The Impeachment Trial of President Trump has left many Americans wondering what happened to the democratic values that we have pledged allegiance to all our lives. The bedrock principles of fairness and justice under the law have been compromised, ignored and undermined.
Justifications for the decision to disallow relevant Trump administration officials such as John Bolton to testify ring hollow, especially since he was witness to many of the events in question.
How does knowing less impact a decision as consequential as this?
If any of us were sitting on a jury and declared that we didn’t need to see evidence or hear witness testimony to render a verdict, we would be asked to leave.
The pursuit of justice and truth should have been the sole intent of the senators. The Republican senators chose to turn their backs on these basic values.
In the process, they have betrayed their oaths of office and seriously undermined the public trust.
Polls show an overwhelming majority of Americans wanted a fair trial and the Republican senators should have, too.
Protecting a President and hiding the truth from the American people will do long lasting damage to our republic.
One thing we do know is that this breach of conscience will only deepen the partisan divide in this country. The ironic thing is, the truth isn’t partisan. Why wasn’t more done to uncover it?
Patty Cook
Warwick