Tired of ads? Want to support our progressive journalism? Click to learn more.LEARN MORE
Enjoy good journalism?
… then let us make a small request. The COVID crisis has slashed advertising rates, and we need your help. Like you, we here at Raw Story believe in the power of progressive journalism. Raw Story readers power David Cay Johnston’s DCReport, which we've expanded to keep watch in Washington. We’ve exposed billionaire tax evasion and uncovered White House efforts to poison our water. We’ve revealed financial scams that prey on veterans, and legal efforts to harm workers exploited by abusive bosses. And unlike other news outlets, we’ve decided to make our original content free. But we need your support to do what we do.
Raw Story is independent. Unhinged from corporate overlords, we fight to ensure no one is forgotten.
We need your support in this difficult time. Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Invest with us. Make a one-time contribution to Raw Story Investigates, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click to donate by check.
Value Raw Story?
… then let us make a small request. The COVID crisis has slashed advertising rates, and we need your help. Like you, we believe in the power of progressive journalism — and we’re investing in investigative reporting as other publications give it the ax. Raw Story readers power David Cay Johnston’s DCReport, which we've expanded to keep watch in Washington. We’ve exposed billionaire tax evasion and uncovered White House efforts to poison our water. We’ve revealed financial scams that prey on veterans, and efforts to harm workers exploited by abusive bosses. We need your support to do what we do.
Raw Story is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Invest with us in the future. Make a one-time contribution to Raw Story Investigates, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you.
  |  |
Report typos and corrections to: corrections@rawstory.com.
Trump impeachment after leaving office is nothing – in 9th-century Rome they put a pope's corpse on trial
January 27, 2021
Having been impeached for the second time, former US president Donald Trump will be tried by the Senate in February 2021, the first time a US president has been impeached twice for “high crimes and misdemeanours”. A single article of impeachment will be passed to the Senate on January 25, accusing Trump of “inciting insurrection” before his supporters attacked the US Capitol building on January 6. Formal arguments will begin in the Senate in the second week of February.
But a media campaign is already well underway, as supporters of the former president – and his political enemies – take to the airwaves to put their case. Prominent among Trump’s defenders has been senior Republican senator, Lindsey Graham, who told Fox News host Sean Hannity that if Trump were to be convicted by the Senate after he leaves office, it would open the door for past presidents to be impeached.
<p>“If you can impeach a president after they’re out of office, why don’t we impeach George Washington?” Graham told Hannity. “He owned slaves. Where does this stop?”</p>
<p>There is of course an obvious flaw in Graham’s comment: being dead, Washington cannot appear to defend himself. </p>
<p>But the history of the early medieval papacy teaches us that even death may not be a bar to prosecution for misconduct in public office. More than 1,000 years ago, the western church was in crisis. There was a <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1404567">bitter dispute between Rome and Constantinople</a> over which was the head of the Christian church. Waves of immigrants had settled in Hungary and Bulgaria, which increased tensions between Constantinople and Rome as they vied for sovereignty over a changing population with shifting allegiances.</p>
<p>These conflicts raised important questions about the qualities that were required of the leaders of Christendom. During this period there was a fairly frequent use of the early medieval equivalent of impeachment. This was a <a href="https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100547669">church synod</a> held in Rome, at which the holder of the highest office in Christendom could be tried for transgressions against the traditions and customs of their office. One such synod <a href="https://wsmonroe.com/2014/06/02/137/">took place in January 897</a> and heard charges against the most recent former pontiff, Formosus (pope from 891 to 896).</p>
<p>The only problem was that Formosus had been dead for seven months by the time the trial started. But the new pope, Stephen VI, was of the firm opinion that even when a leader had left office they could still be punished for their transgressions.</p>
