After debating whether or not Donald Trump deserved consequences for lying for weeks to the American people with debunked claims of a stolen election and inciting a mob to storm the Capitol to upend the proceedings to certify the free and fair results, all but one of the GOP members of the House of Representatives from Ohio came to the conclusion that Trump deserved to skate free.
Despite those efforts, which according to ABC and other reports included Reps who voted against impeachment because they were fearful of repercussions political and otherwise, the House voted to impeach Donald Trump for a second time and did so in a bipartisan fashion with 10 Republican votes.
The Trump defense effort was led by staunch ally Jim Jordan, who, even by the low historic standards of the House and a current makeup that includes literal QAnon believers, is a real piece of work.
“It’s always been about getting the President no matter what. It’s an obsession, an obsession that is now broadened. Stop and think about it. Do you have a functioning First Amendment when the cancel culture only allows one side to talk? When you can’t even have a debate in this country?” Jordan said in a nationally broadcast hearing.
A minor surprise came with the vote of Rep. Anthony Gonzalez, a second-term GOP rep from Ohio’s 16th Congressional District who publicly criticized Trump in December and voted with Democrats to impeach him today.
This article appears in Jan 13-26, 2021.
