All The Perfumes Of Arabia . . .

When historians write about the Trump Era, they will have to confront his impeachment. And they will no doubt conclude that Congress's failure to remove him from office was a catastrophic mistake. Barry Berke, the Special Counsel to  the House Judiciary Committee writes:

Mr. Trump was impeached because when confronted with an urgent crisis that threatened the security of our country — Russia’s hostile invasion of Ukraine — he put his personal and political interests over the interests of the country. He refused to protect the American people by releasing previously approved and desperately needed military aid for our vital ally unless that country agreed to help his re-election by announcing an investigation of his political rival Joe Biden.

Now, in the midst of the Coronavirus Holocaust, "the parallels are striking and, as with all recidivists, are particularly important for what they reveal about the president’s motives, intent and modus operandi."

In considering President Trump’s motives, there is little doubt that he warned that he might withhold desperately needed equipment from states whose governors did not express appreciation for his efforts, such as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, to force these vulnerable leaders to act in his political interests. Of course, that is exactly the same card he played in response to Ukraine’s request.

The reason the president has made blatantly false claims about the availability of testing, the unmet needs of states for ventilators and masks, and the potential of unproven cures is again to advance his political standing by embellishing the success of his efforts. The reason he dismissed early pronouncements of the dangers of the virus by the health experts in his administration, and denied their validity, is because he cared more about the stock market falling and potentially harming his re-election prospects.

There can be little doubt that the president acted knowingly and intentionally in putting his personal and political interests over the health and safety of the American people by delaying the measures recommended by his advisers. Reports over the past few days reveal that he was warned in late January and early February of the costs of not acting quickly by his most senior advisers, including his health and human services secretary, Alex Azar, and his principal trade adviser, Peter Navarro.

And last weekend, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the administration’s top infectious disease expert, appeared to confirm that he and his colleagues warned of the need for social distancing in mid-February, following a New York Times report detailing the delays. But President Trump nevertheless dismissed those warnings, and delayed announcing the need for social distancing and other actions recommended by his experts.

As the death toll rises in the United States, it's clear that Trump has a lot of blood on his hands. And those who refused to remove him -- when they could have -- also have blood on their hands. They will discover  -- like Lady Macbeth -- that they will never be able to wash that stain away.

Image: Tips From Chip