<p>The synod thus went ahead under somewhat ghoulish circumstances. Pope Stephen had Formosus’ corpse withdrawn from its sarcophagus and brought to the Basilica of St John Lateran in Rome to be put on trial. The corpse was clad in papal vestments and seated on a throne to face charges that Formosus had broken the rules of the church. Close by stood a deacon to answer in Formosus’ name. Stephen VI charged the cadaver with having broken an oath not to return to Rome and of having illegally obtained the title of pope because he was already a bishop at the time of his election.</p>
<p>The alleged crimes took place long before the trial. In July 876, Formosus had been excommunicated for meddling in European power politics and prohibited from celebrating mass by Pope John VIII. But, after his death, the sentence of excommunication was withdrawn by John’s successor Marinus I in 878 and Formosus returned to his job as bishop of Porto. </p>
<p>Despite having blotted his copybook, Formosus was elected pope on October 1 891 and immediately involved himself in politics again. </p>
<p>In Italy, Formosus encouraged insurrection, persuading Arnulf of Carinthia <a href="https://wsmonroe.com/2014/06/02/137/">to advance to Rome</a> to drive out the reigning emperor. Arnulf seized Rome by force on February 21 896 but his success was shortlived – before he had the chance to move against the opposition’s stronghold in Spoleto, he was struck with paralysis and was unable to continue the campaign. Paralysis, incidentally, was widely regarded as a divine punishment in the Middle Ages.</p>
<p>It’s important to remember that this was an era in which the <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/magazine/2016/01-02/vatican-dead-pope-on-trial/">papacy changed hands at an alarming rate</a> – almost every year between 896 and 904 saw a new pope pope, sometimes even two. Formosus was succeeded by Pope Boniface VI, who himself died two weeks later. Stephen VI, who was next to sit on the papal throne, had been a supporter of Formosus, but had changed camps and was now aligned with the Spoleto family, at that time all-powerful in Rome. </p>
<p>Stephen VI predictably pronounced Formosus guilty on the grounds that he could not legally have received the papal title since he was the bishop of another see and he had gone back on his oath not to celebrate mass. All his measures, acts and legal decisions were annulled, and all the priestly orders conferred by him were declared invalid. His papal vestments were torn from his body. The three fingers which the dead pope had used in consecrations were cut off his right hand and the corpse was buried in a grave in the cemetery for strangers, only to be removed after a few days and thrown into the river Tiber.</p>
<p>Donald Trump, at present hunkered down at his Mar a Lago resort in Florida, will not suffer the indignities of the corpse of Pope Formosus. But, like Formosus, he will see many (if not all) of his decisions and appointments reversed in these first days of Joe Biden’s presidency. Interestingly, after the death of Stephen VI, Formosus was rehabilitated and his papacy reinstated by the church. </p>
<p>Trump, meanwhile, is rumoured to still be considering a return to US politics. Having lost access to the modern equivalent of Formosus’ three fingers – his social media platforms – he can no longer easily convey favours or inspire his followers. But, as we now know, stranger things have happened.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img alt="The Conversation" height="1" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/153339/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important" width="1"/><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p>
<p><span><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/frederik-pedersen-149876">Frederik Pedersen</a>, Senior Lecturer in History, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-aberdeen-962">University of Aberdeen</a></em></span></p>
<p>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/trump-impeachment-after-leaving-office-is-nothing-in-9th-century-rome-they-put-a-popes-corpse-on-trial-153339">original article</a>.</p>
CONTINUE READING
Show less
A controversial Polish court ruling that imposes a near-total ban on abortion will come into force on Wednesday, the country's right-wing government said, in an announcement that triggered protests.
The move means that all abortions in Poland will now be banned except in cases of rape and incest and when the mother's life or health are considered to be at risk.
