Trump may well join Washington and Lincoln as our most significant Presidents. One initiated our republic, one saved it, and one will likely end it.
7
David, I think the saddest thing of all is that Trump supporters just don’t care. They are as morally and ethically bereft as he is - if they weren’t they could not continue to urge him on. Trump senses this and runs with it, reflecting his base’s most primal urges. Watching footage of his rallies, they cheer and holler as if they were at the WWF - except that they are encouraging and enabling a President who reflects their own ugliness and contempt for anyone not fitting their agendas.
14
The great majority of refugees whose children were literally kidnapped committed no crimes. In addition to kidnapping,
international as well as US agencies have denounced the harmful effects--emotional & physical-- of incarcerating children at all, let alone in the disgusting conditions of the detention centers in which many children have grown ill--& some have died.
Such crimes against humanity surely constitute an abuse of power.
Stripping the EPA of its protective role to advance the interests of the polluting fossil fuel industry, which backs Trump financially, surely also constitutes an emolument violation &/or abuse of power--an egregious abuse, given we face the dire effects of a growing climate crisis largely driven, according to science, by that industry.
12
Excellent; thank you. Well done.
Sums up why so many of us find him obnoxious but nails it to the Constitution. I suspect his racism could also be tied to some aspect of freedom found in that document.
5
When you say "easily understandable" that obviously refers to the public rather than the Senate. Which is correct. The Senate exonerating Donald Trump is a foregone conclusion. Several Senators have already accepted Trump blood money (add that to the articles of impeachment). What would be easily understandable would be Rudy Giuliani's concocted "dirt" as documented elsewhere in today's NYT. Together with Donald Trump's transcript "work with Rudy he knows what is going on" it becomes quite obvious that Donald Trump extorted Ukraine's president to take ownership of said "dirt" and not to conduct its own investigation or even to announce such. Also easily understandable are Republican talking points: fighting corruption, nullifying the election, hearsay, etc. Unfortunately it is the latter which are on the tip of the public's tongue because Democrats are oblivious that their legalistic babble is putting the public to sleep.
1
You do not know that the Senate will let Trump off the hook.
1
And what about treason? I don't know why that isn't being discussed.
Also, if Trump were truly concerned about Ukraine corruption, why did he hire Paul Manafort as his campaign manager? Again, I don't know why nobody is mentioning this.
10
How about "seeking to remove accountability for war crimes"?
3
@John Evan: There are issues of accountability for handling of refugees all over the world.
Why are we so afraid of Russia? If they want to contribute or help out in any meaningful way who are we to say no. We are a nation of compassionate people who respect opposing opinions and diverse cultures. I think if we don't openly embrace Russia's help with our elections then we are being racist. Seeing how this president hooked up Ukraine with all that military funding proves to me that he is the furthest thing from being racist or insensitive. I know there are others here that can't wait for this thing to move to the Senate where Trump will be exonerated.
2
@RS
We are so afraid of Russia because Russia is a Kleptocracy headed by an autocratic strongman who does not hesitate to jail dissidents or poison political adversaries.
Their underlying political motive is to undermine confidence in democratic systems of government and the believe in rule of law so they can broaden the scope of influence of their power.
GOT IT?
5
Wow, just wondering if this is a joke? If not, going this route you can say goodbye to your many freedoms that you seem to take for granted.
5
@RS Are you serious? Your comment sounds absurdly sarcastic but I'm afraid you actually believe what you say. "if we don't openly embrace Russia's help with our elections then we are being racist" ???? Really?
5
Spool them up. Develop each charge as thoroughly as possible as a separate thread. Advance them one at a time.
1
There is no question in my mind that Trump deserves to be impeached. However, we all know that under NO circumstances will the Senate impeach him. What is important, I feel, is that the American public acquire some understanding of Trump's crimes against the nation, and against our democracy. The Democrats seem to have done very little to bring the issues to the public in a clear and concise fashion.
What the Democrats don't understand is that the hearings are reality TV--public drama. They need to comport themselves in front of the cameras accordingly, as the Republicans are doing. This is theater. Get people's attention--overact!!! Make your points crystal clear, over and over again, until people start to get the message. This holds true of dealing with other media outlets as well. David L., I love reading your pieces, but you're talking to the choir. Your message needs to be sent out to the broader public.
The only use the impeachment hearings can possibly have is to influence some Trump supporters to switch sides. They need to see him as a clear enemy of the nation--someone who puts Russian interests ahead of the interests of our country. There's lots of evidence for this, but people need to see it presented very clearly and simply.
Please include the crime that lands most mobsters in prison, tax evasion. Mr. Trump and his family are hiding their tax filings that they do not want exposed in the media.
6
Some Senators (including Linsey Graham) voted to impeach Bill Clinton for lying about his inappropriate sexual conduct.
We're not including sexual misconduct as an article of impeachment for Donald Trump, even though he has committed them, and then lied about it over and over again.
