CNN’s John Avlon: Of Every Impeachment in American History, ‘This One is Closest to the Founder’s Worst Fears’

CNN’s John Avlon defended Donald Trump’s impeachment with a segment on the Constitutionality and the historical legitimacy of holding a Senate trial for the ex-president’s conduct.

In a Tuesday Reality Check for New Day, Avlon bore down on Trump’s incitement of insurrection after supporters of the ex-president — fueled by his false claims about the 2020 election — laid siege to the U.S. Capitol in a violent attempt to overturn the certification of Trump’s defeat.

“That’s the kind of high crimes the founders contemplated when they put impeachment in the Constitution,” Avlon said.

Since conservatives have tried to delegitimize the impeachment before the trial, Avlon reminded viewers that the proceedings against Trump began while still in office. He also pointed to multiple historical precedents and legal arguments that strongly suggest the founders intended it would always be permissible to impeach former public officials for their conduct in office.

“Not only can Donald Trump be impeached, he already has been. Now it’s up to the senators to be impartial jurors,” said Avlon. “The appropriately high two-thirds bar for conviction, which has never been cleared in the case of a president, is no reason to disregard the proceedings, because of all the impeachments in the American history to date, this one is closest to the founder’s worst fears.”

Avlon concluded by noting that Alexander Hamilton once wrote that impeachment is a political mechanism to address “political offenses related to the abuse or violation of some public trust.”

“Is there a better description for what Donald Trump did to our country by lying and allegedly inciting an insurrection in an attempt to overturn an election to hold on to power?” He said. “As George Mason asked, ‘shall any man be above justice?’ The answer to that is no.”

Watch above, via CNN.

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