https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/26/opinion/trump-documents-jan-6-prosecute.html
The New York Times editorial headline reads, “Donald Trump Is Not Above the Law,” which means. . . what exactly, besides being an obvious truism? That he should be indicted? tried? convicted? imprisoned? hung upside down by his heels, like Mussolini?
According to the editorial, “No one should revel in the prospect of this or any former president facing criminal prosecution” but the NYT editorial board members surely do! They relish the prospect. They long for it. Why? Because they loathe – absolutely, unequivocally loathe – Donald Trump.
That Trump is guilty of something -- anything! -- is so obvious to the NYT editorial board that they present it as if there were no question about it at all:
“But most Republicans in the Senate refused to convict Mr. Trump.”
So, according to NYT, the guilty party is not just Trump but the Senate Republicans as well. Another, far less loaded, way of reporting the results of the trial would simply state:
"The Senate acquitted Mr. Trump of the charge of inciting insurrection."
Even NPR got its headline right that time:
“Senate Acquits Trump in Impeachment Trail – Again”
The NPR article’s opening line reads simply
“The U.S. Senate on Saturday acquitted former President Donald Trump on an impeachment charge of inciting an insurrection.”
That's quite different from claiming that the Senate Republicans "refused to convict" or "failed to convict" Trump. Who knows? Perhaps the Republicans in the Senate were genuinely not convinced by the evidence presented that Trump was guilty of the charges brought against him.
Personally, I believe that the best outcome for America and the American people would be a deal – an informal, public agreement – that Trump will not run again for President and that he will not be charged with state or federal crimes regarding his re-election-related activities both before and on January 6th.
In the long run, far more important than putting Trump on trial or behind bars is to establish much stronger protocols for protecting the Capitol and elected members of the House and Senate from threats or physical assaults, and for Democrats and Republicans in Congress to find common ground on which actions, from now on, will be considered acceptable and which unacceptable in contesting a presidential election.