Letters | Trump found not guilty: it’s now up to American voters to protect their democracy

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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tears up her copy of President Trump’s state-of-the-nation speech on February 4, in a “courteous” expression of disapproval. Photo: AFP

Published: 6:00am, 17 Feb 2020Updated: 6:00am, 17 Feb 2020

There was never any doubt that United States President Donald Trump would be acquitted by the Senate, yet it does not diminish the historical importance of this verdict.

By pronouncing him not guilty on the two articles of impeachment, Republican senators have, in essence, declared that the president is above the law. The heavy task of safeguarding American democracy now falls on the electorate.

The case against the president has all along been extraordinarily simple. The transcript that the White House released shows that President Trump asked President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine to investigate his political rival, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, as a quid pro quo for American military assistance to Ukraine. This was a blatant abuse of power to solicit foreign interference in a domestic democratic election.

The substance of the phone call and the deliberate act to withhold military aid have been corroborated by the complaints of two whistle-blowers and testimonies of multiple public officials given under oath. There is overwhelming evidence that the president has committed an egregious act that rises to the level of “high crimes and misdemeanours” worthy of impeachment and removal from office.

Nevertheless, Senate Republicans, led by majority leader Mitch McConnell, made a mockery of the oath they took at the beginning of the president’s trial and the constitution they have sworn to defend.

With Trump’s approval among Republicans supposedly at a whopping 94 per cent, Republican senators have chosen to prioritise their electoral prospects ahead of national interests.

Senate Republicans have, in effect, sanctioned Trump with authoritarian powers, so long as they believe their electoral fortunes depend on him.