Authored by Jacob Hornberger via The Future of Freedom Foundation,
I confess that I still don’t get what exactly is going to be the particular offense for which President Trump is going to be impeached.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m all in favor of impeaching Trump and removing him from office, but only for grave crimes, such as waging war illegally (i.e., without the constitutionally required congressional declaration of war), wreaking death, suffering, and destruction in those wars, committing countless assassinations, and violating provisions in the Bill of Rights with respect to indefinite detention, torture, denial of speedy trial, and denial of due process of law.
But impeaching Trump for a telephone conversation? To me, that has the feel of desperation attached to it, a desperation born out of an increasing realization that none of the Democratic presidential candidates is capable of defeating Trump in an election. Trump’s impeachment seems like it might be the political equivalent of a Hail Mary pass in football — almost impossible to complete but would at least give the Democrats a long-shot, short-cut way to the presidency.
There are three possible offenses that would form the basis of an impeachment. Let’s examine and analyze each one.
Offense One
Trump’s request of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to initiate a criminal investigation of former Vice-President and current Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden on possible corruption charges in Ukraine.
Is it really a criminal offense for a president to request that a criminal investigation be launched against someone, including a political opponent?
Let’s first consider the case of an American citizen, John Doe, who is not running for office. The president calls the attorney general and says, “Would you initiate a criminal investigation against John Doe?” Would that really be a crime under U.S. law? What if Doe is a suspected terrorist? Or a suspected murderer? Or a suspected robber? Where in the law is the president prohibited from requesting the attorney general from initiating an investigation (and possible criminal prosecution) of Doe?
Now, let’s change the scenario. Let’s say that Trump calls a state attorney general and makes the same request. Is that against the law? I don’t see how it can be. Again, what if the person really does need to be investigated? What if he’s committed fraud, both on the federal and state level? Where in the law does it say that the president is legally prohibited from asking a state attorney general to initiate an investigation?
Let’s change the scenario again. Let’s say that Trump calls the president of a foreign country and makes the same request. Let’s say that the person he’s targeting is running an international child-trafficking operation that is based in that country but also operating within the United States. Would it really be illegal under U.S. law for the president to request that foreign president to initiate an investigation into such person? I don’t see how it would be.
Now, let’s change the scenario to one where Trump makes the same requests with respect to someone who is running against him for president. Would that be illegal? If it’s not illegal to make the request with respect to a non-candidate, then I don’t see how it would be illegal to make the same request with respect to an opposing candidate.
Yes, the request might be a malevolent, vicious, improper, and unethical thing to do, but if we are going to impeach presidents for doing those types of things in political races, no president would last more than a few days in office. Every one of them engages in malevolent, vicious, improper, and unethical conduct in his or her insatiable quest for political power.
What if the opposing candidate really has engaged in criminal wrongdoing, either here in the United States or in a foreign country or both? Does the law really say that when a person announces for public office, he is automatically immune from investigation and prosecution for any crimes he has committed? I am certain the law doesn’t say that. Otherwise, every murderer, robber, and rapist would be running for office perpetually.
Democrats and mainstream newspaper commentators are saying that Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden are innocent of any criminal wrongdoing. Fair enough. But maybe that’s because they haven’t been sufficiently investigated. Many guilty people appear innocent until an aggressive evidence shows otherwise. Why does the fact that they say they are innocent of official corruption in Ukraine convert Trump’s request that they be investigated for official corruption into an impeachable offense?
Offense Two
Holding up a U.S. foreign aid package to Ukraine shortly before Trump requested President Zelensky to initiate the investigation.
The charge here refers to bribery. The argument is that by Trump withholding the foreign aid money to Ukraine until he made his request to investigate the Bidens, he was essentially offering Zelensky a bribe. That is, the argument is that Trump was essentially saying with his actions, “If you will grant my request, I will give you this money.”
If that’s the case, that certainly would constitute a bribe. But there are two big problems with this argument.
