Impeachment trial comes to a close

Impeachment is finally over—formally over, at least. In a 52-48 not guilty vote and a 53-48 vote for acquittal, President Donald Trump was acquitted on two articles of impeachment last Wednesday, the 5th. Having ended the third Senate impeachment trial of a president in US history, what does it all mean and what direction does American government go from here?

Amidst the 135 days of partisan cacophony and turmoil and over 28,000 pages of documents and testimony, controversy and contention had its fair share of battles through and through.

One of the more prominent highlights of the trial was arguably Nancy Pelosi’s very public display of her emotions on the 4th of February. These emotions manifested themselves when the House Speaker tore her copy of the President’s State of the Union address speech after he had delivered it to Congress. This led masses on both sides of the political spectrum to give their due praise and criticism: liberals commended Pelosi’s move as an “act of defiance” in response to Trump’s (in their perspective) unsatisfying speech. Conversely, the other end of the spectrum scorned Pelosi and her party as childish and immature.

An even larger point of ambivalence surrounds Mitt Romney: a Utah Republican Senator and the only Republican to vote against President Trump in the not guilty vote, finding the President “guilty of abuse of power.”

Romney is the first senator in US history to vote in such a way that would remove a president from the same party. He did vote with Republicans against the obstruction of Congress charge, but that’s beside the point for many. Romney, consequently, has faced a fair share of respect, especially from the Utah public, but he has faced a rather heavy amount of backlash as well. “One failed Republican presidential candidate” and “traitor” are among the many labels that have been given to him as a result of his anomalous voting choice.

As we wait to see how this will affect President Trump’s standing for a second term in office, we can only wonder how the ashes left behind from the trial will sizzle in some places and spark new blazes in others.

Darlon Riviere - Staff Writer