Letters to the Editor: Impeaching Trump isn’t an ‘option’ for Congress, it’s a duty

To the editor: I read with admiration your story about Michael Atkinson, the then-U.S. intelligence inspector general who put his career on the line in 2019 by acting on a whistleblower’s complaint, because it was his job to do so.

I wish our members of Congress were as courageous and clear-headed. To hear a lot of them, one would think impeachment were an option — merely a tool or strategy.

It is none of those things. It’s a duty, as spelled out in the Constitution.

Excuses like “there’s so little time’ or “he’s on his way out anyway” or “he will just use this for publicity” are completely beside the point. So are challenges like “we will impeach if he doesn’t resign or is removed via the 25th Amendment.” Making excuses and threats amounts to dithering.

Lawmakers, follow Atkinson’s example. He states, “I did what I had to do.” It’s time for you to do what you have to do.

Susan North, Los Angeles

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To the editor: Saying there’s not enough time for impeachment is like seeing people trapped in a burning building and saying, “I don’t know if I should call 911, because the firefighters might not get here in time.”

If inciting an attempt to overthrow the government is not grounds for impeachment, then I don’t know what is.

Impeaching Trump would require lawmakers to indicate clearly if they support the seditionists’ attempted coup or if they support democracy and free elections. We don’t need Republicans to have a place to hide so they can attack us again.

This is so much bigger than merely days on a calendar. We need to start repairing America’s tattered integrity in the eyes of the world.

Kevin Wilby, La Crescenta

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To the editor: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) is moving to impeach Trump for a second time, on the grounds that he “incited” the assault on the nation’s Capitol. That is an opinion, not a fact. It can never be established as fact.

If you read Trump’s speech, you’ll see that he clearly called for his supporters to “peacefully” march to the Capitol to show their displeasure with the election.

You can say this was irresponsible and that he should not have done it. But if you say he called for violence, you are lying, because there is nothing to back that up.

In reality, this impeachment effort is about humiliating Trump and his supporters.

Trump did a lot of good for this country. He lost it after the election, but if you voted for him based on his policies and accomplishments, you have nothing to be sorry about.

Brian J. Goldenfeld, Oak Park

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To the editor: Willful downplaying of the coronavirus in early 2020 and willful neglect of any national strategy to curtail the pandemic, the result of which will soon be 400,000 deaths, should certainly be added to any articles of impeachment.

Jane Roberts, Redlands

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To the editor: It would be a serious mistake if, as is currently being floated, for the House to vote to impeach Trump then sit on the indictment for the first 100 days of Joe Biden’s presidency. You can’t, on the one hand, claim that the Jan. 6 insurrection was an unprecedented assault on democracy and, on the other, put it on the agenda behind other matters.

Furthermore, this will give Trump, who is currently on his heels, the opportunity to reassert control of the Republican Party. Trump and his allies will have more than enough time to get Republicans back in line.

Now is the time to hold Trump to account in a bipartisan way. Such an unprecedented attack not only on our democracy but also by one branch of government on another is of such grave importance that it trumps — yes, trumps — everything else.

Ethan Wells, Lexington, Mass.