First, that’s not what Trump said. It might appear that that is what he was doing by withholding the foreign aid but appearances are not the same as proof. Trump himself has come up with two explanations as to why he was holding up the aid package, neither of which had anything to do with a bribe. He might well be lying, but the burden of proof is on the accuser, not Trump. Moreover, the fact that the aid was later released to Ukraine, without Trump having had his request for an investigation into the Bidens granted, does not bode well for the accusers.
Second, U.S. foreign aid has long been used as bribery. That’s the very purpose of foreign aid — to induce foreign regimes to do the bidding of U.S. officials. See my articles “Foreign Aid for Dictators” and “From the Anti-Russia Brouhaha to the Ukraine Brouhaha.” Is Trump going to be impeached and removed from office for doing what the the U.S. foreign-aid system is intended to do?
I’m reminded of what happened to Yemen after it voted against President George H.W. Bush’s request for a UN resolution authorizing war against Iraq. U.S. Secretary of State James Baker reportedly stated that that was the most expensive vote Yemen would ever take. U.S. foreign aid to Yemen was terminated. Neither Bush nor Baker was impeached.
Moreover, it turns out that Biden himself did the same thing when he was vice-president. He told Ukrainian officials that if they didn’t remove a particular prosecutor in the regime, he would make sure that U.S. foreign aid to Ukraine would cease. The official was quickly removed, and the aid was continued. Now, it’s true that just because Bush and Biden did it doesn’t justify Trump doing it. But it seems to me that it’s going to look a bit hypocritical, petty, and Third-Worldish to impeach Trump and remove him from office for using foreign aid in the same way that other U.S. officials do.
By the way, if we are going to start impeaching presidents for bribery through U.S. foreign aid, can we also start prosecuting candidates for bribery who offer voters political freebies — such as free education, free healthcare, and free income — in return for their votes?
Offense Three
Soliciting an illegal campaign contribution from Zelensky by supposedly requesting him to get political dirt on Biden and his son.
The idea here is that by requesting a criminal investigation into Biden by Ukrainian officials, Trump was essentially seeking political dirt on Biden. The political dirt, the argument goes, would be a campaign contribution from a foreign regime. It is unlawful under U.S. campaign-finance laws for Trump to solicit or accept a campaign contribution from a foreign regime.
There are three big problems with this supposed offense.
First, a criminal investigation is not the same thing as an investigation to find political dirt on someone. A criminal investigation is a criminal investigation. It ordinarily leads a criminal prosecution. That’s not to say that a criminal investigation cannot also be a search for political dirt, but there is no evidence that Trump specifically requested political dirt when he requested that Zelensky initiate a criminal investigation of the Bidens. Based on the notes of the telephone conversation, it is clear that Trump requested an investigation, not political dirt.
Second, for political dirt to constitute a campaign contribution, it has to have some value. If Trump’s request for an investigation is construed as a request for political dirt, how much would that dirt be worth? How can such a determination be made without knowing what the dirt is? And what if it turned out that there was no dirt? Is it unlawful under U.S. campaign finance laws to seek a contribution worth zero dollars from a foreign regime?
Third, if U.S. campaign-finance laws make Trump’s request for an investigation into the Bidens a criminal offense, the laws are clearly unconstitutional. That’s because they obviously run afoul of the First Amendment, which states as follows: Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech.” It would be difficult to find a better example of speech than a telephone conversation. Under our constitutional form of government, when a congressional enactment collides with the Constitution, the enactment must give way.
* * *
After embroiling the nation for three years in what has to be considered the most ludicrous conspiracy theory in U.S. history - that Trump colluded with the Russians to elect him to the presidency - it seems to me that the Democrats, the mainstream press, and possibly even the deep state have now moved on to Part 2 of their effort to remove Trump from office without having to defeat him in an election.
via zerohedge
The impeachable offenses are investigating the orgins of the Russian Collusion case and the questionable arrangements of Joe Biden and his son with Ukraine.
Trump beat hrc in a legitimate election. That is the impeachable offense according to democRATS.
I guess i am stupid, because i dont get this. Just another way the dems dont have to do thier jobs, wadte more tax payors money, and waste time. They should be impeached!
He was “sent by God” to DRAIN THE SWAMP. We need term limits for the Congress and Senate, so these radical career politicians cannot continue their messing around with irrelevant, costly activities like witch hunts, false accusations, etc. Never have I seen such sore losers - and money-wasters as these people. They are a disgrace for the whole world to see.
I challenge the author of this article to explain exactly why he wants to impeach Pres. Trump.
Pres. Trump DID NOT use foreign aid as a bribe. Notice how the author of this article slips that one in so innocently.
” But it seems to me that it’s going to look a bit hypocritical, petty, and Third-Worldish to impeach Trump and remove him from office for using foreign aid in the same way that other U.S. officials do.”
For the most part a well-balanced article… except for the aforementioned ‘slip ups’.
He started the conversation with this but then went into the only circumstances where impeachment would be appropriate. According to the write, Trump has done nothing even approaching these crimes.
All political theater folks. Democrats failed to produce a viable candidate and have no hope of winning the 2020 election. Had they worked with president Trump from the beginning, like they should have, they would have been able to campaign on achievements America now enjoys. Presidential harassment and legislative resistance are not sell able to the masses in elections. Trump 2020.
Didn’t the ‘crats launch a criminal investigation (the mueller probe-though it wasn’t exactly a criminal investigation since no crime was ever alleged ) in order to find something, anything on their political opponent? Aren’t they launching investigation after investigation into the businesses and bank records and income taxes to find something, anything on their political opponent? Aren’t they frustrated that their opponent doesn’t have closets full of skeletons just like they do?
Poor schiffty schiff.
The Democrats are proving to be experts at undermining national progress being made by an outstanding president by involving themselves with unsubstantiated allegations and party-based double standards. Their narrative continues to operate at the lower personality and groupie level but not the policy and principal level .
Adam is too full of Schiff!
The author did NOT “want to impeach Pres. Trump”. Specifically, he said that of course, he would want to impeach and remove Trump (or any other president) if he (or they) DID do horrible things, but as he explained in the rest of the article, Trump did NOT do anything that was impeachable! Did you not understand that?
Donald J. Trump’s only impeachment offense is being elected President over Hillary Rodham Clinton. That is ALL he has done! Any of all that Democrats can blame The President of doing? The Democrat Party is guilty of!
The Democrats have no achievements. For 3 years they have spent their $176,000 per year salaries and close to $80million taxpayer dollars (so far) working against our President and therefore our Country and therefore We the People. It is time to publicly denounce the Democrats dereliction of duties and demand they be thrown out of office. We need to vote into office only those Republicans and Independents that will work for the benefit of the Country. Everyone working understands this concept. You either work for the good or you don’t work there at all. Evaluations tell who stays and who does not. Hold the Democrats accountable for their actions and let your voices be heard loud and clear by phone calls, letters, social media, and most important, VOTES.PA9B
The swamp the deep state Obama administration Clinton all have commuted treasonable offensives plus all the committees chair persons who have committed violating their oath of office with lies after lies and leaking information to the media and changing laws on the books by being guilty of collusion among themselves to change the law only to benefit their charges against the president of the United States all violations of the us constitution and their oath of office the whole bunch should be impeached or at least charged with treason against the president of or country come on people the Democratic Party is corrupt and disgusting a shameful act against our country and our constitution and the president of the United States and don’t forget the media who have committed treasonous crimes as well like trump or not we can not let this continue they are destroying the country
I support Hannity’s suggestion to Newt that it’s time for another “Contract with America” what they accomplished during Reagans presidency was remarkable.people like Pelosi, Shifft, Schumer, always seem to turn up, and accomplish nothing (see Shakespeare, full and fury… )9
Aren’t the Democrats accusing President Trump of what they actually did to him? Trying to find dirt on him with Russia and via the Steele Dossier, the DNC and Hillary so that he would not win the election?
