How Shall We Impeach Thee? Let Us Count The Ways!

Remember when the Republican party rabidly pursued the impeachment of Clinton for obstruction of justice and perjury? To date, there are five charges against Trump. Trump is impeachable for the following charges filed against him which include, but may not be limited to: obstruction of the administration of justice, lack of disclosure of financial and real estate holdings, violation of Article II, Section 1 of the United States Constitution, and seeking to undermine the independence of the federal judiciary by criticizing judges who ruled against him.

It’s complicated, but let’s see if we can make some sense of the impeachment process.

1. Investigation of the charges against Trump. Robert Mueller is the independent counsel tasked with investigating the charges which will then be presented to the House Judiciary Committee. The House Judiciary oversees the next six steps.
2. Review of the evidence
3. Draft the articles of impeachment
4. Debate the articles of impeachment within the House Judiciary Committee
5. Debate the articles with the House of Representatives.The Senate will hold a trial to determine if the president will be removed from office. Herein the president will lawyer up, the Senate will act as the jury and the Chief Justice John Roberts and the Supreme Court will rule on the evidence.
6. A two-thirds majority of the Senate must vote against the accused in order to impeach the president. For more info click here

Since the inauguration, experts have stated that Trump is in violation of the emoluments clause of the Constitution which, “prohibits the federal government from granting titles of nobility, and restricts members of the government from receiving gifts, emoluments, offices or titles from foreign states without the consent of the United States Congress.” The emoluments clause is to “shield the republican character of the United States against so-called “corrupting foreign influences.” Click here for more on the emoluments clause.

Trump has refused to either divest from his businesses or establish a blind trust. Essentially, Trump is profiting off of the presidency through payments to his businesses from foreign countries that utilize his facilities, such as Trump International Hotel, for example.

In March, a ruling by U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte in Maryland, establishes for the first time that the plaintiffs have legal standing to sue the president. That is to say,“ Messitte gave credence to arguments by D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine (D) and Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh (D) that Trump unfairly profits from business at downtown Washington’s Trump International Hotel, in which the president continues to hold a financial interest.”

Last week, a Federal judge denied Trump’s filing to dismiss the Emoluments Clause case against him and therefore the case will move forward. Racine, the attorney who filed the suit states, “We sued because this corruption is taking place in our backyard, and because 325 million Americans shouldn’t have to wonder if the president is putting his personal financial interests ahead of the national interest.”

Aside from impeachment, bribery, treason and conviction are reasons to remove a president from office. One thing is for sure, Democrats must motivate voters to go to the polls for the November midterm elections. Flipping the House is of utmost importance if the impeachment process is to come to fruition. Until such time, like it or not, we are stuck with him.

For more information: