The Balance of Power By David Pratt
Impeachment!
It is at the forefront of the media these days. On July 25, 2019, United States President Donald Trump placed what many expected to be a routine congratulatory phone call to President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine regarding recent elections. What a whistleblower alleges, and what has now been verified by multiple sources including Alexander Vindman and Tim Morrison, the top White House advisors for Ukraine and Russia, is that President Trump withheld aid already legally promised to Ukraine on the condition that Zelensky publicly announce he was going to open an investigation into Joe Biden’s son, Hunter. This constitutes quid pro quo, giving something of value in exchange for something else, which in case anyone had any doubts, is highly illegal when you’re a seated politician asking a foreign power to investigate a political rival.
The administration has put forth a volley of defenses. First, that there was no quid pro quo. Second, that there was, but that it happens all the time and is completely normal. Third, that it was not being done just because Hunter Biden’s father is likely to be Trump’s opponent in the general election next year, but because Trump needed to make sure that Ukraine was not corrupt before giving them any American aid. Finally, that it wasn’t quid pro quo because Ukraine didn’t know that the aid was being withheld.
It may not be worth it to delve into the worthiness of the investigation itself or the probable outcome in this case. Suffice to say, Democrats are following rules regarding taking closed-door depositions that Republicans established in 2015 when they were in control of the House and mysteriously decided, ahead of the 2016 election, that it was time to change a few procedures about how things like impeachment proceedings would work. Republicans have, despite Matt Gaetz’s garbled howling, been locked out of the process or denied access. As a matter of fact, Vice President Mike Pence’s, brother Greg, sits on the Committee for Foreign Affairs and would have been a part of several of the interviews that have taken place. The very idea of impeachment has only come up three times in all of U.S. history; Andrew Johnson was impeached in 1868 but fell short of conviction in the Senate. Richard Nixon was charged with three Articles of Impeachment by the House, but resigned from office before he could stand trial in the Senate. Bill Clinton was impeached for perjury in 1998 but like Johnson, fell short of the required removal vote in the Senate and remained in office. Given the incredibly slim precedent to act on, and the rather unprecedented nature of this very Presidency, it is difficult to say Democrats are not moving forward in a fair manner. It is also difficult to assume that a Republican-controlled Senate would ever come up with the two-thirds majority required to prevent a repeat of the last two impeachment trials to reach that body. So instead, let us say a few words about the actions of the White House.
Despite the constant claims of “witch hunt” and “no quid pro quo,” the White House has done everything in its power to obstruct the investigation and hinder any investigation into the July 25th phone call. They have ignored subpoenas, refused to allow witnesses to testify, called the entire investigation into question at every turn, and encouraged Congressional Republicans to disrupt and interfere with proceedings, which some have been eager to do. When they called for testimony to be given in open forum, Democrats held a vote and affirmed that they would use that process going forward. Republicans who asked for the vote then said it was too little too late, and the entire thing was too flawed to correct. It begs the question of what, save dropping the investigation altogether and capitulating all oversight of the White House, would satisfy them. It bears mentioning that at the same time this is going on, Donald Trump’s attorneys are arguing in the state of New York that the Attorney General cannot obtain his tax returns because a President is not only immune from prosecution, but even being investigated for crimes while in office. Where other Presidents saw impeachment proceedings as a political hurdle that could potentially end them outright, this one sees it as a challenge. A test to see if he can emerge unscathed, in which case he will truly be free to do whatever he wants.
The question now becomes not what happens if Donald Trump gets impeached, but what if he doesn’t? What if, in what is actually the far more likely scenario at the moment, no matter what evidence comes out in public forums, Trump’s support among the Republican base remains solid enough that Senators refuse to commit political suicide by voting to convict, and he remains in office? And then gets re-elected? Are we going to live in a country where the President of the United States is allowed to do whatever he wants while in office? Because the crux of Trump’s defense at the end of the day isn’t just that he didn’t do anything wrong, it’s that even if he did it shouldn’t matter. He should be allowed absolute authority to act as he pleases, resist all checks and balances, and ignore any attempt to challenge him.
Those three articles of impeachment that ultimately brought down Nixon, by the way? Obstruction of justice, contempt of Congress, and abuse of power.