Hillary wanted Trump to pledge to accept the results of the election - but look who didn’t even show up to accept her defeat! Look who thinks that because she won the popular vote she should be President - let’s just change the Constitution so that the Electoral votes don’t count. Couldn’t you just see Hillary as President (I shutter to think of that), because she would be making deals with many foreign countries just to enrich her pockets. To this day, Hillary can’t accept her loss (neither can Democrat’s) and says that Donald Trump is an illegitimate President - who is she kidding (herself).
I pray that Donald Trump wins the 2020 election and continues to drain the swamp, build the wall, boost the economy, help veterans, keep peace with world leaders, reduce government spending and so much more.
Isn’t it sad that Nancy Pelosi and the rest of the Democrats hate Donald Trump more than they love our country!! All they talk of is Impeachment - nothing else gets done. Why are we continuing to pay them these huge salaries and great benefits. If the worked in the real world, they would be fired!!
The Democratic Party the media have all violated every concept of decently and their oath of office they have turned their party into an embarrassment in the eyes of the world and have taken Obama down with them my god what is wrong with these people The swamp and our FBI and justice system has failed us let’s hope we can elect people who will become trustworthy again and bring our country back to a true democracy of the people and for the legal citizens of or country
Again all smoke and mirrors. The Deecrats have nothing. This is going to turn into a nother dog and pony show. Term limits is the only answer drain the swamp.
Ohhhhh! There you go, using logic again! You should realize by now that facts don’t mean a hill of beans! We’re gonna get this guy, and truth be damned! This is a shameful chapter for ‘Merica!
Trump’s “impeachable offence” is simply being Trump.
Everything the demonrats and demonRINOs have tried since the election of Donald J Trump is to justify their hate of him, and cancel what he intends to do to them. They’re fighting for their existence tooth-n-nail. The only reason demonrats go to Washington is to further their empirical dreams, and fatten their bank accounts. How many of them go into office on a ‘modest salary’ (as NOT compared to the rest of us), and leave office multi-millionaires?
Trump is too ‘boorish’ and not ‘Regal’ enough to be president. He’s squeaky-clean as compared to the rest of them. He’s beholden to no one, and came into politics already rich. He’s a true patriot who doesn’t even take a salary. He’s volunteering to serve, as the founders originally intended. He’s upsetting the apple carts of potential and millionaire wannabe’s. He’s a bull in their china shop. He is ruining their long-game investments.
The present demonrats in Congress will not be able to impeach Trump, and they know it. This is all for show, even at the expense of losing their seats. They have masters they owe their bank accounts to and it means their investors will be able to continue with empire-building. Demons want to stay in power, but ultimately some will have to be sacrificed to maintain their Socialist goals.
Every one of the demonrats presently in Congress should be tarred-n-feathered, then burnt at the stake, and then hung from the tree tops until their rotten corpses fly to dust in the winds.
I am satisfied we will see several currently-elected officials named as co-conspirators in all this impeachment efforts (Pillosi-Cryin’Chuck-Schifty-Nadshandler) along with the formerly elected creeps and criminals (Obummer-Hitlery-LyingBiden-SlickWilly), and many unelected officials (Comey, McCabe, Brennen, Clapper). We may even see some foreign officials serve time in our prisons . . .
All people who ‘serve’ in Washington should have term-limits, including the UNELECTED officials (the DEEP STATE). The deep state operatives are the real culprits behind most of the chaos in Washington. They can manipulate government from behind their desks by multiple methods; mostly by slow-walking or ignoring orders. We’ve seen SO MUCH EVIDENCE of this since 2016.
Much of the “deep state” are ‘protected’ hires with longevity deals secured by UNIONS, and governed by MERRIT status. They usually DO get paid to do NOTHING! You can’t get rid of them.
The rest of us should be so lucky . . .
The DESPERATE PARTY has been trying to impeach President Trump since his election, prior to inauguration even for the NONcrime of legitimately being ELECTED.