May be we should add that one to the list?
3
David, your suggestion of “Eight Counts of Impeachment” is reasoned, proper, and true, but I would include a Ninth Count which would be that Emperor Trump has acted exactly like an Emperor through his scheming, deceits, and actions in every respect to infect America with MEGA (Make Empire Great Again).
It is so clear and obvious that Emperor Trump has acted to continue and complete the more than four decades old devolution, destruction, and cancerous ‘disease’ of our formerly “promising” and sometimes progressive country into a complete Disguised Global Crony Capitalist Empire, which is only nominally HQed in, and ‘posing’ as America.
In a sense, Emperor Trump is an evil omen of the completely metastasized “disease of (democratic) Republics” that our founders feared: Empire.
However, Emperor Trump could be both that deadly disease of Empire, and also serve as a providential ‘gift’ of renewal if, and only if, ‘we the American people’ recognize this Emperor Trump as an Emperor of 'Christmas Future' --- wherein 'we the American people' could dream and learn to fire a; loud, public, sustained, ‘’in-the-streets’, but totally Non-violent “Shout (not shot) heard round the world” to ignite a warming fire of our people’s peaceful Second American “Our Revolution” — of a more complete “Political/economic & social Revolution Against Empire”.
1
Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes and yes!
1
The Republicans in the House bawl that indicting Trump is convicting him. If they know that to be true, they know the fact-based case against Trump is open and shut.
1
The idea expressed in this piece that impeachment should be on the merits instead of politics strikes at the heart of why so many of us are so distrustful of what goes on in DC. Of course it should be the merits of the case that form the essence of the impeachment case!!! This political culture of shifting masks for the purpose of manipulating public opinion is so very phony!
19
Republicans are unwilling to accept the testimony of dozens of witnesses who were participants in the events leading to the Ukraine debacle. They insist that their information does not come directly from Trump and therefore is hearsay. Leaving aside the fact that Trump has impeded and prohibited people who have first person knowledge from testifying, you would hardly expect that the transmission of illegal demands would be broadcast in self-inculpatory terms rather than in coded phrases, like "Talk to Giuliani" or "I heard bad things about Burisma". At the same time that the testimony of individuals who have served the country faithfully for decades is rejected, there is continuous reliance by Republicans on vague rumors, certainly concocted , of a Ukrainian conspiracy against Trump. When such a gulf between the two points exists, reason cannot prevail.
5
The glaring omission here is our compromised national security, which scares me the most. I'm not sure if Trump's in bed with Putin, Erdogan, and MDS, or he just doesn't understand foreign policy, or both. But his subversion of our national interests to the benefit of theirs is a grave concern.
I don't like the thought that our national security is in the hands of the highest bidder.
5
Excellent article, we should all share this on social media!
4
Impeachment is a critical check on inappropriate execution of office by any president who is given a remarkable degree of personal relief from accountability to the law while in office. How much relief for this there is, is a question that is arguable, apparently. In that respect, Trump has already created a Constitutional crisis. But more basic, legitimate impeachment seems to presume non-partisan involvement in issuing articles for impeachment and making judgment. With the polarized political situation we have in this nation presently, the wisdom of impeachment in principle becomes highly questionable. The question of this column where articles of impeachment are proposed, is about the impartiality of the columnist. Fair-minded persons who would so for public consideration, issue disclosure statements when applicable. Because Trump is not fair does not justify the same for his political opponents ... and most Americans recognize this.
1
It would be nice if one witness or one representative asked the question: Do you or do you not think that Trump has everything to do with this?
In other words, that we are where we are, are you telling me that Trump has nothing to do with this and that this is merely some sort of plot concocted to remove him? Because that's what they're all claiming in inventive, and different ways.
Nice that they're also harping about "getting things done" in congress when republicans had a majority for two years and all they accomplished was a tax break for corporations and people who didn't need it.
3
Until now I have maintained some semblance of hope that the surging tide of djt would recede and that the impeachment proceedings would insure that he might get his comeuppance. Your second suggestion for an article of impeachment - the total disregard of a time-honored, entirely legal and constitutional process says it all and is the most disheartening, the most chilling. If not exactly what djt meant when he talked about shooting someone on 5th Avenue, his flagrant disregard and contempt for the impeachment process is a close
equivalent. Added to his own stance, that our Republican politicians apparently condone Trump's refusal to take the United States Congress seriously is an egregious insult to our congressional leaders and to the American public.
6
What the Democrats need to do is frame their case before the Senate in terms of Trump’s Russian collusion. The Ukraine affair is just one small piece of a larger pattern of repeatedly putting Russia’s interests ahead of our own. It’s all of a piece: trying to repeal the Magnitsky sanctions (tied to the famous Trump Tower meeting on “adoption”); meeting privately with Putin with no observers present, and destroying the translator’s notes; retaining Paul Manafort, a known Putin/Yanukovych lackey, as campaign chairman; trying to get Russia readmitted to the G-8; selling out the Kurds to Putin and Assad.
