The New York Times has become the latest in a long list of prominent papers calling for the impeachment of US President Donald Trump. The editorial board of the paper on Saturday published a piece titled “Impeach” where they laid out their support for the process going on in Congress. The team comprises of some of the top opinion writers for the paper and not reporters.
The article started off by citing recent events in the impeachment inquiry that was initiated by Democrats at the capitol. The article also noted that the evidence presented so far paints a very clear and damning picture for the president. They argued that the evidence shows a clear abuse of power noting that by “strong-arming Ukraine, a venerable ally, and tying up hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid in exchange for dirt on one of his political rivals”, the President engaged in clear misconduct.
To add salt to injury, the article added that even after the president was clearly caught in the act, he failed to cooperate with Congress. The article noted that the Trump took deliberate actions to make it literally impossible for Congress to perform its constitutionally mandated oversight role. The piece described this as obstruction of congress, an impeachable offense in its own right. However, the Times did take issue with the fast pace the impeachment process went.
The paper thought that it would have been prudent for Democrats to take their time and gather as much evidence as they could. Despite this, it cited the president’s efforts to “stonewall” the investigation a serious stumbling block. The article even argued that Trump’s continued efforts to frustrate the investigation and failure to present any formal defense simply meant that Congress had no choice but to move to the Senate trial.
The piece also argued that, as the inquiry has developed, more grounds for impeachments have become clearer. But there was still enough to go with as soon as the inquiry started. From the time the whistleblower sparked the scandal, the events that followed served to strengthen the grounds for impeachment even though president Trump denied everything.
It is increasingly unlikely the president will be removed from office. Senate Republicans have already said that they will vote to acquit, despite the evidence in front of them. Speaking during an interview on Fox News, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell admitted that Senate Republicans will be coordinating with the President’s counsel for the entire duration of the impeachment trial.
In essence, Senate Republicans will do exactly what they are directed to do by the president. Republicans have been openly opposed to the impeachment inquiry right from the start. They see it as a ploy by Democrats to undermine the president. The New York Times piece is anticipating inaction from the GOP, arguing that Senate Republicans will “fall flat in the face of the evidence” when they conduct the trial. But the impeachment may have repercussions on the president’s reelection efforts.