So, their push for impeachment started LONG BEFORE the 3 ‘possible’offenses even occurred.
TALK ABOUT GETTING THE CART BEFORE THE HORSE.
JUST TRUMP UP THE CHARGES AND then start creating crimes.
CIRCUS AND WITCH HUNT ALL IN ONE.
Time to fire the DESPERATE PARTY EN MASSE. THE DEEP STATE SUCKS.
When you lie,cheat and steal to defeat your opponent that’s a coward!!! When you accept a win but can’t handle defeat our country and citizens are screwed!!! You’ve got people killing babies and people changing children sexuality and they haven’t even developed into their sexuality, throwing in AOC claims of climate change and she doesn’t even comprehend America history, no scientific degrees but fool wants kick back from idiots!!!
I don’t endorse abortions and I don’t believe the climate change crap 💩, so in that scenario I don’t wanna contribute anything to either one, not tax dollars nor contribution!!! We the people have a right to have a say in wasteful spending and kick backs that the representatives continue to collect!!!
Representatives don’t want the criminals coming across the border in their vicinity and continue to voice their opinion about these illegals yet again wanting to pass the buck to the taxpayers!!! These politicians aren’t doing their jobs yet continue getting paid for continued attacks on President Trump, let them (politicians) flip the bill for wasting taxpayers money!!!
ENOUGH!!!!
I guess Trump just isn’t Jussie Smollett!
Trumps biggest crime…not being a career politician! How dare he take on and make these parasites on both sides of the aisle look like the bunch of losers which they are!
That is it exactly, not a career politician. He is a business man and that is how our country needs to be run. Whatever is best for the business is what we need. Make deals in our favor and not our competitions favor. If a demoncrat gets in, our country is doomed to become a socialist country and we all starve, and they won’t be able to figure out what happened…..
I guess I’m not the only one who was in the dark about what Pres Trump was guilty of. I just thought that I missed the point but in my estimation it seems that it might not have been openly spelled out? In the first place, wasn’t Ukraine going to get that aid money anyway? So in essence it wasn’t an additional amount of money with the question of them receiving it? The purpose of the investigation was mentioned that there was speculation to the fact that some type of mystery re treatment of young Hunter’s job appropriation technique was involved which I think was more than enough cause to initiate some type of systematic inquiry. The elephant in the room is that they will use anything to accomplish the mission they are on. And if you can’t see that then give up trying to see the forest for the trees.
NO Ukraine was NOT going to get the money! Only if they had dirt on Biden or his son even if they had to create it! Several sources have come forth with repeated conversations from Trump and the White House. The very fact he ordered a cover up Trump KNEW what he was doing was illegal
You may be sorely surprised when this mess is all said-n-done, and all your leaders are in prison or ruined politically . . . Your ‘sources’ are obviously straight from the mainstream media. Only lemmings totally believe what the media pushes out.
The ‘actual’ transcripts have been declassified and released. Of course, interpretations vary . . . One thing remains, the POTUS is the head, and is required to protect the country. All other departments and divisions fall under the POTUS.
There is nothing un-constitutional in anything Trump did with Ukraine or may do with China regarding the Biden’s; and there is not a thing you demonrats can do about it except scream and wail.
Everything Trump has done to obliterate Obama’s “legacy” is for the good of the country. Obama had nothing but contempt for America. Anyone who supported Obama is either evil, or a dumb lemming who lives off society. The whole country is better off since Trump; and everyone, even the lemmings, are reaping the benefits.
If you can’t support the country, at least try not to destroy the people who take care of you. If you bite the hand that feeds you, eventually it gets harder and harder to find someone willing to do so.
Do some more homework.
