During MSNBC’s impeachment coverage on Monday, Sen. Angus King (I-ME) stated that the Senate acquitting President Trump would be “allowing an elected monarch,” and “a step toward authoritarianism.”
King said, “I think what’s going on right now is a step toward authoritarianism. It’s allowing an elected monarch, and that’s really what the framers were worried about. That’s why they put the impeachment clause in. There were people who said you don’t need it because you have elections. But they said, no, you’ve got to have some kind of check on somebody, and particularly, what makes it even more powerful in this case is the offense we’re talking about involves meddling with the election. In other words, if the election itself is the cure, but we can’t trust that the incumbent won’t finagle the election, it’s not the cure.”
He added, “If a president can say, we’re not going to share any information, any documents, any witnesses, we’re going to block all witnesses, then the impeachment clause is essentially a nullity. Obviously, you can’t convict somebody if they control the flow of the evidence.”
King concluded, “I think we’re headed in a very dangerous direction.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett