The indictment of the House in short is a powerful document with one flaw – the frequent use of the word “apparently” to cover up the fact that reporting underlies much of the case against Trump. For example, the brief states: “President Trump would have been ‘delighted’ by the chaos he had unleashed, as it prevented Congress from asserting its electoral loss.” This claim would be so much more striking if it were based on direct testimony rather than White House reports.

Yes, it’s easy to understand the fatalism of Senate Democrats hoping to conclude the trial this week. Senators calculate that since Trump will once again drop out, why prolong the agony? Additionally, a Trump lawsuit will end other legislative work, so the sooner the curtain falls on Impeachment Redux, the sooner the Senate can return to confirm Joe Biden’s appointments and prepare to debate the Covid stimulus package.

This argument might be compelling if it were not for the fact that the Senate will not debate anything immediately after the trial; it will be recess next week or, like the Capitol euphemism nicknamed it, a “period of state labor”. The nominal excuse is that February 15 is Presidents’ Day, a federal holiday. Of course, Presidents’ Day isn’t exactly a revered time on the calendar, unless you’re a car dealership promoting a sale with George Washington or Honest Abe. In truth, what better way to honor our greatest presidents than to mount the most convincing case possible against the only president in history to encourage a coup against Congress?

If Democrats decided to hold a full impeachment trial, the hope is that some Republicans would belatedly realize that the choice the nation faced has always been between Trumpism or Democracy. Yes, it’s scary that 71% of all Republicans in a recent national AP-NORC Survey absolve Trump of almost all responsibility in the attack on Capitol Hill. But it is also possible to find encouragement from the 11% of GOP respondents who said Trump had “a lot” of responsibility for the riot and the remaining 18% who said he had “a moderate amount” of it. . The aim of the Democratic impeachment officials should not be to preach to the choir but rather to appeal to those 29% of Republicans who agree that Trump is, at least, in part responsible for January 6.