Rep. Jamie Raskin on Trump impeachment: 'I'm not going to lose my son' in 2020 and 'lose my country' in 2021
Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland on Sunday said he's "not going to lose my son at the end of 2020 and lose my country and my republic in 2021" as he reflected on the recent death of his 25-year-old son, Tommy, and his own role as the lead House manager in President Donald Trump's second impeachment trial.
On CNN's "State of the Union" with the host Jake Tapper, Raskin said the memory of his son drove him to accept House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's request that he become an impeachment manager.
"I did it really with my son in my heart, and helping lead the way," Raskin said. "I feel him in my chest."
Raskin called the January 6 Capitol riot "the most dangerous crime by a president ever committed against the United States."
Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland on Sunday said he's "not going to lose my son at the end of 2020 and lose my country and my republic in 2021" as he reflected on the recent death of his 25-year-old son, Tommy, and his own role as the lead House manager in President Donald Trump's second impeachment trial.
During an appearance on CNN's "State of the Union" with the host Jake Tapper, Raskin expressed how the memory of Tommy, a graduate of Amherst College and student at Harvard Law School who died December 31, drove him to accept House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's request to become an impeachment manager.
"I did it really with my son in my heart, and helping lead the way," Raskin said. "I feel him in my chest."
On Wednesday, Trump was impeached by the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives on a charge of "incitement of insurrection" in connection to the January 6 Capitol riot, making him the only US president to be impeached twice.
Raskin, who was in the Capitol with his youngest daughter and son-in-law as the building came under attack, had to navigate what was the most significant breach of the building since 1814. He said the spirit of his son guided him during that harrowing attack, which resulted in five deaths.
"When we went to count the Electoral College votes, and it came under that ludicrous attack, I felt my son with me," he said.
A touching Medium post written by Raskin and his wife, Sarah Bloom Raskin, highlights the trajectory of their son's life. They spoke lovingly of his spirit.
"Tommy Raskin had a perfect heart, a perfect soul, a riotously outrageous and relentless sense of humor, and a dazzling radiant mind," they wrote. "He began to be tortured later in his 20s by a blindingly painful and merciless 'disease called depression,' a kind of relentless torture in the brain for him."
The congressman, who for years taught constitutional law at American University, brought up the dangers of the January 6 riot and its effect on democracy.
"I'm not going to lose my son at the end of 2020 and lose my country and my republic in 2021," he said. "It's not going to happen."
He added: "This was the most serious presidential crime in the history of the United States of America - the most dangerous crime by a president ever committed against the United States. There are Republicans who are recognizing it, as well as Democrats."
The House vote for Trump's second impeachment included support from 10 GOP lawmakers, including Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the No. 3 Republican in the conference.
Raskin pledged that House Democrats would send the article of impeachment to the Senate in a timely fashion, with a Senate trial to follow.
"We don't have a minute to spare," he said. "He's a clear and present danger to the people."
He added: "We're putting together a trial plan, which is designed to get the truth of all of these events out. We are going to be able to tell the story of this attack on America and all of the events that led up to it."
Read the original article on Business Insider