Of all the gross offenses Trump has committed, this is the worst and most dangerous to the nation. Trump is a Russian asset; the Kremlin has taken over the White House. Make all of those connections, lay out the case before the Senate, and force the Republicans to declare themselves. If they acquit, use it against them in 2020. And then if Trump is re-elected anyway, kiss America goodbye.
8
We have heard the discussion in depth of withholding Congressionally authorized funds to Ukrain. Then it is reported that funds were also withheld to Lebanon. Today it is reported that funds have been withheld from Puerto Rico...not to mention threats to withhold authorized funding from California. That is what we know about...
It looks like a mob shake down, bribery, extortion, and influence pedaling.
Trump is treating our country like his personal piggy bank. The only policy he has is self promotion and aggrandizement.
5
The eighth count resonates most strongly for me: "Conduct grossly incompatible with the Presidency." The misconduct described violates one of the most important aspects of a President's responsibility to model sound ethical thought and behavior.
5
@Rev. John Buttrick: I think the times of mind-reading the dead for their views on unprecedented issues have passed. What would Jesus know about now?
@Rev. John Buttrick
Agree. I would prefer that this count be linked directly to the first part the President's oath of office : I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.
Failing to faithfully execute the Office of the President should be labelled "dereliction of duty."
I would include failing to protect the Ukraine whistleblower under that charge.
What else? Working with "acting" officials to avoid Senate confirmation?
2
Mr. Leonhardt has done a great job here. Problem I see, that the Senate Republicans don't care. And what short memories we all have: looked how Republicans behaved for the Clinton impeachment. Now, they are on the other side, still arrogant, and counter-productive.
10
@Pete G.
My hope is that we can make them care. And yes, they are hypocritical.
Die-hard Trump supporters don't care. Are there enough Democrats, Independents, and disgusted Republicans to flip the Senate in 2020?
1
"The Eight Counts of Impeachment That Trump Deserves
The lessons from Nixon and Clinton."
We must help ourselves since it is our government, we elect the people who are supposed to run it for us.
We must begin a constant talk with our Democrats in both houses of congress and each and every one of the individuals who are running at this time for President. They must be asked to keep pressing the facts of the Trump and republican lies and collusion with the Russians.
In the near future the senate will get the house Impeachment case and of course it will be a joke of a party line vote for Trump. So, We The People must get and stay active for the 2020 election and run every last republican that we can out of office. If we don't, we will see Mr. Putin and the Russians running our government against our desires.
Yes, it is that important. Write, phone, email, visit your Democrats and those who declare to run against a republican and keep it up until election day next year.
7
Just curious. Did Burisma receive or was Burisma to receive any U.S. tax dollars?
1
The problem is that the Democrats use logic and facts. All of these have simply been discounted since the beginning!!! Remember, "We have alternative facts"? That's where it began and no one has confronted this or held Republicans to the truth. They have crossed every line, and no one can stop them. The damage has been done a long time ago and started with the above quote! What use is a subpoena if it can't be enforced. It's the same now as in North Korea: "Oh great leader, you are like God, I adore you!!!!
5
@Dave: Obviously the Senate trial will be complete farce because the legal team for the indictment phase of the procedure doesn't even understand that, at trial, they will be able to call relevant witnesses to Trump's defense. These do not include the whistleblower, the Bidens, or Adam Schiff, all of whom have only hearsay evidence in the matter.
What is the difference between pressuring Zelensky to deliver a "favor" intended to push the 2020 elections Trump's way and one to cut red tape involved in building a Trump-branded hotel in Kiev? GOP pigs at the trough would turn a blind eye to that as well, no doubt.
3
Hey, Republicans upholding Trump's impeachable offences: You want to "root out corruption"?? Howz about that Donald J. Trump Foundation case involving both Trump AND his offspring - here in the United States.
And that Mueller Report that a lot of you didn't even bother to read.
Or anything that his co-conspirators, now serving time in prison (including his personal attorney), have said.
6
Sorry. I think it would take the whole US Code to delineate the many crimes and misdemeanors of the criminal gang that now inhabits the White House.
5
#9 grossly bad hair!
3
Now the idiots bawl that this hearing isn't conducted as a trial. They act like Trump can't call all the people he won't let testify to Congress to be defense witnesses in the Senate trial.
Monkeys could type a better script, if given enough time.
3
What's best for America is an adherence to the rule of law irrespective of which political party it applies to. The house flipped last year and that was a check on the president. The collective voice of America said, "Whoops, time to get rid of him." Republicans need to hop on board with impeachment. The temporary political power they may have now will turn into a political blacklist after the Trump era is over.
4
Can you send this to Congress (?) because it seems like they need a reminder.
