The Personal Website of Mark W. Dawson

The true meaning of the Senate vote on
the Impeachment of President Trump

Mr. Chief Justice, Senators, Congressmen, and the American People, we are met here to decide the fate of President Trump. But it is much more than the fate of President Trump that will be decided here. For this Impeachment will decide the future course of our Constitutional Republic. All our elected and appointive representatives take an oath of office to “Preserve, Protect, and Defend the Constitution of the United States”. But the Constitution is much more than the words contained in the document. It is also the spirit of Human Rights, Representative Democracy, Divisions of Power, Equal Justice, and the Rule of Law. It is these concepts that must be preserved by this Impeachment. To not do so will result in the erosion of the spirit of the Constitution.

This Impeachment is different from those that have preceded it. In the past, we have impeached for alleged violations of the written law, but this Impeachment is for alleged violations of the spirit of the law. Your decision will, therefore, determine the spirit of the Constitution for decades to come.

This Impeachment, as it is was constituted and formulated, will change the balance of power between the Executive, Congressional, and even the Judicial branches of government. It will even change the balance of power between the bicameral branches of Congress. The Impeachment article on “Abuse of Power” will define and restrict the powers of the Executive Branch, while the Impeachment article “Obstruction of Justice” will remove Judicial adjudication of Executive Privilege claims. The manner in which the House conducted its Impeachment hearings shift the burden of obtaining all the relevant facts from the House to the Senate. Also, the House did not afford the President of the rights of all Americans to defend themselves in accordance with the Rule of Law and Equal Justice for All.

As Professor Jonathan Turley reminded us in his House Impeachment Testimony, he recalled a dialog from the play and movie “A Man for All Seasons”. Sir Thomas More debates his son-in-law on the meaning of the rule of law:

In a critical exchange, More is accused by his son-in-law William Roper of putting the law before morality and that More would “give the Devil the benefit of law!” When More asks if Roper would instead “cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil?,” Roper proudly declares “Yes, I’d cut down every law in England to do that!” More responds by saying “And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned ‘round on you, where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country is planted thick with laws, from coast to coast, Man’s laws, not God’s! And if you cut them down, and you're just the man to do it, do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I’d give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety’s sake!”

These laws are critical to preserving our Freedoms, Liberties, and Equality. Not just for the good or bad person, not for the guilty or innocent person, not for the strong or weak person, not for the rich or poor person, not for the powerful or powerless person, but for all persons. If this impeachment is for the purpose of removing a President who is viewed as the devil incarnate by his opponents, then you have sided with Roper in cutting down the laws that protect all of us. If, however, President Trump has indeed committed “High Crimes and Misdemeanors” than you have sided with More in preserving the law, freedoms, liberties, and equality of all Americans.

This, therefore, is the decision that needs to be made, with the consequence of your decision impacting all Americans now and in the future. You need to choose wisely and based not only upon the letter of the Constitution but its spirit as well.

I am reminded of an incident that occurred at the end of the Constitutional Convention. As the Founding Fathers were departing the Pennsylvania State House at the close of the Constitutional Convention one of the bystanders shouted a question to Benjamin Franklin:

The bystander shouted out - “Well, Doctor, what have we got—a Republic or a Monarchy?”
To which Franklin replied - “A Republic, if you can keep it.”

Your decision will be either an advance or a retreat for the concepts of our Republic. Let us hope that we can advance it. Therefore, choose wisely, and choose for the future of our Republic.