Most Americans proclaim a heartfelt desire to move on from the horrifying realities of the Jan. 6 riots that rocked the U.S. Capitol. But the sad truth is that they cannot do so, not until the full extent of the underlying causes of the upheaval have been exposed.
The second impeachment trial of former president Donald Trump, painful as it was to watch, did not accomplish that.
The official vote of the U.S. Senate on Saturday followed a week of the video record of the insurrection that was often difficult to watch. The reality of citizens’ capacity for violence against fellow citizens is always painful to confront, but this was an actual uprising against the national system of government itself, something not seen on this scale since the Civil War.
This trial ended in an acquittal, also Trump’s second. Securing a two-thirds vote for conviction is a heavy lift, as it should be: It should not be easy for one branch of government to shut down another.
Even so, this trial was far more damning than the first one a year ago. Not only were the votes more bipartisan, but this offense was simpler, and it played out in public view. Even Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, though voting to acquit on procedural grounds, underscored that Trump spent months stirring up followers to believe the election was fraudulent, and called him “practically and morally responsible” for the attack on the Capitol.
And in one effort to overturn state results, Trump’s phone call to pressure Georgia election officials was recorded and released to the public. These acts were laid out persuasively by the House in its article of impeachment on an “incitement of insurrection” charge.
Acquittal or not, the process yielded something crucial: a public understanding of how fragile, and now imperiled, their democracy was.
“Former President Trump lied repeatedly about the results of a free and fair election and attempted to cheat by pressuring election officials,” said Hawaii U.S. Sen Brian Schatz. “He incited an insurrection that resulted in a violent attack on the U.S. Capitol designed to stop Congress from exercising its constitutional duties.”
Those duties are not yet fulfilled. An independent investigation is now an imperative to get to the bottom of the crisis. Primarily: How was the U.S. Capitol left so open to attack, and who — in the White House, Capitol Hill or elsewhere — was complicit, letting it happen?
This could be a job for something like the “9/11-type commission” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Monday, that Congress would establish.
Among the options: It could be a special congressional committee, but the vulnerability there is obvious. If it is too actively a creature of Congress, the body would undoubtedly succumb to the same partisan rifts that the insurrection exposed to begin with.
However the nonpartisan investigation is constituted, the critical element is its independence, or as much of that as can be mustered. Even if the process yields a report rather than prosecution, having clarity on where the problems lie will illuminate the next steps that are necessary. Going forward, vigilance will be necessary to detect and arrest any mounting threats of domestic terrorism fueled by violent intentions.
As it is, prosecution by authorities of those directly involved in the Capitol attack is underway now. The penalties must serve as deterrent, or the U.S. will have to steel itself for repeated assaults against the federal government, or state capitols.
Treating a national wound this deep starts with understanding it fully. Healing will not come otherwise, no matter how we all long for it.
