The GOP’s Inane, Cringey Move to Expunge Trump’s Impeachments
But, again, Trump wasn’t actually convicted of anything, so there’s nothing for the House to actually remedy here. The House of Representatives can’t unimpeach someone in a practical sense. There is no “criminal record” or “impeachment record” of sorts for anything to be expunged from. And even if Greene, Stefanik, and McCarthy burn every copy of the Congressional Record that includes Trump’s impeachment proceedings, they can’t make everyone pretend that it didn’t happen. Wikipedia’s list of presidential impeachments will still include both of Trump’s escapades. C-SPAN’s footage of the proceedings will still be freely available. All of the articles I wrote about them will still be online.
The other complicating factor here is that Trump was already found not guilty by the Senate after both trials. It makes no sense for the two resolutions to declare that the evidence was insufficient to convict Trump; the Senate’s decision not to convict Trump means exactly that. It would be one thing if control of the House had somehow changed hands before the Senate trial and the new majority wanted to reverse their predecessor’s decision. But the Senate has already granted Trump all the relief that the resolutions could hope to provide.
All of this makes far more sense not as an act of Congress but as yet another loyalty test for Trump and his closest allies to impose upon the rest of the Republican Party. It’s not enough for them to quietly look the other way after he corruptly abused his power in the Ukraine scandal or staged a coup attempt on January 6. A more exacting toll must be levied as Trump fends off multiple primary challengers and multiple criminal prosecutions. In Trumpworld’s eyes, GOP lawmakers must affirmatively vote in favor of a resolution that declares the former president did nothing wrong and that the people who tried to hold him accountable for imperiling American democracy are the real villains.
Source: The New Republic
