The rule of law must be more than a mantra that we repeat

• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in a new window)
• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in a new window)
• Click here to share on LinkedIn (Opens in a new window)
• Click to email a friend (Opens in a new window)

Mitch McConnell

Editor's Note: William S. Cohen served as a representative, senator, and secretary of defense between 1972 and 2001. In 1973, as a member of the Judicial Commission of the House of Representatives, he was one of the first Republicans to depart from the partisan line and demand the political judgment of Richard Nixon. The opinions expressed in this comment are those of the author.

(CNN) - The Senate is putting President Donald Trump on trial to determine if he failed to faithfully carry out the duties of his senior office and committed prosecutable crimes. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell has publicly stated that he has no intention of acting impartially. In addition, he believes that the Senate should not allow the declaration of additional witnesses or that more documentary evidence be presented to the senators. In his opinion, the case for the political trial is closed.

But thanks to a small group of Republicans led by Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, who seem open to go against McConnell's wishes, some of the witnesses and documents held during the House of Representatives investigation could be presented during the Senate trial.

While few believe that the Senate will condemn the president of any crime and expel him from office, it remains critically important that the Senate exercise its power and responsibility by ensuring that all relevant evidence is disclosed so that the American people can be fully informed. of the actions of the president that not only directly affect our national security but also our national honor.

The facts that are currently before the Senate are not seriously in dispute. In a call on July 25, 2019 to the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, President Trump indicated that he was willing to help Ukraine in its war against Russia, but wanted a favor in return, one that implied that Ukraine investigated the former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter for possible corruption.

• MORE: Political trial in a minute: Democratic prosecutors start their arguments against Trump

Shortly after the call, the aid allocated by Congress for Ukraine was withheld. Multiple witnesses declared under oath that the assistance should not be given until Zelensky publicly announced that he would open an investigation into the Biden.

President Trump insists that the phone call to Zelensky was "perfect," while his supporters claim that his call and actions were completely appropriate or that, in the worst case, they were only reckless.

In judging whether the president's request - or his intention - was innocent or corrupt, senators should consider the president's behavior in the past.

When Sally Yates, a career officer of the Department of Justice, warned the president that Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn had serious conflicts of interest and should not be appointed as a national security adviser, she understood that in the world of President Trump, all Good deed is punished. The president hired Flynn and was upset with Yates. Shortly after he fired her for not defending her decree prohibiting entry to the United States.

When then-FBI director James Comey refused to say publicly that Trump was not the target in the investigation of the Russian plot, the president fired Comey.

When the then secretary of Justice Jeff Sessions refused to reverse his withdrawal from the investigation of the president's contacts with Russia, which would have trained him to fire the then special prosecutor Robert Mueller, the president dismissed Sessions.

When former National Intelligence director Dan Coats refused to support the Russian propaganda that it was Ukraine - and not Russia - that attacked our democracy during the 2016 election and presented evidence that contradicted the president's public statements regarding Russia, Korea's North and Iran, the president criticized Coats. Coats then resigned so as not to continue being unauthorized and denigrated.

When the distinguished diplomat Marie Yovanovitch began to be an obstacle for President Zelensky to comply with what former National Security ex-advisor John Bolton had suggested - according to the former main expert on Russian Fional Hill - that it was a political "drug business", Trump fired Yovanovitch.

Trump knows his presidency has been stained even if the Senate does not convict him

The founding fathers of the USA They knew what it meant to live under the boot of imperial rule. They also knew human nature and knew that an uncontrolled ambition in a free society can lead to anarchy or tyranny. They understood that power should be entrusted to someone but that no one should be trusted with power.

• READ: The US Senate approve the rules of political judgment. This is what you should know

President Trump is undoubtedly the type of person the founders had in mind when they granted Congress the power to control an abusive president, a president who insists that he cannot be prosecuted for criminal activity or investigated for constitutional misconduct. .

The Senate may try to quickly end the Articles of Political Judgment, and offer multiple justifications: the House of Representatives investigation was unfair; the evidence obtained is insufficient to prove a crime; abuse of power and obstruction of Congress are not defined in the Constitution as actionable offenses; and that it would be unfair for the Senate to take any action to remove the president just 10 months after the presidential election.

The rule of law is central to our existence as a democratic country, the precept that states that no one is above their prohibitions and no one is below their protections. The rule of law must be more than a mantra that we repeat but do not respect. It is the invisible thread that brings together the Constitution, which unites a diverse people in the cause of protecting our collective security and preserving our personal freedoms. The American people have the right to elect a president who is rude, cruel and immoral, but Congress has the power and duty to remove one who has corrupted his office by using it in the service of his private ambitions.

Political judgment