3
The Republicans argue now for all note-takers to be expelled from the federal bureaucracy!
The Republicans don't even understand the basics of corporate management as it applies to government.
1
Other commenters have had great additional suggestions for charges. I have 1 more: Sexual assault and rape.
There are at least 25 people saying he did it to them, and the president is on tape proudly talking about doing it. Some of them were against teenage girls, who are unable to legally consent to sexual activity with adult men. And the main reason he hasn't been sued by at least one of his victims was that he arranged threats of violence against her.
If rape matters, it should be impeachable.
9
Nixon had the sense and graciousness to resign and end the drama. Trump may be in denial. But to save face and spare his family more legal exposure, he could/should resign.
Trump will rant about 'unfair' forever on twitter and Fox but we can block his posts. :-) Yay!
6
The House can determine which Presidential actions constitute "high crimes and misdemeanors." In their zeal to find something easily understood by the American public as such, they sacrificed the forest for a tree, for the Ukraine. Who can't comprehend the construction of concentration camps for children as a high crime and misdemeanor; his abandonment of US foreign policy goals occasioned by his his precipitous desertion of our Kurd allies to their fate ...; his abuse of power, evidenced by the pardoning of two members of the military convicted of the grisly murders of civilians ...; the blatant violation of the prohibition of the receipt of emoluments, as witnessed by the exploitation by his daughter and son-in-law of their appointed offices to promote their private businesses and enrich themselves and him ...;his unrelenting assaults on the institutions of government, as evidenced by the many top-level positions in State and the EAP purposefully left vacant ...; his unrelenting assault on our decreasing democracy, as evidenced by his and his party's unrelenting attempts to block ready voter access to the polls? And I could go on.
House Dems, given the foregoing, appear to have lost touch with their constituents, to our and their detriment,.
4
I agree with Mr. Leonhardt wholeheartedly. Congressional democrats should lay out the entire case for removal from office. Forse the irrational partisans have to compromise their oath of office eight times if they choose to protect this corrupt president.
5
Would someone with the time and technical capabilities kindly create an algorithm to crawl through Trump's Tweets and public utterances - before July of this year. to count how many times he's mentioned or alluded to corruption? I'll bet there are none. That this deeply corrupt, amoral man has convinced ostensibly sane, rational people he is some kind of crusader fighting corruption is the biggest political joke of our time.
3
You lost me at "obstruction of justice."
Apparently, you can ignore the testimony of Jonathan Turley, professor of law at George Washington University, and who voted for Hillary.
Congress, according to Turley, bases its "obstruction" charge solely on Trump's exercise of executive privilege. Congress will not do what a party in any litigation does when one side refuses to comply with a subpoena, which is to move to compel compliance.
To compel compliance would require applying to the Supreme Court, the other co-equal branch of government. This the Dems will not do because it would "delay" the proceedings. Meaning that moving to compel compliance would mess up the Dems 2020 presidential campaigning, focusing the country on impeachment instead of the many positive qualities of the many Dem candidates.
Contrary to this NYT column, the examples of Clinton and Nixon do not apply since the argument then was not about the scope of executive privilege but rather about the scope of criminal obstruction.
Congress under Pelosi seeks to impeach the President without partisan support, for "abuse of power," which charge may be levied against most sitting presidents, including Abraham Lincoln and FDR.
Congress under Pelosi would turn our system from a strong executive in a Republic, to more like the English parliamentarian system in which a Prime Minister may be discarded by a mere vote of "no-confidence."
You can only do this by amending the Constitution.
1
@Jubilee133: Trump is the most transparent kind of fake there is: a person utterly devoid of any sense of shame. He's legit because caveat emptor. Trump walks naked and people see him splendidly robed.
Don't forget the kidnapping and child abuse on the border. Those are crimes against humanity.
However, since the un-American Republican Senators will acquit Trump on all the articles of impeachment, some of his crimes need to wait until he is out of office to pursue justice.
5
I am not sure what the full list should be but I agree that the nation and the world should be informed of the full range of impeachable offenses committed by this President. Anything less will leave the impression that the need to impeach him was limited to pressuring Ukraine for personal political benefit, when the bottom line is that Trump has nearly checked all the boxes of potential impeachable offenses.
4
This is like the list of Martin Luther's complaints against the Catholic Church but they aren't all impeachable events in the spirit of high crimes and misdemeanors. This is like the Battle Cry of the Democrats, not actual crimes committed by the president.
1
"Show me the man and I’ll show you the crime."
So impressed with the Democrats, taking a page right out of Stalin's playbook. Congratulations to all.
1
How many times can a columnist self-reference on what is not an autobiographical essay but a legal discussion? "I' "I" "I" "me" "me" "my instinct" etc etc etc. And you're neither a lawyer nor a political scholar by any stretch of the imagination. Stop preening with narcissistic pretenses that you are either or both. Who cares what "your " instincts are? Even if your "instincts" play into your opinion, your job is to present your informed opinion and back it up with evidence/support.
