Donald Trump’s second acquittal, right or wrong?
Re: “GOP’s McConnell: Trump morally responsible for Jan. 6 attack,” Feb. 15 news story
Democrat House impeachment managers’ skillful presentation in favor of conviction was so articulate and poignant that they’ve actually convinced me — a diehard Trump supporter — to concede Trump’s moral guilt for the crimes charged.
Like Svengali, Trump might very well have masterfully conditioned, manipulated and nurtured supporters over months and years to readily embrace a questionable election narrative and alleged Democratic fraud, thereby motivating a small but vocal cadre to take up arms against “The Steal.”
But commenting after the vote to acquit, Sen. Mitch McConnell said that members of Congress aren’t elected as moral arbiters during impeachment trials.
They must adhere to precise legal standards when adjudicating, and Democrats simply overreached when claiming that Trump’s language on Jan. 6 “incited” unlawful conduct that day.
For many dedicated Trumpers, Democrats lost their moral stature when they collectively failed to take a politically incorrect, but uncompromising stand against rioting and mayhem during Antifa and BLM street violence in 2020. As a public employee, I experienced the chaos and threat to public safety firsthand in downtown Denver.
Capitol Hill Democrats asked Americans to feel the outrage when fascists defecated on their house, but they shamefully withdrew from vocally denouncing unlawful behavior when leftists were defecating on our house.
Trump was found innocent, in part, because Democrats ultimately failed to meet the threshold of credibility, both morally and legally.
Mark David Travis, Lakewood
Here’s a prediction: There will be a new political party of one sort or another before 2024. Adapting the words of Abraham Lincoln, a house divided against itself cannot stand.
The Republican party cannot endure half-reasonable and halfcrazy. Allan Ferguson, Denver
Trump 2 — Dems 0
Kirk Jamison, Centennial
Re: “Neguse, DeGette shine in impeachment spotlight,” Feb. 13 news story
It was expected, but still mildly shocking to witness the majority of Republicans firmly align with the radical, white nationalist, far right-wing of their party by not indicting the twice impeached former president.
The House managers, including two from Colorado, certainly proved he deserved indictment.
Thank you for highlighting the excellent remarks by House managers Congresswoman Diane DeGette and Congressman Joe Neguse in The Post. They spoke with integrity, clarity, passion and most importantly a deep understanding and respect for democracy.
They starkly made the case that the former president indeed incited a riot on Jan. 6.
It is inexplicable how 43 Republican senators declined to indict.
Kim Osborn Mullen, Denver
Re: “For Trump, no conviction — but historic repudiation,” Feb. 15 commentary
Jonathan Bernstein characterized the outcome of the Senate impeachment trial as a “strong bipartisan repudiation.” What it showed was the senators’ strong bipartisan ignoring of the evidence presented.
It is obvious that Bernstein is neither a lawyer nor did he watch the House managers’ and Trump lawyers’ presentations.
The House managers’ well-organized and edited video recount of the events of Jan. 6 overtly distorted the evidence by editing out any exculpatory evidence and abbreviating the remarks made by Trump on January 6.
In a normal court of law, the House managers would all have lost their law licenses for such manipulation of evidence.
Trump’s remarks on Jan. 6 could hardly have caused the riot which was shown to be planned several days before Jan. 6. You have to wonder, with all the prior information of the riot planning, those with the power to provide security did nothing. That should have been the focus of Bernstein’s article.
What is surprising is how many senators, Republicans and Democrats, failed to recognize the unlawful manipulation of evidence by the House managers, which was clearly pointed out by the Trump lawyers.
The acquittal should have been unanimous.
At least Trump did not arrange to pay the bail for the rioters, as Vice President Kamala Harris did for the rioters in Minnesota.
Can you imagine how that would have been reported by the media? Jim Lloyd, Lakewood
Send letters of 250 words or fewer to openforum@denverpost.com or 5990 Washington St., Denver, CO, 80216. Please include full name, city and phone number. Contact information is for our purposes only; we will not share it with anyone else. You can reach us by telephone at 303-954-1201.