President Trump’s impeachment trial came to a predictable ending Wednesday afternoon when he was acquitted on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The trial centered around allegations that Trump withheld military aid to Ukraine and promised to organize a White House meeting in order to pressure Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden and his son, Hunter. (Hunter Biden was on the board of Ukranian energy company, Burisma, while Biden was Vice President.)
The votes were split entirely down party lines, with Senator Mitt Romney as the sole Republican who broke ranks and voted to convict Trump on abuse of power. However, Romney said did not believe House Democrats fully proved their case that Trump obstructed Congress. Despite a colorful cast of characters ready to snitch at a moment’s notice, no witnesses or documents were included in the trial.
Trump was impeached by the House in December, but the idea that the Republican-controlled Senate would vote to remove him from office was always a fanciful one.
There’s an argument that even with this bleak ending, this at least puts Trump’s impeachment on the record, and marks those who voted to stand by him with a legacy as complicit collaborators. But when these same politicians gleefully, guiltlessly stand by as Trump and his administration conduct countless other despicable acts, the weeks of impeachment drama feel—well, fucking stupid. History will remember that nothing was accomplished.