You shouldn't be talking about yourself & your instincts, unless you are a recognized authority on the subject whose *intuitions* (not instincts) are informed by trained expertise &/or political experience. You should rather speak as the **layman** you are, whose *instincts*(as you call it, probably really meaning intuitions) carry no special weight, that is, authority.
As it happens, I support impeachment, but believe critical to the undertaking is credibility, which is only possible by addressing the complex cultural & philosophical issues involved, which center on Trump's wrongful conduct of the presidency as if he were running a private business. This is the issue the public needs to understand & scrutinize. Yes, the specific charges will resemble your list, but the context, which you obfuscate, is decisive.
Frankly, business executive Trump's election is a collateral effect of exaggerated exaltation of economics since the 80's; you, majoring in econ at Yale, are part of that trend.
1
The impeachment process must also include blackmail. If Donald Trump sought 'dirt' on Joe Biden, he also maintains a 'stranglehold' on every Republican who could face 'smears' for secrets about all of them that Donald Trump has in his 'bag of tricks'. He learned this from the late Roy Cohn, who used this tactic most notably in the Joseph McCarthy hearings on reputed communism
1
I would like to ask those here defending trump, the following:
If the tables were turned, would you impeach or defend Obama?
Short list:
1. Won by EC count only (78,000 votes 3 states) lost popular vote by 3 million.
2. Asked Russia "if you're listening" hack RNC emails, they did.
3. AG Eric Holder and/or Loretta Lynch declared Article 11, gave Obama Unitary Executive authority to "do anything I want to" and couldn't be investigated or charged if he committed murder, denigrated and maligned the FBI and CIA, calling them traitors.
4. Obama refused to release his tax returns.
5. Obama had a long record of multi-million dollar bankruptcies and cheating contractors.
6. Obama had five children by three wives, cheated on all, paid a porn star and Playboy model $280,000 in hush money violating campaign finance law.
7. Obama withheld military aid to extort an ally into manufacturing dirt on a political opponent advancing Russian interest simultaneously.
8. Sec. of State HRC maligned and denigrated long term civil servants who refused to participate and cover up for No. 7.
9. Obama fired any official who dared investigate him.
10. Obama turned US military bases over to Russia, had secret meetings with Putin.
11. Obama constantly held dozens of rallies to incite racial tensions, at taxpayer expense.
12. Called for prosecuting and jailing his political opposition.
13. Lied about it all thousands of times.
Would the GOP defend Obama?
Democrats wouldn't.
8
@Deb You forgot to mention that he still owes money for #11
This is what fascism in it’s infancy looks like. Beware.
5
Only eight? What about campaign finance laws and his payments to his porn star prostitutes the last month of the election?
4
9. Treason.
3
I like the eight points. I don't see why tactics dictate a more narrow focus on the Ukraine. Point 8 is especially strong, I feel -- as the lying and other behavior has hurt our democracy and hurt the standing of our country around the world. I was alive & watching the Watergate hearings in 1973-74 and to me the behavior of DT is much, much worse than the behavior of Richard Nixon. To call the impeachment process a "hoax" and then refuse to participate seriously undermines our democracy and threatens our freedoms.
4
I'm sure this is reflected in a lot of other comments, but congress needs to slow this down and do a full accounting of ALL the outrageous, illegal and damaging actions the President has engaged in since taking office. Rushing through investigations on one narrow issue and not forcing needed testimony only serves to assist the President and his supporters. A full suite of articles needs to be voted on only after a full investigation CONCLUDES. If in the end, only a small number of articles are sent to the senate, so be it, but we need this full accounting to truly understand the danger this man poses to the republic.
3
The "forcible separation of children from parents" violates the Constitution's prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment.
The American public may have become to some extent desensitized after the terror attacks that in turn gave rise to the atrocities of Abu Ghraib, black sites and what the NYT is now revealing about extreme tortures of uncharged Guantanamo detainees whose complicity in actual acts of terror is in doubt.
But those are babies and toddlers that Trump has had caged in icy cement cells, alone, at the recommendation of Stephen Miller.
That is a direct violation of the US Constitution, not to mention the UN Charter and other fundamental laws.
It may not be part of the impeachment process, but it is most emphatically a violation of all our basic laws as a civilized society.
4
Ignoring the will of the voters, this coup attempt has motivated me to switch parties and vote for Trump in November.
1
@CJT I am puzzled. 45 lost the popular vote. Clinton and Nixon went through an impeachment process. Is any and every action following an election allowable because the person won? Is any and every attempt to follow a process outlined in the Constitution to be deemed a "coup"? Should the allies and US stayed out of Nazi Germany because Hitler reflected the will of the German people? What if an election (such as the one here in NC for a representative) were held to have been tampered with?
I agree, David Leonhardt.
