Impeachment: It doesn’t hinge on inciting mob
Did President Trump intend for demonstrators to break into the Capitol on Jan. 6? Is that what his words meant? Does conviction in his Senate impeachment trial hang on this question?
The answer is no.
His high crimes are that he lied about a proven, valid election for months, and those lies misled millions of Americans into supporting an illegal overturn of the election.
There is no doubt he totally intended the result of this valid election to be illegally overturned on Jan. 6. Whether via Vice President Mike Pence meddling in the Electoral Vote count or via a mob or via corruption of local election officials, Trump intended to overturn a valid election.
That is insurrection. That is why he deserves conviction.
Robert Saunders, Steilacoom
This story was originally published January 30, 2021 at 11:57 AM with the headline "Impeachment: It doesn’t hinge on inciting mob."