Constitution? What’s that? Due Process? MIA. Democrats? Still unable to Move On, in complete Trump Derangement Syndrome. The “trial” starts today at 1pm
Democrats Threaten to Punish Trump for Not Testifying at Impeachment Trial
Democrats reiterated Monday a threat to punish former President Donald Trump for not testifying at the impeachment trial in the Senate, which begins Tuesday.
In a short filing responding to Trump’s lawyer’s 75-page trial memorandum, submitted Monday, the House impeachment managers — all Democrats hand-picked by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) — wrote:
[T]he House has invited President Trump to voluntarily testify under oath, yet President Trump immediately rejected that opportunity to tell his story. The House will establish at trial that this decision to avoid testifying supports a strong adverse inference regarding President Trump’s actions (and inaction) on January 6.
The Democrats were responding to Trump’s lawyers’ claim that Democrats’ rushed impeachment, which defied all previous procedural conventions governing impeachment in the House, denied the president the constitutional due process of law.
The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides that “No person … shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.†The impeachment trial is not a criminal case; however, many constitutional scholars argue that the same principles ought to apply — there, above all.
When Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) wrote to Trump’s lawyers last week, inviting Trump to testify, he made a similar threat: “If you decline this invitation, we reserve any and all rights [sic], including the right [sic] to establish at trial that your refusal to testify supports a strong adverse inference regarding your actions (and inaction) on January 6, 2021.â€
Trump was afforded no due process in the House, with a rushed process, then Pelosi sat on impeachment for weeks. Now they’re threatening some sort of punishment for the constitutional guarantee that a person doesn’t have to testify, and finding him guilty till proven innocent. Trump and his people and the Republican Senators should just refuse to show up for this bit of unhinged Democratic Party hissyfit.
Rep. Jim Jordan: Trump impeachment trial – here’s what the Senate must do
It’s been almost a month since he left office, but Democrats still can’t let go of President Donald Trump. That’s why, as our country faces many urgent challenges, the Senate will set aside its real work this week and instead focus on yet another political impeachment charade. (snip through his evidence that there’s evidence that Trump had nothing to do with the violence)
Democrats ignored these facts. They also ignored the Constitution. Democrats afforded President Trump no due process in the House of Representatives. In fact, there was no process whatsoever – no witnesses, no depositions, no hearings, no cross-examinations.
Because Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., withheld sending the article of impeachment to the Senate until after President Trump left office, the Senate is poised to conduct an unprecedented impeachment trial of a president who is no longer in office. The only problem? The plain text of the Constitution makes clear that’s not allowed.
The Constitution states the “President … shall be removed from office on impeachment … and conviction.” The Constitution also specifies that “Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor.” The Senate obviously can’t remove a president who is no longer in office, and so it can’t disqualify a president from future office if it didn’t remove him while he was in office.
The Constitution also requires that the chief justice of the United States preside over a presidential impeachment trial. Chief Justice Roberts has said that he won’t preside over this trial. The substitute presiding officer, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., is also a juror who has already signaled support for President Trump’s conviction. Americans know this arrangement wouldn’t fly in a court of law, and it’s equally concerning in this trial too.
In their desperation to attack President Trump, Democrats are trampling on other important constitutional rights. Last week, Democrats threatened President Trump that if he declined to testify during the Democrats’ impeachment charade, they would use it as proof of his guilt. That may be how trials work in socialist countries. But that’s not how it works in America.
Democrats do not care, and the Credentialed Media will provide cover.
Read: Democrats Throw Hissy Fit, Want To Punish Trump For Refusing To Testify At Shampeachment »