Impeachment and Acquittal - Sydney

In 2019, President Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives, and last night he was  acquitted on both of the charges against him: Abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The charges were based on (I believe) the claim that he corrupted the election process by lobbying the Ukranian government to investigate his rivals. During the trial, it got so heated at one point that Supreme Court Justice John Roberts, who was overseeing the proceedings, addressed both parties by saying:
“I think it is appropriate for me to admonish both the House managers and the President’s counsel in equal terms to remember that they are addressing the world’s greatest deliberative body,” Roberts said. “One reason it has earned that title is because its members avoid speaking in a manner and using language that is not conducive to civil discourse.”
The trial consisted of arguments from both sides, and then written questions from senators. This meant that there were less witnesses, which many would argue constitutes an inaccurate acquittle. I find this to be true to an extent. The more witnesses and statements provided, the more knowledge gained by the jury and separate parties. The issue is that the justice system never seems fair to everyone involved. Someone always ends up unhappy or dissatisfied, and that is kind of just the way that it is. More witnesses also means more subjective testimonies, which could be viewed as corrupt. 

There are always at least two sides to an argument, and I do not have enough knowledge to claim to fully understand any sides of this. What I do know is that there is so much subjectivity and complicated events which occur under the rug that no matter the result, many people were going to be happy, and many were going to be unhappy. Both parties seemed to have acted out in ways that are probably not the most professional, and President Trump being acquitted on both charges seems suspicious, but also the votes are what they are, and that means there are people who believe the allegations to be exaggerated or untrue all together, which I do not agree with. 


Fandos, Nicholas. “Trump Acquitted of Two Impeachment Charges in Near Party-Line Vote.” 
The New York Times, The New York Times, 5 Feb. 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/02/05/us/politics/trump-acquitted-impeachment.html.

Neumann, Sean. “President Donald Trump Acquitted in Senate Impeachment Trial - Though 1 
Republican Voted to Convict.” PEOPLE.com, Meredith Corporations, 5 Feb. 2020,  

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