Democrats are meeting Tuesday to consider the impeachment of President Donald Trump — as demanded by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), and resisted (until now) by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).
Article II, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution defines the criteria for impeachment: “The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”A reasonable observer would have trouble finding anything President Donald Trump had done to meet that standard, but Democrats have a list of reasons:
1. They don’t like him! Democrats — and “Never Trump” Republicans — have been talking about impeachment since early 2016, arguing that since impeachment is an inherently political process they can do it for any reason.
2. He stole the 2016 election! Many Democrats still believe Trump cheated, even after Special Counsel Robert Mueller found no collusion with Russia, and there is no evidence Russia affected significant numbers of votes.
3. He has business interests! Trump has businesses, such as hotels, that include foreign customers. Democrats claim that violates the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause, which prohibits accepting foreign gifts and titles.
4. He has violated the Constitution! Except… the Supreme Court has upheld almost every single Trump policy. (One rare exception: the Supreme Court struck down the Census citizenship question, but for procedural reasons.)
5. He colluded with the Russians! But: “[T]he investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.”
6: He obstructed justice! The Special Counsel “did not draw a conclusion one way or the other,” but the attorney general said there was insufficient evidence, and the White House withheld nothing from the investigation.
7. They need to find evidence! Democrats admit there is no evidence yet to impeach the president for anything, but that they can only get the information they need for impeachment once there is an impeachment inquiry. (Get that?)
8. He pushed Ukraine to investigate Biden! Joe Biden arguably obstructed justice by threatening to withhold U.S. aid to an ally unless it fired a prosecutor investigating his son. Trump urged an inquiry but offered no quid pro quo.
9. (Quietly: there may be no other way to beat him!) Trump’s approval rating is high; the economy is defying the recession hype; and the country is safe. Impeachment is a vote of no confidence in the 2020 Democratic field.
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