I would also add: Perjury. It is obvious by now that Trump has given false testimony.
Some people may see that as part of Obstructive acts, but I believe it is genuinely necessary to uphold the validity of oaths and sworn testimony. Trump has done enormous damage to the credibility of the office, and of political contenders more broadly.
Let us reassert the importance of respecting due process by not setting an example of overlooking deliberate acts of false witness by public officials.
4
I agree with Nicholas Sanchez's three additions and think they are worth repeating here.
9) Bribery. This is a much less vague concept than "abuse of power." Bribery, as defined in the Judiciary Committee report, based on the testimony from constitutional scholars, and based in part on common sense, means soliciting or accepting something of personal value to influence the President's own official actions. This definition clearly fits soliciting a foreign power to announce a politically motivated sham investigation in exchange for unfreezing military aid.
10) Witness tampering. Whoever knowingly uses intimidation, threatens, or corruptly persuades another person, or attempts to do so... with intent to influence, delay, or prevent the testimony of a person in an official proceeding. 18 USC 1512. Trump has done this many, many times in at least 5(!) separate proceedings (Flynn, Manafort, Cohen, Stone, impeachment hearing). The flagrant repetition of a federal crime doesn't make it legal.
11. Suborning perjury. 18 USC 1622. Michael Cohen testified that both Trump and his legal team solicited perjury from Cohen in his testimony to Congress.
5
@alex.hartov: As far as I know, there is no established word to describe the two step process whereby extortion of a compromising act subjects the victim to future blackmail. Perhaps it will be called "getting Trumped" in the future.
2
Mr. Leonhardt, There is another abuse of power that should be investigated and it is mystifying why it has not received greater attention considering the great damage and loss of life it has caused: Trump's unilateral action in removing troops from northern Syria immediately after a phone call from the President of Turkey. US military leaders seemed unanimously opposed to this action as did many Republicans who have staunch supporters of the President. This action was quite damaging to US interests, betrayed an ally, the Kurds who have been on the front lines against ISIS, and allowed greater hegemony in this region for our enemies, Russia, Syria and Iran. In that it has lead to violence and death of many civilians, this action may be even worse than the Ukraine affair. Why hasn't the Congress asked for a recording or transcript of that call? Why did the President agree so readily? What was he promised by Erdogan?
9
@spike53: They're all obviously still completely exhausted by their own investigation of Hillary Clinton's alleged dereliction of duty in Benghazi.
2
Is espionage an impeachable offense? Or is it just treason?
The Washington Post just published an article about the threat to national security posed by Trump insisting on using his cell phone to talk with others about potentially classified or other sensitive issues of state. The writers assume that Trump is being careless and reckless. But what if Trump's use of cellphones for such communications is deliberate?
Trump and Putin have had 17 or so conversations that we know about, but the content of those conversations have been suppressed. And as we have all seen, over and over, "All paths from Trump lead to Putin." Why should we assume that Trump is merely obsequious, or a poor dealer, or obsessed with "Strong Men?" (Or those posing as Strong Men?)
What if Trump WANTS and INTENDS for Putin or other enemies to know what he is doing, what our Defense Intelligence and State Departments are doing? What better way for Trump to do so than to have conversations pertinent to these national security issues, ostensibly, with people who a president should be talking to, but which "somehow" leak to the Kremlin because Trump's on a cell phone? What better way to establish plausible deniability?
Authorities should cease assuming that Trump is simply reckless with national security, and start to examine Trump's "carelessness" as possibly deliberate treason. Trump's behavior vis-a-vis Putin and Russia from his campaign until now gives more than adequate reason to infer treason.
747
@Robert Henry Eller
I agree with your premise but doubt that Trump has the intelligence to think of such a scheme on his own.
8
@Robert Henry Eller Hillary using a private server for government business, and all those emails that were used to hound her out of the presidency look like infantile shortsightedness compared to this.
No doubt Putin or whoever is eavesdropping all of those cell-phone conversations that go floating through the air on a daily basis.
9
@Robert Henry Eller . He doesn't need a "back channel" to Putin, as Jared tried to get for him, when he has his own, unsecured cell phone. Nefarious. Wouldn't put it past him at all. Treason, if it can be proven.
11
Follow the money. While this list of impeachable offenses is plenty strong for many, the financial tale that will be told when Trump's tax returns, Deutsche Bank, and Capital One records are released will be what turns the tide with the public and hopefully 20 senators. This and the testimony of Bolton and the rest of the White House cabinet and staff will be damning. Worth waiting for the courts to wade through? I don't see how the impeachment as it appears to stand now will be successful in removing Trump from office with the current political make up of the Senate. Is it possible for the courts to put "rush" on these impeachment related cases to make relevant documents, witnesses and financial information available to clarify and substantiate (or not) testimony to date. The Court system is certainly capable of moving with all due haste...Bush v Gore would be a fine example. Rushed justice is a dodgy bet but justice which is not timely is often not justice at all.
