By Michael Graham
Governor Chris Sununu called the troublemakers who swept the US Capitol on Wednesday “domestic terrorists” and blamed Trump for “contributing to the insurrection”. He was not, however, willing to ask that his Republican colleague be removed from office.
“Our priorities must be the healing of our nation and an orderly transition of power on January 20. As elected officials, our words are held to a higher standard, and it is clear that President Trump’s rhetoric and actions contributed to the insurrection in the United States State Capitol Building, “Sununu said in a statement to NHJournal on Monday.
“Domestic terrorists who attacked the United States Capitol must be held accountable and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” added Sununu.
All four members of the New Hampshire Federal Democratic delegation support the removal of President Trump from office. Both MPs Annie Kuster and Chris Pappas have indicated that they intend to vote – again – for Trump’s impeachment, and they will support the charge brought by the House of Representatives on Monday.
“He failed in the most fundamental element of the job: supporting and defending the Constitution. This president should not serve another day in office,” said Pappas.
Despite describing Trump-inspired rowdies as “domestic terrorists” and placing some of the blame for their actions on the president, Sununu was not willing to call for Trump’s impeachment. Instead, he embraced Joe Biden’s position on the matter.
“President-elect Biden said that impeachment is a matter for Congress to weigh, and I agree.”
The Washington Post reports that Democrats got 220 votes to challenge Trump a second time, giving them the majority they need, according to Rhode Island MP David Cicilline.
However, it will take 67 votes in the U.S. Senate to remove Trump from office and the upper house will not be able to consider impeachment until January 20 – Donald Trump’s last day in office. “On January 20 or 21, the Senate would consider the impeachment articles at 1 pm and officially begin the trial,” said a memo from Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell. “The Senate trial, therefore, would begin after the end of President Trump’s term – an hour after it ends on January 20, or 25 hours after it ends on January 21.”
Democrats are now discussing a post-president impeachment. Representative James Clyburn of South Carolina, the House’s third Democrat, said the House could charge Trump and wait 100 days to pass the articles to the Senate to give Biden the time to “get his agenda up and running.”
But Berkeley University law professor and former GW Bush administration official John Yoo said on Monday that the impeachment of a ruler after he left office could be unconstitutional and will almost certainly face legal challenges.
“The other problem is that, since the main remedy for an impeachment conviction is dismissal from office, the only other punishment is to be disqualified from the future position. Trump’s supporters could just say ‘Why not let the people decide ? They can impose judgment, “Yoo said.
This story was originally published by NH Journal, an online news publication dedicated to providing fair and unbiased reporting and analysis of political news of interest to New Hampshire. For more NH Journal stories, visit NHJournal.com.