Scholar Available for Interviews on the Case For and Against Trump
02/09/2021
Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu and Christine Gillette, 978-758-4664, Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
As the Senate prepares to consider whether former President Donald Trump incited a deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, a constitutional scholar available for interviews says the impeachment trial “won’t change anyone’s mind.”
Key points in Trump’s defense that his impeachment is not constitutional have strong counter-claims that will keep Democrats and Republicans divided and can help justify their vote on either side of the issue, according to Morgan Marietta, a constitutional expert available for interviews on the merits of the arguments that will be raised at the trial. Many are rooted in the U.S. Constitution, he said.
Last month, the House of Representatives voted to impeach the president, which moved the process forward to the Senate. That body requires two-thirds of its members vote in favor of impeachment in order to convict Trump. Marietta doesn’t think that will happen.
“This is a clear case of two different framings of the argument; no one is likely to be moved, everyone has a basis for a vote and it will likely end as it began, with something very close to 55 votes in favor (of impeachment) with 50 Democrats and five Republicans who have electoral incentives to join them and 45 opposed,” he predicted.
Marietta is an associate professor of political science at UMass Lowell and fellow in the university’s Center for Public Opinion. He is the co-author of the book “One Nation, Two Realities: Dueling Facts in American Democracy,” which examines the deep divides in U.S. politics. Marietta’s articles about the Supreme Court and constitutional issues are widely published.
To arrange an interview with him via phone, email, Zoom or other teleconferencing platform, contact Nancy Cicco at Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or 978-934-4944 or Christine Gillette at Christine_Gillette@uml.edu or 978-758-4664.