Trump’s Impeachment Trial: What are the odds?
I assume you must have read the previous article why Trump was impeached, and you are itching to know more. Here are some facts. The impeachment trial for United States president Trump began yesterday. Since it began, millions of people have been streaming live from all over the world. Everyone wants to watch the arguments and the continuous back and forth of the proceedings.
Everyone wants to know the outcome, but we all know how long these legal proceedings take. In this case, who do you think would win? What are the odds that Trump would win and what are the odds that the democrats will triumph?
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Firstly, in the Senate, there are 47 Democrats, 53 Republicans, and two Independents. Is it not funny that 51 votes are needed to complete the impeachment? The chances that the Republicans will vote against their own is slim, so in this case, the odds are in Trump’s Favour.
The president has Immunity and could refuse to attend or allow additional witnesses to testify in proceedings. In short, he could get away scot-free and the congress will not be able to stop him. Trump has refused to cooperate with the impeachment investigation. Again the odds are in Trump’s favor!
What about the McConnell resolution? Mitch McConnell has done a great job changing the rules of the trial to favor the president. The time for the trial has been increased to last well into the night. Additional witnesses have been refused and documents that should have come before the trial were not submitted to congress. Another one for Trump!
About 70% of the public is clamoring for witnesses and for those documents to be submitted. With #MidnightMitch and #TrumpIsCorrupt twitter hashtags trending on the internet, it is obvious that most Americans want to see Trump go down and well, out of the White House. In this case, the odds are against Trump.
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The White House refused to give Congress any documents even when they asked for it, saying that the president cannot participate in the “partisan inquiry”.
The US Congress has accused Trump of these misconduct. They are:
- Used his power to collect and hold unlawfully 300 and something millions of dollars for military aid to Ukraine.
- Used his power to speak about the investigations to Ukraine’s president Zelensky.
- Trump was supposed to be talking about corruption in Ukraine.
- His request to announce political investigations 2016 elections of his he pressured Ukraine for them.
- Refused to produce documents that would indict him and refused to allow new witnesses or new evidence.
- Flouted the constitutional democracy checks and balances.
It is important to know that the subpoena sent to the White House were invalid because they were sent without a unanimous vote of congress. This leaves us a bit confused, are the allegations against Trump real or cooked up? What are we going to do anyway, in a trial where there are no documented evidence and it’s just Trumps word against the word of the congress.
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Conclusion
The impeachment trial has begun and the whole world is watching to see if the American Democracy which has stood as an example to others will stand in this case. While some Americans are clamoring for Trump to be tried for crimes against humanity, others say Trump is innocent and is being unfairly accused. All we want to see is a trial that follows the required legal process, a trial that is fair and just. Let the best man win!
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