Democrat Doug Jones Announces De Facto ‘Retirement’ With Vote to Convict President Trump
Jose Nino
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Alabama Democrat Senator Doug Jones revealed on Wednesday, February 5, 2020 that he will be voting to convict President Donald Trump during the impeachment trial.
Jones is viewed as a possible swing vote due to his presence in a state that overwhelmingly supported Trump in 2016.
The Alabama Senator’s office issued a statement where he alluded to his oath of office and he vowed to “keep an open mind” during the trial before making this decision.
“After many sleepless nights, I have reluctantly concluded that the evidence is sufficient to convict the president for both abuse of power and obstruction of Congress,” Jones stated. He added that he “read thousands of pages of transcripts, watched videos of testimony, [took] copious notes, reviewed history and precedents and discussed this case with colleagues, staff, and constituents.”
Jones came to the conclusion that Trump’s dealings with Ukraine “placed his personal interests above the national interests,” and put national security at risk. In Jones’s view, Trump was delaying military aid to Ukraine and sought an announcement that a foreign country was investigating his political opponents. Jones argued that Trump abused his power.
The Alabama Senator did criticize the way House Democrats handled impeachment proceedings.
He believed that they should have challenged Trump’s assertion of executive privilege in the court system. Instead they rejected or willingly decided to not issue subpoenas, and then asserted that Trump’s abuse of executive privilege demonstrated obstruction.
“The second article of impeachment, obstruction of Congress, gave me even more pause,” Jones stated.
Despite his criticism of the House’s behavior, Jones still maintained his belief that Trump was guilty.
“The president’s actions demonstrate a belief that he is above the law, that Congress has no power whatsoever in questioning or examining his actions, and that all who do so, do so at their peril,” he commented. “That belief, unprecedented in the history of this country, simply must not be permitted to stand.”
Jones expanded on his decision to convict Trump on the Senate floor on Wednesday morning.
“Throughout the trial, one piece of evidence continued to stand out for me,” he remarked “It was the president’s statement that under the Constitution we have Article II and I can do anything I want. That seems to capture this president’s belief about the presidency.”
The impeachment saga is just the latest in the attempts by the political establishment to derail the Trump presidency.
In a clear act to overturn the democratic will of the American people, D.C. hacks want to try to nullify the results of the 2016 elections.
Thankfully, the Senate is in Republican hands and there are not enough votes to convict.
Republicans should use this impeachment fiasco on the campaign trail to demonstrate how obstructionist Democrats are.
This is one saga that the American people should have not been subject to.
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