The dems should not get paid for any time they are not governing. This is a big joke to them. They collect a paycheck for an extended vacation
So far the only reason I can see that the DIMMs are suffering from TDS is that they are more like criminals and favor criminals, this allows President Trump to point all this out and indoing so he has governed in spite of their monumental attempts to destroy the function of government…..The Deep State, Swamp, Left wing, globalist and communist are desperate to turn his agenda around, the exposure they, the left are being given is how corrupt they have become, they are desperate to remove President Trump from office before the DOJ gathers together all the acts of high treason and abuse of office committed by the left and sends the mover to the Grand Jury…The left is projecting their own crimes by Fake News, hoaxes and allegation with no basis in fact, the evil they seek to do is to bring this nation to it’s knees and sell it out…..MAGA is the goal….America for Americans is a fact…
The offense is showing the American people how much can get done if you have a sense of urgency that makes you want things to happen now instead of waiting around for moss to grow on everything. Trump outed the career politicians in Washington and showed just how little or nothing they have been doing for all of these years and these do nothings are ashamed. Just think how much more can get done if the democrats only cared about America and tried to help instead of just caring about regaining power.
https://teapartypac.org/huge-collusion-guess-who-paid-for-schiff-staffer-to-travel-to-ukraine/
https://fbicorruption.news/2018-06-24-independent-media-publisher-declares-fbi-and-doj-enemy-combatants-of-america.html
https://thepatriotwatchdog.com/breaking-speaker-pelosi-connected-to-prominent-ukrainian-arms-dealer-photos/
https://trendingpolitics.com/breaking-ukraine-whistleblower-was-just-caught-lying-and-this-report-proves-it/?utm_source=newsletter&utm
Gail, you haven’t missed any of the relevant points. Once again, the democrats are trying to weaponize “ethics”, when nothing unethical has happened on President Trump’s part. The truth about the Ukraine is that it has already gotten that foreign aid money and the investigation into Biden has not gotten off the ground. Obviously, President Trump was NOT holding that over their heads. But does that matter to democrats who are bent on conjuring up anything that will smear the president? Their track record speaks volumes on that issue. If you heard Jerry Nadler’s little parody on President Trump, then you know democrats will lie like a rug to mischaracterize the president’s words and that is exactly what he did. It’s absolutely disgraceful how dems have behaved since this president took office.
Almost everything Trump does is impeachable! He’s more like a spoiled overgrown child than a President of a democratic nation. He’s the laughing stock of the free world! Even totalatarian countries consider him a joke.
The whole scheme was planned out with the democrats and the whistleblower before it was ever released. Just a plot to bring Trump down. What the left has not figured out yet is that Trump is a winner and winners don’t lose, pure and simple….
“What exactly”?? There is NO “exactly” - -in fact, there is NO “impeachable offense” in the President’s repertoire; but there’s plenty of it in the SCATTERED BRAIN CELLS (that connect to nothing) in the empty heads of the liberal dimwit commie party.
Yoow, dude, mon. The mafuckin Bidens is guilty. These cockysuckrs bribe Ukraine and China. Sum bitchs made millions of dollahs off of these fuckin countries. Mafuckrs need to spend some time in the butt fuck motel. They can git their butts fucked everya day, mon. Woohoo, woohoo, Biden boys.
The democrats just need.to stop wasting our tax money. They should have to pay us.back all of our money they spent on this crap as well as their salaries that 5hey didn’t earn while doing nothing.for the country.
Amen!!! The salaries of ALL the democrats and rinos for the last three years should be repaid to the Treasury IN FULL…as they have done absolutely NOTHING to earn same. Seems there is only ONE person working in the entire US administration…a super employee named Donald Trump…
And to make matters worse, they voted themselves a raise again this year. Figures,
The real reasons the democrats want to impeach Trump:
1) He won the 2016 election
2) He is not a politician
3) They want to punish the American voters for electing President Trump when
they were told to vote for Hilary Clinton.
As to the excuse they will use (even if they have to invent it), I can’t tell you.
You know part of the reason I voted for Donald Trump was because he wasn’t a politician. It seemed like whether we elected democrats or republicans nothing improved.
The impeachable offense!! Investigating Joe Biden and son. Investigating the DIMM’s for asking the Ukrainians to find dirt on Trump and his associates in the 2016 elections.