I think there has been ample evidence of behavior by the president that qualifies as “high crimes and misdemeanors” including: bribery in the form of corporate and foreign money spent at Trump properties; a pattern of obstruction in the Mueller and House investigations; witness intimidation; using U.S. government resources and influence for personal gain.

While we may disagree about whether the president’s actions meet the standard of “high crimes,” even some Republican senators admit that specific actions named in the articles of impeachment were “wrong”: Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., called the president’s pressure campaign against Ukraine “inappropriate,” and Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., concurred, saying that “Lamar speaks for lots and lots of us.” Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, called the president’s actions “wrong and inappropriate.”

Even if the impeachment trial ends in acquittal – as is likely – it is critical that we not allow the president’s “wrong and inappropriate” behavior to go completely unpunished.

That’s why I called Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and asked them to pursue a bipartisan public censure.

A censure is a way to condemn the president’s behavior; the alternative is to completely ignore the president’s “wrong and inappropriate” actions, which would give him license to continue such behavior – or worse – in the coming year and in the coming election season.

The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior … unless something changes. If impeachment will not be the impetus for that change, perhaps a public bipartisan censure would.

Kelley McDaniel

Portland

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