Dear Editor:
Senator Patrick Leahy (Eight-term Democratic Senator from Vermont) recently wrote a column charging former President Trump with a dozen…well, transgressions, you might say. I’ll paraphrase for simplicity and space.
(1) Donald Trump failed to uphold his oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution,
(2) he emerged as the greatest threat to the Constitution and American democracy in a generation,
(3) he sparked the flames of sedition and fanned them relentlessly,
(4) he lied about the election in an effort to undermine Americans’ faith in our democracy,
(5) he promoted division, disruption and violence,
(6) he attempted to thwart our nation’s unbroken history of a constitutional and peaceful transfer of power, and
(7) he incited and promoted a riot that laid siege to our Capitol building – the very heart of our democracy,
(8) Insurrectionists chanting Trump’s name viciously beat Capitol Police Officers protecting the building,
(9) Insurrectionists called for the death of the Vice President,
(10) Insurrectionists delayed Congress from fulfilling its constitutional duty of certifying the election of President-elect Joe Biden,
(11) they left a trail of destruction in their wake, including the deaths of five people, and
(12) the former President of the United States fueled and exploited the dark undercurrent of insurrection.
Senator Leahy also reminded us that even President Nixon understood he had to resign after his crimes were exposed; and that this former president’s crimes are far worse.
Former President Trump bears accountability for this attack and the fact that he has disavowed any responsibility for the violent assault on our democracy makes clear he was unworthy of the office he held and should have been removed.
That didn’t happen and now it’s once again up to the Senate to convict former President Trump and to prevent him from holding future office. And, as Senator Leahy so eloquently stated, “send a message across the ages; no authoritarians are welcome in the halls of the world’s greatest democracy.”
It pains me deeply, as a 20-year Navy veteran, that so many veterans clearly have forgotten what their uniform and oath stand for, and chose (so wrongly) to participate in the insurrection of January 6th, and that veterans organizations (the American Legion, VFW, DAV, and others) continue to remain deafeningly silent. These are not the veterans of WW I, WW II, or Korea.
Having failed to uphold his oath of office (which alone warrants impeachment) senators who vote to acquit former President Trump are irresponsible, derelict in their duty and, having put the interests of their party and their own self-serving welfare above that of the national interest are, in my opinion, accomplices in the wrongdoings for which former President Trump is charged.
David L. Snell
Franklin, N.C.
David:
You make an excellent point about the silence from our veteran service organizations, the Legion, VFW, &c. We could not imagine a more blatant violation of the Oath of Enlistment than to disrupt the Constitutional transfer of power out of misplaced allegiance to an individual—especially on behalf of the chickenhawk in question.
It would stand to reason that it’s also a violation of the United States Uniformed Services Oath of Office, which is taken by commissioned officers. Having no experience in those exalted ranks, however, we will refrain from making any such assertion.
The Editor