Democrats need a do-over on impeachment
On the matter of insurrection, the question of causation is problematic. President Donald Trump should have been mindful that his rabble-rousing could lead to violence. But what he wanted (inappropriately) was a political demonstration outside the Capitol, in which thousands of people would chant, “Stop the steal,” “Fight for Trump,” and similar blather. He did not want them to storm the building. He did not want people to be killed and injured.
What he wanted was to intimidate Vice President Mike Pence and lawmakers with the size and zeal of the Trump-supporting crowd. He wanted Republicans to see his followers as a political force to be reckoned with, one that would subject the “RINOs” (redefined as any Republican who does not blindly tow the Trump line) to future primary challenges and political opposition if they did not agree to overturn the election result based on unproven allegations of election fraud and rigging.
All of that is despicable and impeachable. Still, it does not mean Mr. Trump caused an insurrection — even assuming, for argument’s sake, that what happened is properly labeled an “insurrection.”
If what the Democrats truly want is bipartisan consensus in the service of national security, rather than political combat, the articles of impeachment they plan to file should charge the president with (a) subversion of the Constitution’s electoral process, particularly the 12th Amendment counting of the sovereign states’ electoral votes; (b) recklessly encouraging a raucous political demonstration that foreseeably devolved into a violent storming of the seat of our government; and (c) depraved indifference to the welfare of the vice president, Congress, security personnel, and other Americans who were in and around the Capitol on Jan. 6.
That would be an accurate description of impeachable offenses. It would not disintegrate into legal wrangling over incitement, insurrection, and causation.
There are better ways to handle the current crisis in light of the fact that Mr. Trump will be out of office in (now) six days. Regardless of what I think would be the best course of action, though, the Democrats run the House. Impeachment is the constitutional remedy for egregious presidential misconduct. Therefore, Democrats are within their rights to press for impeachment; indeed, many Republicans agree that impeachment is the best way forward — and most probably would if we were months, rather than just days, from the end of Mr. Trump’s term.
If Democrats plead impeachment articles in a manner that is accurate and designed to promote consensus, Republicans who opposed impeachment would rightly be criticized — as long as Democrats were truly pursuing impeachment, rather than a political stunt (a real possibility). But if Democrats, under the guise of impeachment articles, write a political narrative that is factually dubious, that is designed to vindicate their long-held grievances against Mr. Trump, or that holds their political opponents to a more exacting standard of conduct than they apply to left-wing rioters, Republicans will object, as they should.