All the King’s Horses and all the King’s Men Refuse to Put America Back Together Again

One of the hallmarks of Donald Trump’s impeachment inquiry has been the Republican’s partisan approach to discovery, that is, to the facts of the case against the President. To many, these facts are clear. Donald Trump used his position to strong-arm Ukraine into investigating his political rival, Joe Biden. In addition, he obstructed the House of Representatives’ investigation by not allowing key witnesses to testify, such as Mick Mulvaney, Acting White House Chief of Staff, Don McGahn, former White House Counsel, and John Bolton, former National Security Advisor.

The Republicans stated this was a politically-motivated vendetta against the President, perpetuated by Democrats, who, they said, wanted to impeach Trump from Day 1. Democrats saw it differently, not as a political move, but as a legal one: the President had committed “high crimes and misdemeanors” in carrying out the duties of his office. During the House’s inquiry many public servants corroborated these details. But, rather than offer counter evidence, the GOP simply focused on the procedures of the investigation. Why? Perhaps it was because they didn’t have any evidence to the contrary. We can speculate, but this seems to be the most obvious answer. If members of Trump’s staff had any details that offered alternate explanations, why weren’t they allowed to testify?

Yesterday, the House voted to impeach the President. But, it also seems likely the Senate will not vote to remove him from office. Again, the vote will fall directly on partisan lines. Republicans, who are the majority in the Senate, reject the veracity of this impeachment. And, they reject even considering the evidence. Yet, Senators are jurors in this impeachment trial. And, like jurors in criminal or civil trials, they take an oath to “do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws.”

However, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has already stated, “I’m not trying to pretend to be a fair juror.” So much for impartiality. Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, has publicly stated he is working directly with the White House in orchestrating the Senate trial. In addition, he has rejected efforts by Democrats to bring in members of the White House administration as witnesses. Donald Trump has stated the process is unfair because he can’t defend himself. Yet, he refuses to allow his staff to testify. So Trumpian.

This partisan divide is very different than the bipartisan approach taken during Bill Clinton’s impeachment. Then, Senate leaders Trent Lott (R-MS) and Tom Daschle (D-SD) “made a concerted effort to protect the integrity of the Senate and negotiated a bipartisan proposal that had the unanimous backing of the chamber on some parameters of Clinton’s trial.” [Washington Post]

Many questions remain. Why didn’t the GOP produce evidence that would exonerate President Trump? Why are they doing everything they can to suppress anyone’s testimony from the White House? What are they hiding and what are they afraid of? And, most importantly, why are they ignoring the mandates of our Constitution, which they swore to uphold?

Americans deserve to know the truth. And, rather than let all the evidential pieces fall where they may (whether Trump is innocent or guilty), we are being denied the opportunity to see this come to a factual conclusion. The Republicans have made this Constitutional procedure into a farce.

All the king’s horses and all the king’s men refuse to put American back together again.

This poster is part of a series of posters Jeff Gates does under the guise of the Chamomile Tea Party. Often taking World War II-era propaganda, he remixes them with new text and imagery about the rancor so prevalent in American political discourse. Download a high resolution copy of this poster for free. In fact, all Chamomile Tea Party posters are free to download under a Creative Commons license.

Follow the history of our country’s political intransigence from 2010–2018 through a six-part exhibit of these posters on Google Arts & Culture.