7
9. Multiple human rights violations, including caging of children, denial of medical care to those being held in detention, ignoring US and international laws regarding treatment of those seeking asylum, and encouraging violence and abuse of detainees. These actions have damaged our country even more than those actions listed in the other articles.
4
Mr. Leonhardt, for several months I too have thought there ought to be more articles of impeachment than those uncovered in Ukraine-gate. Speaker Pelosi’s initial conditions for impeachment is that potential “High Crimes and Misdemeanors,” must be, “compelling and overwhelming,”
The nation needs to be informed of the magnitude and the extent of Trump’s unconstitutional behavior while in office. For what it’s worth, here’s my list:
1. Obstruction of Justice
2. Abuse of Power
3. Contempt of Congress
4. Incitement to Violence
5. Making False Statements
6. Corruption in Office
7. Unfit to serve as President. (See Alexander
Hamilton’s Federalist #68)
8. Conduct unbefitting the office of the
presidency
9. Witness tampering and suborning perjury
10. Violation of the Constitution’s prohibition ...
against Foreign Domestic Emoluments
11. Failure to “take care that the laws be
faithfully executed”
12. Destruction of Evidence
This “dirty dozen” of possible articles of Impeachment should easily comport with Speaker Pelosi’s requirement that offences be “compelling and overwhelming.” But the investigation and development of evidence for these offences will take more time than the House will allow. That’s why, among other things, the impeachment of President Trump will fail.
4
I think you are missing two:
1. Denial of the application of science to global warming, and taking substantial action to worsen what is already the most important problem facing the planet today.
2. Separation of minor children from their parents and holding them indefinitely in inhumane conditions.
These crimes against humanity in which all the republicans are complicit.
3
I would add that by hollowing out the State Department and handling foreign relations so recklessly (if not with malicious intent) he is guilty of another, independent, impeachable act.
Another: failing to distribute funding as passed by Congress.
Another: carelessness (if not, again, malicious intent) with state secrets--endangering the lives of agents in the field and all of our national security.
Another: manipulation of the law enforcement operations--attacking the FBI and CIA, and encouraging criminals not to cooperate.
Any ONE of these, as with any one on David's list, would invite impeachment and a vote for conviction by any member of Congress that loyally carries out his/her duties as such.
3
What about Trump’s violation of his oath to protect and defend the Constituion — by failing to protect the country against the clear and present threat to election security by Russia? That is even more of an existential threat to our democracy than his misadventure with Biden and the Ukraine, and he won’t do it because it would bruise his ego.
3
Leaving out separation of children from their parents is to dismiss what I Consider a CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY. And I am not alone in that. Look at Elizabeth Holtzman's book advocating impeachment of Trump.
3
Let’s make it a baker’s dozen:
9) Voters believe everything they read on the internet;
10) His hair is weird;
11) People who know they are smart don’t like him and he doesn’t seem to care;
12) His hair is weird;
13) Despite all this, he will embarrass the Democratic Party at the polls in 2020, leading to its dissolution as an entity able to exercise leadership at a national level.
Naturally, #13 is the real reason the left wants him gone. Too little, too late.
3
The Republicans keep harping about "hearsay" not being worth paying attention to and "no direct evidence" in the hearings. Why then is Trump's whole basis for accusing the Biden's of corruption that "some people are saying, some people are talking, I heard, etc., etc."? Why is that random, unnamed, source so heavily weighted by Trump and the Republicans then? Can't someone please ask Trump and the Republicans who is telling them that the Bidens did something wrong? Who is telling them that Barisma has the DNC server in Ukraine? Who is telling them that Ukraine messed with the 2016 election?
On Trump's Zelensky call: "There's a lot of talk about Biden’s son, what Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that, so whatever you can do with the attorney general would be great." Let's put their feet to the fire and get their source/sources. I'm guessing it's Putin and his people.
1
I believe House Democrats must pick their shots when deciding how to penalize a president whose every day in office -- for nearly 1,100 days -- includes lies, open denigration of American citizens and foreign allies, and attempts to enrich himself off the highest public office in the land. If the Democrats stray from Ukraine -- itself an amazing amalgamation of fabrications, abuses of powers and conspiracies to corrupt his own election -- they will have that much more to document, justify and fight over with Republican colleagues. Leave the rest for Trump's warped legacy, at least for now. Don't gin up further sympathy for the bully president by seeming to whip a whiny child when he's already caged, albeit of his own actions. The Dems need to keep the articles of and reasons for impeachment as concise and comprehensible as the public needs in order to see the portrait painted by all the stunning evidence they've already amassed. From this proof we'll prevail.
1
The President has been meeting with Republican Senators regarding impeachment. Since these same senators will sit as jurors in any impeachment trial, I’m wondering why this is not considered jury tampering? It’s another degradation of the separation of powers in deference to party, and I think it should be impeachable.
