Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin suggested Sunday that President Donald Trump should face a legal trial rather than a second impeachment.
Manchin told CNN anchor Jake Tapper that impeachment was a political remedy, and if President Donald Trump was to be held liable for any of the damages, injuries or deaths that occurred at the Capitol on Jan. 6, a legal remedy might be the better option. (RELATED: ‘Clear Acts Of Sedition And Violence And Terrorism’: Jake Tapper Blasts Trump Statement During Riots)
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Manchin began by saying that he didn’t necessarily believe the House should refrain from drawing up or presenting articles of impeachment against President Trump, but he noted that a Senate trial would only disrupt the already rocky transition into President-elect Joe Biden’s administration.
“It seems to me you are saying there shouldn’t be a Senate trial of President Trump after the articles of impeachment presumably pass but maybe there should be a legal trial, a prosecution of President Trump and anyone else who incited this riot. Is that what you are saying?” Tapper asked.
“Well, first of all, we are a country — the rule of law is who we are. That’s our bedrock. And that means no person is above the law,” Manchin replied. “If people have died, and we know they have, and all the damage that was done, and insurrection, on our own Capitol, someone has to go to be held accountable for that so it never happens again or doesn’t come within our borders, within our country.”
Manchin went on to explain that impeachment was a political solution, and he wasn’t certain that the problem was political.
“I would think that that would be a better position to take and that would be a better route to go versus taking a political route,” he added. “And everyone believes that impeachment is a political route even though we know the purpose and the reason for to us do it. Because there has been a violation. But that basically stops us from putting a government together.”
Manchin concluded by saying that Biden already had a big job ahead of him, and a Senate trial — amid attempts to get his new cabinet installed — would only cause further disruptions in that process.
“I’m not sure that the impeachment route is the way that he can put that back together,” Manchin said.