On Thursday, January 16, 2020, the US Senate assembled on Capitol Hill to commence only the third impeachment trial in US history. There was no witness testimony, no lawyers, and no debate. That would be for another time. First and foremost, before anything else can proceed, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court had to accomplish the Constitutionally mandated task of assembling the Senate and administering the “impartial justice” oath.

There are many Americans who miss the significance of the administration of this oath. It is both unusual and noteworthy, as it constitutes an increased responsibility for officeholders who already labor under compelling demands of duty and honor. Senators, after all, are already placed under oath as they assume their office:

“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.”

That the Constitution demands such an oath be added upon at the commencement of an impeachment trial is a testament to the solemn and sacred duty the Senators have to be faithful jurors. This is no standard course of events. The matter before the Senate, its sole matter until it is concluded, is above and beyond anything else these Senators will conduct through the whole course of their political careers.

And no wonder. Before them lies two choices and two choices only: to determine that the President’s conduct so violates the public trust that they must remove the duly elected Chief Executive of the United State of America to safeguard the efficacy of the office, or to acquit the President of wrongdoing and, by so doing, signal to the nation that they are exonerating the alleged behavior, voted on in the House as impeachable, as lawful and ethical. Each path carries consequences we can scarcely comprehend.

One can’t help but think that even the most fervently partisan Senator took pause at the weight of their duty as they raised their arms and listened to the question put to them by Chief Justice John Roberts:

“Do you solemnly swear that in all things appertaining to the trial of the impeachment of Donald John Trump, president of the United States, now pending, you will do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws, so help you god?”

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