Censure Trump

Can't we at least say that overthrowing an election is wrong? 

I understand the political constraints here. GOP leadership needs to show they stand by their man. Impeaching and convicting their Republican president would score as a win for Democrats. Republicans won't do it.

Would they consent to a slap on the wrist? 

Tam Moore

American democracy will be stronger if officeholders of both parties can agree that elections are how we choose our leaders. It would be stronger if we acknowledged that the executive branch must not take up arms against the legislative branch. It would be stronger if America went back to the norm of the loser of a presidential election congratulating its winner.

Veteran journalist Tam Moore makes what is literally a modest proposal. Tam Moore is an old-school Republican, of the kind that was common in Oregon and elsewhere in years past.

Guest Post by Tam Moore

Censure Trump


For many weeks, long before the Select Committee on January 6 held its final hearing of the season, I’ve been trying to figure out how the legislative branches of our national political parties might get themselves out of replays of 2020 and January 2021.

After all, Congress twice considered the impeachment of Donald Trump. Neither brought a conviction. The second time, Articles of Impeachment (based on the insurrection of January 6, 2021) didn’t come to trial in the Senate until January 21, the day after Trump left office. They charged him with “incitement of insurrection.” But what good did that do?

In addition to political posturing of the Senators, there’s a jurisdictional question on that second impeachment process. Can impeachment of a president -- or any other federal office holder -- really take place after the person leaves office?

If we are to wait for possible criminal action against the former president and his close associates, the issues will be around for a long time. As the current Attorney General noted last week, building legal cases for issues arising out of an insurrection are complex. Making a case before a grand jury is difficult, trying it and getting a conviction is time-consuming.

A suit filed on behalf of some U.S. Capitol Police Officers is already in court, filed last August in District of Columbia District Court. Smith v. Trump names Donald J. Trump, Stop the Steal, the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers and other groups as defendants. The complaint alleges the riot was “a blatant attempt to stifle the votes and voices of millions of Americans. . . .”

Don’t hold your breath as you predict how many months or years it will take to get that lawsuit to trial. The last filing (number 154 in the docket) was July 27 – a motion by Trump to stay discovery and other proceedings.

Ankush Khardori, an attorney and former federal prosecutor who contributes to the online Politico Magazine, noted last week that the select committee thus far has chosen to make Trump the “central focus” of its hearings. We get little hint of what legislative solutions the committee leans toward. Khardori wrote that the committee’s “principal objective seemed to be to make Trump toxic and prevent him from being reelected if he runs again….” He sees a secondary objective of draining support “for the Republican enablers who are either already in office or seeking office.”

That’s politics.

Let’s go back to the basics of the insurrection as revealed in detail by the well-orchestrated and scripted committee hearings. Who were the targets of that mob sent down the mall to the Capitol? The Congress of the United States, obviously.

What does the U.S. Constitution say about a happening like January 6?

Here's a clause from the 14th Amendment to our Constitution:

"No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any state legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any state, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability."

In the United States an insurrection is “a rising or rebellion of citizens against their government.” That definition’s been on the books since enactment of the Insurrection Act in 1795. It’s the same law which authorizes the president to use military force to disperse insurgents and restore the peace.

The 14th Amendment specifically gives enforcement authority to Congress.

It was the Congress sent scurrying to safety as rioters prowled the Capitol. If we are to evaluate the evidence shown by the Select Committee, it was the then president whose words launched the riot.

What Congress needs to do is make a finding that January 6 was an “insurrection or rebellion,” and censure Trump –who had taken an oath to uphold the Constitution and laws of the United States. That censure should include a law banning Trump from holding future federal office.

The Congress needs to act. The sooner the better. That won’t, overnight, unwind the divisions in our country, but it will show that legislative leadership is ready to move forward, not continue plowing the same furrow.