Impeachment unfolds in deeply divided nation

This article was published in the Wilson Times Oct. 16, 2019.

The first day of public hearings in the U.S. House impeachment inquiry took place in a far different political atmosphere from the 1973-74 Watergate hearings and subsequent House Judiciary Committee impeachment hearings.

Wednesday’s hearings showed that partisan rancor would play a much larger role this year than it did in the Nixon hearings. Some Republican members and staff saw fit to attack witnesses’ integrity and engage in speechmaking rather than asking witnesses for information. The minority counsel seemed lost and confused as he tried to put words into the mouths of witnesses. Rep. Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican, used his question time to blurt so many accusatory questions so fast that the witnesses had little opportunity to respond, which was fine because his questions were not really questions anyway.

Ambassador William Taylor and the State Department’s George Kent handled themselves and the situation admirably. These two career diplomats who had served under Democratic and Republican presidents respectfully responded to some loaded questions by saying they could not answer because they had no knowledge of the matter. When asked about his view on impeachment, Taylor responded that he had no view; he was a career professional who served the president, whoever the president might be. The impeachment question is one the Constitution leaves to members of the House, he told the questioner.

Taylor and Kent were in many ways as impressive as John Dean was in 1973. Dean had a seemingly encyclopedic recall of facts and incidents he observed as White House Counsel. Taylor had notes about episodes he had observed, a lengthy, thorough opening statement and detailed responses to questions. Kent was unperturbed by disrespectful, even angry questions.

In 1973, Dean’s testimony was dismissed by Nixon supporters, but when the White House tapes were released over Nixon’s objections, Dean’s recollections proved amazingly accurate and complete.

In 2019, there is not likely to be a “smoking gun” like the White House tapes, but there will be additional witnesses, most of whom are expected to support Wednesday’s witnesses’ testimony and previous reporting.

Thus far, no celebrities have been created by the 2019 impeachment hearings in the like of Sen. Sam Ervin or Sen. Howard Baker, the majority and minority leaders of the Watergate committee. The 2019 committee chair, Adam Schiff, was unemotional and fair Wednesday, despite scurrilous personal attacks by Trump and others. But he lacks Sam Ervin’s colorful stories and personality. The seven-member Watergate committee ultimately found Richard Nixon had used the powers of the presidency to cover up his approval of the Watergate break-in.

The biggest difference between 1973-74 and today is the existence of highly partisan organizations that are willing to distort facts, deny obvious truths and make up whole scenarios contradicting plainly seen incidents. The result has been a nation more divided than it ever was during the Watergate inquiry, even though the two sides in the Watergate scandal were ferocious in their criticisms. Nixon and his minions did all they could to excuse Nixon’s actions but they did not have the lobbying groups, highly partisan news sources and “alternative facts” of today.

While most news sources and individuals saw impeachment inquiry witnesses forthrightly reporting potentially impeachable actions of the president, Fox News, the largest and most successful Trump defender, proclaimed the hearings boring and a disaster for Democrats. Recent polling shows the electorate divided between those who get all their news on the Fox News channel and those who don’t.

Impeachment by a vote of the full House will not settle the matter. To remove a president from office, impeachment charges must be tried in the Senate, where Republicans hold a majority.

If the impeachment hearings convince the public that Trump abused his office, but loyal Republicans prevent his conviction, the party could lose national support. If an impeachment resolution fails to pass in the Democrat-led House, the party could face long-term damage.

Two presidents have been impeached (Nixon would have been had he not resigned to save face), but none has ever been convicted in a Senate trial. If impeached, Trump is determined to continue that streak.