Sen. Enzi explains why he'll vote to remove the president

Once the House of Representatives impeaches the President, Mike Enzi can be counted on to vote to remove Donald Trump

How do we know that? Senator Enzi has been unequivocal about his feelings with respect to presidents who lie to the American people. The country must, he said, be put head of Party.

Senator Enzi believes in the sanctity of oaths. “When our country was founded,” the Wyoming Senator said, “oaths meant everything. A man’s word was his bond.” Enzi cited the oath of office taken by the President when he “raised his right hand and placed his hand on the Bible swearing to uphold and defend the Constitution and to faithfully execute the laws of the United States.”

Enzi said the oath committed the President to being the nation’s “chief law enforcement officer.” A president’s “actions which undermine this high duty,” include obstructing justice, which “strike(s) at the very heart of the rule of law.”

About that oath, Enzi offered, “The President’s oath forbids him to selectively decide whether to follow the laws based on a calculation of political expediency or determination of personal gain or loss. He is bound to follow the Constitution and the laws of our country in and out of season.” Enzi said, “violating this duty, the President’s actions displayed the tendencies of and unbridled monarch.”

For the Wyoming Republican, charges against the President were no less compelling because they involved a private sexual encounter. He noted the President “was so thorough in denying any relationship,” adding the President “told all of us he had done nothing wrong.” Enzi continued, “Do you think he will lie only about sex? This man sends our children into war. He has to be held to the highest standard.”

While some have suggest the President should not be removed when he is doing a good job with the nation’s economy, Enzi vigorously disagreed. “Job performance cannot be a defense for perjury or obstruction of justice or any other crime,” adding, “A corrupt president, by contrast, has the power to wreak havoc on the entire political order.”

Wyoming’s senior Senator lamented that when the country needed the truth, it got “spin” instead. The Senator called it “dizzy deception.”

What troubled Enzi perhaps the most was this question: “Are we a country with one set of standards for the rich, famous, or powerful?” Enzi wondered what we teach our children. “Do we tell them they have to follow the law until they become powerful enough, or clever enough, or rich enough to violate the law with impunity?”

The Senator urged colleagues to avoid partisanship. He cited approvingly what he called “the Spouse Test.” His wife had told him that if this had been a President of the other party, “I would have chained myself to the White House fence until he resigned.”

In the final analysis, Enzi found that, “Those who violate the rule of law for their own personal or political ends must not be allowed to remain in offices of public trust.”

Following such a detailed analysis of the law, the facts, and the Senate’s sacred duties, Wyoming’s Senator Mike Enzi decided his conscience demanded he vote to convict…President Bill Clinton.

The words quoted herein are those spoken by the Wyoming Senator on the floor of the Senate 20 years ago tomorrow. The question is, will he apply the same analysis to Donald Trump?

There are three elements in the case against Trump differing from those causes leading to Clinton’s impeachment. One, Clinton lied under oath. But, are not presidents always “under oath”? Second, the case against Trump appears to be considerably more damning. Third, like Enzi, Trump is a Republican.

For all the talk about “the spouse test,” and the importance of putting country ahead of Party, we all know the truth. It takes considerably more courage to vote against a President of one’s own party than one of the other. Trump’s fate will ultimately be determined by whether that courage can be summoned.