We need a fair impeachment trial

If there was ever an urgent time to write or call your U.S. senator, that time is now. The legitimacy of our government depends on whether the Senate chooses to give President Donald Trump an open, transparent, complete and impartial trial.

Top senators, including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Judiciary Chair Lindsey Graham, are clearly more interested in holding sham partisan proceedings than in weighing evidence and hearing witnesses. That's not right. Let's have a decision based on facts.

If evidence and witness testimony show Mr. Trump attempted to coerce a foreign government to interfere in a U.S. election and obstructed an investigation by Congress, senators must set aside party concerns and remove him from office. If the facts don't support the charges, they must exonerate him.

Doing the right thing calls for political courage, a quality often lacking in Washington. Call, write and email Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst today demanding they rise above party loyalty and insist on a full and fair trial, based on evidence and witness testimony.

Emery Styron

Riverside