Impeachment loses its constitutional gravity in Trump case

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In this image from video, Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, speaks on the Senate floor about the impeachment trial against President Donald Trump at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2020. The Senate will vote on the Articles of Impeachment on Wednesday afternoon. (Senate Television via AP)

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President Donald Trump’s acquittal in the Senate impeachment trial leaves his political fate in the hands of voters and his place in history to be judged in the passage of time. The episode made Americans witnesses to history in a way that few generations have been. Trump was only the third president to be impeached, and he’s the first to be seeking reelection. Acquittal in the Republican-controlled Senate on Wednesday came more than four months after a whistleblower’s complaint set in motion a process that imperiled Trump’s presidency and ultimately left him emboldened.