<p>The ruling is in line with the policies of the governing right-wing Law and Justice party (PiS).</p><p>"The ruling will be published today in the Journal of Laws," the government information centre said on Twitter.</p><p>Poland was rocked by massive demonstrations when the Constitutional Court verdict was first issued in October.</p><p>The ruling said abortions in cases of foetal abnormalities were "incompatible" with the constitution.</p><p>The government said the reasoning behind the October 22 ruling would also be published.</p><p>Women's Strike, the organisation behind a string of mass demonstrations against the ruling, called for a protest later Wednesday outside the Constitutional Court in Warsaw.</p><p>Demonstrations were also announced in other cities.</p><p>"Express your anger today as you see fit," Marta Lempart, a leading protest organiser, told a press conference.</p><p>"We are calling on everyone to go into the streets," she said, adding that publication of the ruling constituted "a crime".</p><p>Klementyna Suchanow, another organiser from Women's Strike, said: "The whole of Poland is mobilising, not just in Warsaw. We are ready!</p><p>"When we speak of hell for women, we can also speak of hell for the government. We are going to make this hell for you," she said.</p><p>- 'You will not win' -</p><p>Predominantly Catholic Poland already has one of Europe's most restrictive laws on abortion.</p><p>There are fewer than 2,000 legal abortions every year and women's groups estimate that an additional 200,000 women abort either illegally or abroad.</p><p>Borys Budka, head of the opposition Civic Platform, said the publication of the ruling was a "provocation".</p><p>Wanda Nowicka of the Left party tweeted: "You have not yet won this war against women and you will not win."</p><p>The government had delayed publishing the ruling after nationwide demonstrations held in defiance of coronavirus restrictions banning rallies.</p><p>The protests sparked by the abortion ruling soon became an expression of wider anti-government sentiment.</p><p>The biggest protests brought together tens of thousands of people in what organisers said was a generational "revolution" against the status quo, including against Poland's Catholic hierarchy.</p><p>But polling experts say that a "silent majority" of Poles support the existing abortion legislation and only a small number want wider abortion rights.</p><p>The government has defended the verdict, saying it will halt "eugenic abortions", referring to the termination of foetuses diagnosed with Down's Syndrome, but human rights groups have said it would force women to carry non-viable pregnancies.</p><p>© 2021 AFP</p>
CONTINUE READING
Show less
U.S. workers continue to get sick and die from COVID-19 largely because the Trump White House refused to safeguard them with federally enforceable protections.
That isn't going to change immediately under President Joe Biden's executive order aimed at Protecting Worker Health & Safety because rules made by Congress say it takes time to implement life-protecting policies.
<p>The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) should have moved months ago to establish an "emergency temporary standard" governing workplace protections in the time of COVID-19.</p><blockquote>The Trump Administration did very little to protect people. Trump left office with no plan to distribute the vaccines for which Trump claimed credit.<br/></blockquote><p>Because of the incompetence, delays and inaction by Team Trump the pandemic has already <a href="https://www.dcreport.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">killed more than 425,000 people in the U.S.</a>—more Americans than died in World War II. The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention now predicts the death toll will reach 500,000 people by March 1 and that deaths will continue for months to come.</p><h3>Teamsters Union Plan</h3><p>On Jan. 19, Trump's last full day in office, the Teamsters released a set of national legislative priories that include strengthening OSHA's enforcement capabilities, as well as establishing a new emergency temporary standard to deal with the coronavirus. OSHA has long been under attack by corporate interests who claim it adds costs to business, cutting into profits.</p><p>The Trump Administration did very little to protect people. Trump left office with no plan to distribute the vaccines for which Trump claimed credit.</p><p>A year ago <a href="https://edlabor.house.gov/imo/media/doc/2020-01-30%20RCS%20to%20DOL%20Corona%20Letter_SIGNED1.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">a new emergency temporary standard</a> was urged by Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), who chairs the House Committee on Education and Labor. In a letter to then Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia, Scott said that OSHA's infectious disease standard had been left to "languish" for about a decade. "OSHA must take swift action to protect healthcare workers, and by extension, the American public," Scott wrote.</p><h3>OSHA Failing Workers</h3><p>"The safety of America's frontline healthcare workers and, by extension, the health of the entire nation will depend on OSHA's ability to ensure the safety of the nation's health care infrastructure," Scott wrote. "Absent timely action, OSHA will be failing frontline healthcare workers, its mission, and the nation."