Dangerous Precedent
Imagine a situation where a trial is set to begin, those responsible for prosecuting have filed charges, and after the jury is sworn in…without hearing anything other than what the basic charges are, without hearing any evidence or testimony…the jury takes a vote and when a majority says there’s no reason to continue, everyone goes home as if it never happened. No one would stand for that, obviously.
But that’s essentially what happened yesterday in the U.S. Senate, and it is another step away from what the founders intended.
Never before has the Senate simply dismissed impeachment articles approved by the House. There has always been a trial. Not in this politically-charged environment.
Forget that there were never going to be enough votes to convict. Forget that the House move was politically motivated. At least that followed procedure. The Senate’s action is a departure from the requirements, and it’s the latest in a slide down the proverbial slippery slope.
Remember when Democrats had the majority and the rules for approving federal judges were relaxed? Then they displayed surprise when Republicans used those same rules to apply to Supreme Court nominees?
Imagine a situation in 2025 where a Democrat-majority in the House votes to impeach a Republican president, and a Republican-majority in the Senate simply dismisses the matter without trial. Far-fetched? Not after yesterday’s action by the U.S. Senate.
If we do not have the rule of law and procedure, we have nothing. We’re already seeing it in courtrooms around the country, and through failure to uniformly enforce laws on public demonstrations. Now it’s come to Capitol Hill. And it is indeed a dangerous precedent.
