Opinion: What impeachment article really accuses Trump of doing on Jan. 6 - and why
Geoffrey Corn and Chris Jenks
Jan. 21, 2021
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U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to his supporters at the Save America Rally on the Ellipse on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, near the White House in Washington, D.C. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca Press/TNS)Yuri Gripas, MBR / TNS
The nation should understand that the upcoming Senate trial of former President Donald Trump on the House-adopted article of impeachment is
not for incitement of insurrection. While the article bears that title, the actual charge is a less damning but easier-to-prove charge of willfully encouraging lawless action. This doesn’t negate the president’s culpability, but the wording may increase the chances the Senate convicts the president on the constitutionally prescribed two-thirds vote.