Last Wednesday my phone rang with a call from Congress. The recorded voice said to stay on the line for a tele-town hall from Sen. Mike Lee. I stayed on the line, gullibly hoping it would be an effort from my representative to correct his promotion of the Big Lie that there was fraud in the election.
Nope. Sen. Lee got on the call and proceeded to rewrite history. His spin on the phone calls that he made to every disputed state was to “ask” if they were planning to send a second set of electoral votes. Not, of course, that a United States senator was putting pressure on them, suggesting that they could or should do so.
Next Sen. Lee launched into a complicated interpretation of the Constitution, arriving at his conclusion that it is improper for the Senate to try the ex-president because he is no longer in office.
Stanford Law Professor Michael McConnell makes it simpler. The ex-president was the president when he was impeached. And he was impeached. McConnell: “Article 1, Section 3, Clause 6 states, “The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments.” The key word is all. This clause contains no reservation or limitation. It does not say, “The Senate shall try all impeachments against sitting officers.” Given that the impeachment of Mr. Trump was legitimate, the text makes it clear that the Senate has power to try that impeachment.
Sen. Lee, you cannot continue to place your mind-numbing spin on issues to excuse yourself from honoring your oaths. You are on record for having sworn to do impartial justice. You owe it to your constituents and to your country to do so.
Shauna Livingston, Taylorsville
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