When the House of Representatives began impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump, the Democrats presented the charges and provided support. The Republicans countered by claiming that the process was not correct, and never answered the charges with factual rebuttals.
Since an impeachment hearing occurs in the legislative branch, there aren’t many specific processes that have to be followed. When that argument seemed to be weak, Republicans argued that the charges did not rise to the level of an impeachable offense. Again, this has not been spelled out precisely. When the Senate tried the case, the same arguments were promoted by the president’s lawyers, and no additional witnesses were allowed to testify.
The trial turned out to be a sham, for a majority of Republican senators absolved President Trump without really conducting a trial.
Moving forward to post-election complaints being filed by the president’s lawyers in the courts, the judicial branch of our government, we hear that most of these cases have been dismissed because they do not follow clearly defined process. A complaint has to be backed up with facts supporting the claim, or has to be filed in a timely manner. I know lawyers will try anything to support their client, but don’t they realize that “process” can work against them? I find this very ironic. They may have gotten away with it in the legislative branch, but “process” works against them in the judicial branch. I’m happy to see that the judicial rules and judges are not yet subject to the will of the president.
— Jon Sharpe
Anchorage
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