The Republicans pretend that they have the utmost respect for people in the military and others who put their lives on the line for this country. Their history tells another story.

Remember Valerie Plame Wilson, the CIA agent whose husband, Joseph Wilson, wrote a New York Times op-ed showing that George W. Bush had provided false information to Congress in order to convince them that war with Iraq was necessary?

After that, Karl Rove, Richard Armitage and Scooter Libby (who worked for Dick Cheney) outed Ms. Plame as a spy, which put her and other CIA agents in jeopardy. For a number of decades, the only thing the Republican leadership has cared about is getting what it wants when it wants it.

And now we see that same sort of thing happening in this impeachment inquiry. President Trump and Republican House members treated Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch as if she were a traitor. They treated Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman as if he were a Ukrainian spy.

Moreover, they cry that the president is not allowed to defend himself. But this is not a trial. It is basically a grand jury hearing, and defendants can’t defend themselves during grand jury hearings. If he is actually impeached, Trump will have ample opportunity to defend himself. He will be tried before the Senate, whose members will be acting as a jury.

Until then, if he continues to tweet and interfere, he only proves the Democrats’ point that he should be impeached.

Jason Trask

Norway

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