In an interview with Chris Ryan, Senator Jeanne Shaheen discusses her thoughts about the prosecution and defense presentations made on the first day of impeachment trial of President Trump, states that she believes that this impeachment trial is constitutional, explains why the trial sends an important message to future leaders of our country, and reports on the bipartisan input which is going into the next COVID pandemic relief package.
Senator Shaheen is impressed by the arguments made for impeachment by the House Managers, and she describes the video footage of the attack which was shown in their presentation as compelling. On the other hand, she feels that President Trump’s defense presentation was ineffective. She shares that some of her Republican colleagues also describe the defense as rambling and unclear.
The Senator agrees with the House Managers that this impeachment trial, of a president who is no longer in office, is allowable under our Constitution and follows the precedents set down in English Common Law.
Despite the political reality that a conviction is unlikely, Senator Shaheen passionately believes that Donald Trump caused an insurrection which had as its goal to overturn a fairly elected government. Even though, Trump is out of office she says, “We can’t allow this to stand for future presidents, so that they think that they can do anything in the last days and weeks of their presidency and that they are not going to be held accountable.”
In the final segment of the interview, Senator Shaheen explains how the next COVID relief package is being put together with input from Democrat and Republican lawmakers and suggestions from the Biden Administration.