It took methodical, televised proceedings for Nixon to be impeached and eventually step down. Trump’s crimes have been much larger, public, and more frequent. But the rule of law has eroded so much since Nixon, that it can be difficult to imagine Trump being held accountable. Still, history is a guide. If we’re to keep what rule of law we have left, we should expect this to be a drawn-out fight for truth and justice.
When the House launched its formal impeachment hearings against Nixon in February 1974, only 38% of Americans supported it.https://t.co/AlXlOmpfJp
— Kevin M. Kruse (@KevinMKruse) September 26, 2019
Today, polling shows that 49% of Americans support launching formal impeachment hearings against Trump.https://t.co/lU86wKp1fv pic.twitter.com/9aMwQiCRq5
In the Watergate investigation, which took place not just in those formal impeachment hearings but in separate congressional inquiries too, the case for impeachment was made methodically.
— Kevin M. Kruse (@KevinMKruse) September 26, 2019
Televised hearings aired the evidence and turned public opinion.https://t.co/nQLWKZViO8
The result of the methodical case against Nixon & his men was the resignation of the president, the resignation of the vice president for an unrelated scandal, and the imprisonment of his former attorney general and several top White House aides.
— Kevin M. Kruse (@KevinMKruse) September 26, 2019
It was a marathon, not a sprint.