</p><p>That sense of urgency, coupled with the <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/cuomo-deflects-blame-slow-vaccine-rollout-federal-government" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">botched rollout</a> of the COVID-19 vaccination program, has only grown more acute with time. Still, there is a process, and it could be another two months before OSHA, its budget well below what is needed to protect workers, establishes the kinds of enforceable workplace protections that Trump didn't enact.</p><p>"We want more, of course — we know that there is an extreme amount of urgency," Jessica Martinez told me. She is co-executive director of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, which plans to release its own national agenda for worker health and safety on Feb 3.</p><p>"There is a process of setting a standard and we hope that it moves quickly through the bureaucracy of government," she said, acknowledging how procedural rules hinder the speed with which the Biden administration can act.</p><p>Labor groups last year <a href="https://www.lhsfna.org/index.cfm/lifelines/july-2020/the-battle-for-an-emergency-temporary-standard-to-address-covid-19/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">called </a>for action from the Trump Administration. The failure to act contradicted <a href="https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/the-inaugural-address/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Trump's inaugural address</a> promise that "I will fight for you with every breath in my body – and I will never, ever let you down."</p><h3>States Act on Their Own</h3><p>Several states decided not to wait for federal action. They moved earlier to expand worker protections in the face of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. California <a href="https://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/coronavirus/COVID19FAQs.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">established a new emergency standard</a> for COVID prevention on Nov. 19. A <a href="https://news.bloomberglaw.com/safety/virginia-workplace-covid-19-protection-rule-takes-effect-jan-27" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">new Virginia work-safety rule</a> takes effect this week, but without paid leave provisions like the California law.</p><p>Although more than 25 million cases of COVID-19 nationwide attest to the need, insiders argue that Biden is prohibited from circumventing required analysis and outright directing OSHA to establish a new emergency standard because employers would only challenge its validity in court.</p><p>"There is nothing on paper at this point that makes any of this proposal enforceable," Martinez conceded. "Now, with that said, I think that it's important to note several factors: One is that the government has been intentional about including these guidelines — something we have not heard from the former administration. Second, there is some real leadership that has been announced — folks that have been committed many years to understand the importance of engaging workers, worker advocates and the process of putting priorities around worker safety and health."</p><p>In addition to issuing the executive order on Protecting Worker Health & Safety on his first full day as president, Biden also tapped three people with <a href="https://progressivereform.org/cpr-blog/biden-tapped-frederick-hughes-rosenthal-for-oshas-leadership-team-heres-how-they-can-fix-the-agency/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">extensive backgrounds</a> in worker health and safety to protect workers. Jim Frederick will be OSHA's deputy assistant secretary; Chip Hughes as named deputy assistant secretary for pandemic emergency response; and Ann Rosenthal was appointed senior advisor.</p><p>"We're hopeful that with this leadership it is a step in the right direction and there will be a more concrete commitment to making many of these processes more enforceable," Martinez added. "Also, some clear guidance in ways that allows workers to have a seat at the table."</p><p>Interest in workplace safety and competent leadership have never and likely never will be enough to safeguard American workers, however. That is going to take the kind of "street heat" from working people that earlier this month compelled the California State Assembly to introduce a bill aimed at protecting fast-food workers and the organized labor action that secured a roughly 10% raise for members of Teamsters Local 202 working at the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/hunts-point-produce-market-reaches-deal-with-workers-ending-strike-11611434640" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Hunts Point Produce Market </a>in New York City.</p><p>"Only strong worker participation is really going to get anyone anywhere," a congressional aide with extensive knowledge of OSHA's operations recently told me. "It's harder than just snapping fingers — nothing happens by itself in Washington."</p>
CONTINUE READING
Show less
Trending
Latest
Videos
Copyright © 2021 Raw Story Media, Inc. PO Box 21050, Washington, D.C. 20009 | Masthead | Privacy Policy | For corrections or concerns, please email corrections@rawstory.com.