Democrats, Sensing Impending Acquittal, Draw up a ‘Plan B’ for Trump

Former President Donald Trump has made history, albeit in a not-so-proud sort of way.

Trump is now the only President in American history to ever have been impeached twice by Congress, with No. 45’s second Senate trial set to being on Tuesday of this week.

And, it seems, that Trump will also become the first President to ever be acquitted twice, at least if no wild, new evidence emerges in the case of Trump “inciting an insurrection” at the Capitol on January 6th.  South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham has even gone so far as to state that Trump’s impending acquittal is a foregone conclusion.

The Democrats, who will undoubtedly feign outrage at this reality, are already preparing for it, however.

House and Senate Democrats may push ahead this week with a censure resolution to bar former President Donald Trump from holding future office over his role in the U.S. Capitol riot, anticipating acquittal in the Senate impeachment trial, several sources familiar with the matter told McClatchy.

The effort to draft the resolution that would invoke a provision of the 14th Amendment began quietly in January and gained momentum over the weekend, as Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia and Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine gauge whether the measure could attract bipartisan support.

But do they have a shot?

The reception has been lukewarm so far from Democrats, who would prefer to see the former president convicted in the impeachment trial, and from Republicans, who fear political consequences in barring Trump from office.

Trump’s second impeachment trial will begin on Tuesday at 1pm, and could drag on well into next week.