With less than a week left in the Trump presidency, Speaker Pelosi charged ahead with impeachment proceedings, gaining bipartisan support. Coverage of impeachment ranged from constitutional questions to fashion critiques.
Summary
Becoming the first president to ever be impeached twice, President Trump was rebuked by the House of Representatives Wednesday for what they believed to be his role in inciting last week’s violence at the Capitol.
- Unlike the last impeachment vote, a handful of Republicans joined Democrats in the charges against the President, including the number 3 House Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney.
- Reuters reports President Trump is considering Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman, both of whom spoke at the rally Democrats say caused the riot at the Capitol, to lead his defense in a possible Senate impeachment trial.
- President-elect Biden is urging Senate leaders to find a way to deal with impeachment without impeding his first days in office, saying he hopes they can “deal with their Constitutional responsibilities on impeachment while also working on the other urgent business of this nation.”
- Focusing on what’s really important, a handful of outlets, from People magazine to The Hill to the New York Post wrote about Speaker Pelosi’s outfit.
- CNN’s analysis of the impeachment hit on the impact it will have on the Biden administration and skepticism that Republicans will move on from President Trump quickly.
- The New York Times’ reporting called the impeachment “an indelible stain” on the Trump presidency, while an op-ed in the Times argues post-presidency impeachment “is not just constitutionally permissible but necessary.”
- Reporting by the Washington Post focused on the support for impeachment by ten Republican members as the Post’s Editorial Board predictably urged the Senate to move quickly on conviction.
- In an interview with OAN, Congressman Jim Jordan condemned violence of all political stripes while saying impeachment is “part of the obsession” Democrats have with President Trump.
- Breitbart’s report focused on Senator Tom Cotton’s belief that the Constitution does not allow for a post-presidency impeachment trial.
- Fox News highlighted efforts by a group of Republican House members to oust Congresswoman Liz Cheney from her spot in leadership after her vote to impeach President Trump.
- Fox also reported on CNN host Jake Tapper’s divisive remarks about Congressman Brian Mast, a veteran who lost both legs in combat, by questioning his patriotism after his speech on the House floor. Tapper’s remarks have so far only been reported in conservative media.
© Dallas Gerber, 2021