by Hala Mounib
In the light of President Trump’s impeachment, it is very important to question the legitimacy of the congressional inquiries and investigations that have largely fragmented the United States of America. This is because the votes cast today by the Democratic and Republican congressmen and women on the counts of obstruction of Congress and abuse of power were clearly premediated and choreographed, even before the 8-hour debate was initiated and all the facts were laid out. President Trump now awaits a trial in the Senate in January 2020.
Alan Fisher, Al Jazeera English’s Senior Correspondent in Washington DC, states that the Republicans have already said that they want to see a very short trial with no witnesses, an indication that their minds have already been made up, even when they are going to still be sworn in on January and asked to judge the trial based on facts and irrespective of their political affiliations. On the other end of the political spectrum, the Democratic Party has been vying for impeachment since President Trump assumed office in 2017.
While it’s highly unlikely that Donald Trump is going to be convicted by the Senate, what really needs to be examined is the political process of impeachment and conviction. The ability of senators and members of Congress to state openly their allegiance to their parties before the trial even commences is significantly controversial. Are the members of both Houses merely extended instruments to the parties that they belong to, and if they are, can Americans really trust these individuals if they are so unabashedly and transparently partial?
It is commendable that the Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi pushed back the notion of impeachment until there were solid grounds to call into inquiry the behaviours of President Trump and his associates, however, her incessant sycophancy towards the DNC and its members is discreditable and subject to irony. Pelosi referred to Trump as an “ongoing threat to national security” while asking the members of the House to put aside their partisanship when casting their votes on the articles of impeachment.
The staged performance at the House of Representatives today was just that; a dramatized representation of the Congress members’ firm political leanings and strongly held biases. The impeachment process was a game of feelings, agendas and politics, unsupported by factual evidences and disguised as a process to uphold justice.
The Senate has previously cleared Presidents Johnson and Clinton and it will very likely acquit President Trump as well, not due to justifiable defences, but because of an existing Republican majority that will vote against conviction.
When Trump refers to the impeachment as a partisan coup and an assault on America, Republican representatives echo this message. When Pelosi and Schumer disagree with policies proposed by Trump, naturally, Democratic representatives parrot the same ideals.
The principles of justice and equity are no longer at play in both levels of the Congress. The conformity of Congress members to their political parties is equally expected and encouraged, and American citizens continue to witness sensationalized performances that render the United States ever more divided.
Hala Mounib is a Policy Research Fellow at the American Freedom Institute
American Freedom Institute 