Serving on a jury is one of the greatest civic duties Americans can perform. Lives hang in the balance as everyday citizens listen to the evidence and come to a judgment. The accused depend on their peers to be unbiased and fair, to have no other ulterior motive than to see justice delivered. So what happens when the person on trial is the president of the United States and his “peers” are Democrats already motivated to unseat him and take the position for themselves? At least one presidential hopeful, Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO), has already refused to recuse himself, but what about the others?
Democratic presidential candidates and Senators Elizabeth Warren (MA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Amy Klobuchar (MN) are also expected to take leave of their campaign efforts while they hear the case against the president they so desperately desire to replace.
Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) has called on the four to recuse themselves as jurors because of their “unparalleled political interest” to remove Trump from the White House.
“To participate in this trial would be a failure of the oath they took to be an ‘impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws.’ Their presidential ambitions prohibit their ability to view this trial through an objective lens.”
The term ‘fair trial’ has been batted around on both sides, each arguing the other is impeding the process. As Liberty Nation’s Graham J. Noble said, “Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) had delayed the transmission [of the articles of impeachment], gambling that she would be able to bend the Senate’s Republican majority to her will, forcing them to agree to certain conditions for the trial, such as the calling of additional witnesses.”
Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Pelosi and the Dems argue that without the president allowing witnesses to the impeachment hearings, he has made the process unjust. Meanwhile, Republicans contend that not being allowed to call their own witnesses has made this whole affair discriminatory.
Senator Bennet has rejected Blackburn’s request to relinquish jury duties, saying, “If she wanted a fair trial, she would be for documents and witnesses.” Is this a case of two wrongs make a right for the Democrats? The Dems didn’t get what they wanted, so they aren’t going to play fair?
The left is quick to label Blackburn a hypocrite because she has called for the presidential hopefuls to recuse, but not condemned Mitch McConnell (R-KY) for saying he will support the White House 100%. They also opine that there is no conflict of interest because, should Trump be removed, then Vice President Mike Pence would take over command and none of them would become president just because of their vote.
However, it will be difficult to keep the Donald from being reelected otherwise. The candidates surely realize this, and if they are able to get him out of the way, then their run for the White House has just gotten a whole lot easier. They may claim to look forward to debating with the president, but that is likely a show of false bravery rather than fact.
Back to the issue of a conflict of interest. How impartial can these presidential candidates truly be when it comes to the proceedings? Not only have they demonstrated their contempt for Trump and support for the impeachment, as presidential candidates they also stand to gain even more than most by removing Trump from the election.
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Read more from Kelli Ballard.
