I’ll bet you didn’t know that in 1809 Josiah Quincy (MA), the only Federalist in Congress, tried to impeach Thomas Jefferson. His attempt failed by a vote of 117 to 1. Andrew Fagal, associate editor of the Papers of Thomas...
impeachment
Get up to speed on impeachment. What happens next?
CNN’s Zachary Wolf offers a very helpful summary here. The piece explains why the Senate might hold an impeachment trial after Trump leaves office. Here is a taste: What’s the point of holding an impeachment trial for a former President?...
Ten Republicans voted for the second impeachment of Donald Trump. At least three of them were evangelical Christians
Adam Kinzinger (IL) attends Village Christian Church of Channahon, Illinois, a non-denominational evangelical congregation that appears to have some connection to the Church of Christ tradition. Liz Cheney (WY) identifies as a United Methodist. John Katko (NY) is a Catholic....
Historians call for the second impeachment of Donald Trump
Here is the statement from the Historians and Legal Scholars for Impeachment. As American historians and constitutional scholars, we support the impeachment and removal of President Donald J. Trump. Throughout his presidency, Trump has defied the Constitution and broken laws,...
Mike Pence quotes Ecclesiastes; says it is time for the nation to heal
Last night the House of Representatives asked Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment. He refused to do it. Here is the letter he sent to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi: The next to last paragraph caught my attention....
The House will impeach Trump, but will the Senate convict?
If you asked me this question twenty four hours ago I would have answered, “probably not.” But now I am not so sure. Today we learned that Mitch McConnell, the outgoing Senate majority leader, said that Donald Trump did commit...
Here is the article of impeachment against Donald Trump
There is a very good chance that Donald Trump will be the second president in United States history to be impeached by the House of Representatives. Read the article of impeachment here. And here: Resolved, That Donald John Trump, President...
Antifa! Antifa! The court evangelicals prepare for spiritual warfare against Biden and the Democrats
We are learning more and more about the mob that invaded the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday. They were Trump-supporters, extreme Christian nationalists, QAnon believers, militia groups, and other assorted thugs. Mo Brooks, a Republican representative from Alabama, still believes that...
Should we wait until January 20?
Here are the facts. A group of pro-Trump rioters invaded the seat of the United States government yesterday in an attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Donald Trump, the sitting United States President, refused to condemn the rioters. He...
Here’s One for the Trump Presidential Library:
From Whitehouse.Gov:...
Instead of Booing Him, CPAC Should Have Embraced Mitt Romney.
This is a piece I wrote on last weekend’s CPAC that was never able to place. –JF The name of Mitt Romney was booed relentlessly at last weekend’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Fort Washington, Maryland. This year’s CPAC...
Has Trump Learned Any Lessons from His Impeachment?
No. None. Here is CNN: On Wednesday, Trump publicly praised the Justice Department for reversing its call for a stiff jail term for Stone after his own critical late night tweet that laid bare fears of blatant interference in bedrock US...
Will Future Students Read Mitt Romney’s Speech Against Trump’s Acquittal?
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5oPNG6HLgM&w=560&h=315] Eliot Cohen, Dean of the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, thinks Romney’s speech will be read for a long time. Here is a taste of his piece at The Atlantic, “In the Long Run, Romney Wins“:...
Would the Founders Have Recognized GOP Arguments Against Trump’s Removal?
As we enter the 2020 election season I have been trying to do more writing for local and regional outlets here in Pennsylvania. This morning I have an op-ed on the impeachment trial at LNP/Lancaster On-Line (formerly Intelligencer Journal-Lancaster New Era). ...
More Historians Weigh-In on the Trump Acquittal
Politico has gathered historians Michael Kimmage, Claire Potter, Mary Frances Berry, David Blight, Allan Lichtman, Brooks Simpson, and Jeremi Suri. Here is Blight: The impeachment and acquittal of Trump in 2020 left the country’s political culture in spiraling decline. For the...
Six Historians on Trump’s Acquittal
Over at Time, Olivia Waxman asked Carol Anderson, Jeffrey Engel, Kevin Kruse, Barbara Perry, Manisha Sinha, and Brenda Wineapple to reflect historically on Trump’s acquittal. Here is Sinha: I think the person who was a real profile in courage [Wednesday] was...
The Complex Nature of Mormon Politics
I haven’t seen this much writing about Mormons since Romney ran for president in 2012. Over at NBC News, historian Benjamin Park puts Mitt Romney’s impeachment trial vote to remove Donald Trump from office into some historical and religious context. ...
Why Romney Did It
Here is McKay Coppins at The Atlantic: Mitt Romney didn’t want to go through with it. “This has been the most difficult decision I have ever had to make in my life,” he told me yesterday afternoon in his Senate...
Wehner: Mitt Romney is a “Profile in Courage”
Here is a taste of Wehner’s piece at The Atlantic: This also needs to be said: Romney’s views are not all that rare among his Republican colleagues, who know in their hearts that what Trump did was inexcusable and indefensible,...
Mitt Romney on Why He Is Voting to Remove Donald Trump from Office
He has taken an oath before God: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-rnsJo0_yI&w=560&h=315] In 20 minutes, Romney will be the only GOP Senator to vote for removal....