This is an open letter to U.S. Senator Roy Blunt.
I saw you on “Face the Nation” Sunday morning. I take issue with your statement “Trump touched a hot stove on Wednesday and is unlikely to touch it again.” This is not the way the justice system works in the US.
Touch a hot stove—get prosecuted.
Touch it again—get prosecuted again.
Twitter suspended Trump’s account precisely because he touched it again. Trump has never shied away from a hot stove. In fact, he’s never seen a hot stove that didn’t inspire him to bring out a gasoline can. The legal remedy is to prosecute him and put him in a place where he can’t reach hot stoves.
What you term “touching a hot stove” resulted in:
#1. Incitement of an insurrection that left five people dead and many more injured. Imagine if the rioters had been a bit more competent, a bit more successful. They could have taken out most of the Presidential line of succession, the entire legislative body of the US, including your self, all crowded together in a single room. And this insurrection is likely not over. Web crazies are looking forward to January 17th and January 20th.
#2. Trump put out a HIT on his own fanatically loyal VP. He put a target on Pence’s back when he said, “Pence must do the right thing or face the consequences”. The “right thing” was to reverse the election; something Pence was not constitutionally allowed to do. The mob decided the “consequences” would be hanging.
Trump’s big lie—that the election was rigged, stolen, and could be reversed—was promoted and promulgated by Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz and, to a lesser extent, by yourself among many others.
What happened on January 6th was not only disgusting and disheartening—deserving of censure and shame; it was deranged and dangerous—deserving of impeachment and indictment; leaving you and Josh Hawley deserving of resignation and recall.
JoAnn Hansen, St. Mary
