Public impeachment hearings began yesterday and the first two witnesses confirmed that the President of the United States of America used his foreign policy powers to extort personal political favors. What’s more, they testified to a previously unknown phone call in which the president personally attempted to direct the extortion scheme. 

That’s corrupt. It’s an abuse of power. It, alongside President Nixon’s attempts to manipulate law enforcement and the intelligence community to perpetrate and cover up a break-in, constitutes the most egregious abuse of presidential power in living memory and, perhaps, American history.

The press is less than impressed, however, because there were no fireworks and no “pizzazz”: 

This sort of media framing — that something needs pizzazz or fireworks to be interesting — influences public perception and gives people license to not care about what is, in fact, a critically important chapter in American history. It’s horribly irresponsible. It’s an utter abdication by journalists who should damn well know better. 

I am resigned to the fact that, given our current political reality, Trump, at the absolute most, will be impeached by the House but acquitted by the Senate even if it is unequivocally and undeniably shown that he abused his office and committed high crimes and misdemeanors. I strongly believe it is necessary to do this despite that near-certain outcome, however, because it is important that those in power be required to either stand against or stand in complicity with Trump’s corruption and illegality. 

But as a journalist, I am deeply, deeply saddened by how irresponsibly the press has been and, apparently, will continue to be in covering all of this. They are failing in their jobs. They are failing democracy. They are failing the American people.