The following is an excerpt of my latest column in The Hill:

By Sharyl Attkisson

Let me be clear, as we say in Washington, where we are rarely clear: I am not diminishing the importance of the impeachment proceedings. They are historic. They theoretically could result in the removal of the president of the United States.

Democrats insist democracy is at stake and it is their duty to act against a corrupt-minded commander in chief. Republicans see the Senate trial as proof positive of political conspiracies to remove a duly-elected president whom Democrats cannot beat at the polls.

I know that the news media is covering this trial with something that resembles great interest. And most U.S. senators are closely watching (because they are required to).

But I have a feeling that’s just about where the close attention ends.

Since I have conducted business outside the Washington beltway in recent days, I have yet to find anybody out there who is watching the proceedings. The first wake-up call was the other day when I saw an acquaintance who typically shows more interest in politics than most of my outside-the-beltway friends. He said to me — these were his exact words — “So I guess the whole impeachment thing just kind of went away?” (Continued…)

Read the rest of the article by clicking the link below:

https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/479747-senates-impeachment-trial-wake-me-when-its-over