Dem House Managers Trash Senate in WaPo Op-Ed: Acquittal is Not an Exoneration ‘Without a Legitimate Trial’
The Democratic House managers in the impeachment trial — Adam Schiff, Jerrold Nadler, Zoe Lofgren, Hakeem Jeffries, Val Demings, Sylvia Garcia, and Jason Crow — co-signed an op-ed in the Washington Post tonight blasting the Senate for voting to acquit President Donald Trump on both charges.
They reviewed the case they presented and again scolded the Senate for the vote not to call witnesses before reaching today’s conclusion.
“The president’s team urged that it should be left to the voters to pronounce judgment on the president’s misconduct, even as they worked to prevent the public from learning the full facts that might inform their decision. More ominously, this leaves the president free to try to cheat in the very election that is supposed to provide the remedy for his cheating,” they wrote.
The Democrats commended Mitt Romney for showing the “moral courage” to vote to convict on the abuse of power charge.
“No one can seriously argue that President Trump has learned from this experience. This was not the first time that he solicited foreign interference in his election, nor will it be the last. As we said during the trial, if left in office, the president will not stop trying to cheat in the next election until he succeeds,” they continued. “We must make sure he does not.”
As for the conclusion of the trial, the Democrats say there can be no exoneration since the trial was not fair in the end:
Because of the impeachment process, voters can now stand forewarned of the lengths to which the president will go to try to secure his reelection, violating the law and undermining our national security and that of our allies.
By denying the American people a fair trial, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) also deprived the president of something that he desperately sought — exoneration. There can be no exoneration without a legitimate trial. Out of fear of what they would learn, the Senate refused to hold one. The president will not be vindicated, and neither will the Senate, certainly not by history.
You can read the whole thing here.
