Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) held a belief that Senate Republicans still had "a remnant of patriotic solidarity with their fellow citizens," wrote New York Times columnist Michelle Goldberg.
In her Monday piece about the next steps after the impeachment, she explained that despite Raskin's openhearted beliefs in the good among people, the next steps in the ongoing saga of former President Donald Trump are the lawsuits.
"In addition to the investigations of Trump's business practices in New York, prosecutors in Georgia have opened a criminal investigation into his attempts to subvert the election there," she explained. "Washington's attorney general is reportedly considering charging Trump with violating a District of Columbia law against provoking violence. Joe Biden's Justice Department could look into the countless federal crimes Trump appeared to commit in office."
Former White House counsel Richard Painter listed statutes that Trump could be indicted under. Former federal prosecutor Elizabeth de la Vega even explained how prosecutors could still bar Trump from running in 2024 if they do a sentencing agreement after conviction.
In the past, Republicans have been opposed to legal investigations into Trump, but it isn't likely to come from the Senate, even with Democrats in control.
Goldberg cited a report from the Financial Times which explained, "Republicans have made clear that if they control the Senate, they would seek protection for Mr. Trump before approving any attorney general nominee put forward by Mr. Biden."
"Should Trump actually face legal jeopardy, plenty of Republicans will still howl about a witch hunt. McConnell might even join them. But his words can't easily be taken back," she warned of McConnell's speech on Trump's "responsibility" for the Capitol attack.
"There has to be a nationwide reckoning with the gravity and horror of these events," Raskin said of Trump's role in the Capitol attack. "I hope that the impeachment trial has started that educational process."
Goldberg agreed, saying that Republicans can't pretend that the impeachment is the end.