachment trial ended with an almost purely party-line vote to acquit. This time, as more evidence surfaces of the brutal Capitol violence and destruction, of the physical danger members of Congress faced, some Republican senators seem ready to put principle above politics, such as Mitch McConnell, who enabled Trump so much during his administration.

This time, Trump doesn’t have a nearly complete lock on the GOP, and this round will not be as starkly partisan. We saw that on Wednesday when the House vote for Trump’s second impeachment, unlike the first, was bipartisan, with 10 Republicans joining the Democrats.

In the Senate, McConnell, who is now the GOP minority leader, has made clear his anger at the “failed insurrection.” That’s a stark contrast to last time, when he indicated before the trial started that he supported acquittal and conducted behind-the-scenes coordination with the White House.

This time, there’s danger that the trial could prevent Congress from taking care of other critical business and overshadow and stall the launch of the Joe Biden presidency when we desperately need his leadership.

Yes, some things are likely to get slowed. But the Senate should be able to handle the important issues and the impeachment trial.

It will be important for our national security, combating the coronavirus, boosting our tattered economy and aiding those Americans most in need that the Senate find a way to balance the trial with confirming Biden’s cabinet picks and acting on his agenda.

Besides, if the impeachment trial fails, Senators can also invoke the less divisive — and simpler — 14th Amendment, passed in 186 to prohibit former Confederate officers and officials from holding office. To invoke it, the Senate would need only a simple majority rather than a two-thirds vote.

There’s also a risk that acquittal would embolden Trump and his followers. But there are times in history when we cannot let fear drive us from doing the tough work. That’s what members of the Senate must now do — listen to the evidence and then stand up and be counted.

Only then can the nation begin to heal.

For the sake of our democracy, we need a fair inquiry, accountability and consequences.