Was censure ever a way out of impeachment?

Was there a middle path between acquittal and removal? On 3 February 2020, Democratic Senator Joe Manchin asked his colleagues to consider one: censuring Donald Trump as an alternative to impeachment. The target of that censure was Trump's efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate domestic political rivals.

The proposal came during the impeachment trial in the Senate. Manchin was considered friendly with the White House, which gave the suggestion a particular edge. A Democrat close enough to the administration to be seen as sympathetic was arguing that the conduct merited formal rebuke, even if removal was not the answer.

For Ukraine, the episode meant its name sat at the centre of a dispute in Washington that it had not chosen. The pressure at issue concerned investigations of political rivals, and the trial turned on that conduct.

Elsewhere that day

The same date brought violence in northwestern Syria. Syrian Army shelling killed Turkish military personnel in Idlib Governorate, and Turkish forces retaliated. A pro-opposition war monitor said 13 Syrian soldiers died; Syria denied it. Russia's Ministry of Defence said Turkey had moved troops into the de-escalation zone without notifying the Russian side. President Erdoğan said five Turkish soldiers and three civilian personnel were killed, nine others were injured, and that the Russians needed to stand aside.