5
1,2, and 4 are just the president fighting the impeachment. Any president would do so, which is why Clinton and Nixon are accused of the same. These only hold any weight as supporting articles, not as the main plank.
5. Emolmuments is something the Democrats won't touch. That sort of corruption happens on both sides of the aisle; Hunter Biden's acceptance of that lucrative position in Ukraine is typical, all the politicians who have become lobbyists, the Clintons becoming surprisingly rich after leaving the presidency in debt, etc. That would be too close to throwing stones in glass houses.
6. Covering up an affair is too close to Bill Clinton's lies under oath for Democrats to touch without seeming more than usually hypocritical.
7. Pardons -- It's difficult to impeach a president for something that he often promises to do, but hasn't actually done. After all, he's probably lying.
8. Conduct incompatible -- Trump is behaving exactly as the voters who elected him expected him to behave, as a disruptive force amidst the Washington consensus. They elected him to change the presidency; you can't impeach him for upsetting Democrats; that's what he's there to do.
Which leaves 3. The Abuse of Power. That's really the only impeachable offense here, using the power and purse of the US government for personal political gain. That certainly is impeachable, but isn't something Democrats would vote to impeach a Democratic president for. This just isn't enough.
4
It is imperative that this person be removed in order to preserve any idea of democracy. He is more suited to play at being Henry VIII. There is nothing of the public servant in him or his actions. He bloviates. He lacks manners. He has no pride in his country or work ethic. He "wins" at business by declaring bankruptcy. America is not a golf course on which to conduct business, shrugging off the loss of family farms and manufacturing with a burger at the 19th hole. His cabinet consists of criminals and donors. He doesn't read. These are not impeachable offenses but offensive and traits not becoming of a nation that once was great. On with his many crimes and misdemeanors. Yes to the eight reasons and more. Vigorously pursue these truths and those that rest with other crimes. His predilection for young girls, for example. What evidence was left with Jeffrey Epstein? Any and all criminal and civil misdeeds must be investigated. Why the vigorous need to hide financial records? This person is unsavory and criminal. The surface has barely been scratched. There should be no quarter to hide. The intelligence world must surely be pursuing truth regarding his many misdeeds. Light on all.
1
The problem we have is to not end up going down a rabbit hole of infinite transgressions and illegal acts.
Let us not forget Trump Towers Azerbaijan, where large sums of money were laundered for the Iranian Republican Guard while under strict American sanctions. What culpability does the Trump Organization have?
Let us also not forget that the new FBI building that was being built in exchange for the current site was scrapped so that the a new luxury hotel would not create competition for the Trump DC property. Costing the American taxpayers hundreds of millions to refurbish the current FBI building.
Let us not forget Donald is an unindicted coconspirator in the Michael Cohen case.
Obviously I could continue but given the predisposition of the Senate and the attention span of the average voter it is better to keep the number of charges short and to the point.
2
The 1970 RICO Act is a federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for specified acts performed, and allows the leaders of a conspiracy to be tried for the crimes they ordered others to do or assisted them in doing. This act was successfully used to sue Donald Trump in 2013 for fraudulent misrepresentations about his Trump University, and motivated him to settle the case for 25 million dollars 8 days before the trial was scheduled to start.
The RICO act can be used against him again for his multiple acts of Conspiracy to obstruct a House of Representatives Investigation by ordering numerous federal witnesses to ignore subpoenas and not appear to testify... and the same goes for those co-conspirators not appearing.
RICO is valid when used against a person who has committed "at least two acts of racketeering activity" drawn from a list of 35 crimes (27 federal and 8 state crimes) within a 10-year period, of which Bribery, Extortion, and Obstruction of Justice are included.
3
What about Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 is a United States federal law that governs the role of the Congress in the United States budget process? Have all other laws been checked? Whatever the result the full extent of offenses must be revealed and set forth for future Congresses.
1
A well organized, powerful argument that I support.
Yet these behaviors are not the examples of one of the major illnesses of our society, but only major symptoms.
And to complete this list of major symptoms, we will soon become witnesses of another most egregious symptom, when our U. S. Senate votes against the Articles of Impeachment, in favor of maintaining the overwhelming illness of our status quo.
Someday, I hope, we will find the means and the courage to avoid the ubiquitous diversion of our attention away from our highly disabling symptoms, and begin a cultural discourse about how to rebuild and nurture a society that fundamentally values its people, and the peoples of the world.
8
@Barry McKenna: The Senate should ponder that its profoundly skewed representation is arguably a cause for lawful secession from the US.
@Steve Bolger
If the Senate's neglect amounts to treason?
Let the Supreme Court chew on that one.
What do you want to bet that at the end of the day.. there will be a quiet negotiation and deal on Pence's part as follows:
Pence: "I will flip on Trump and tell all... as long as you give me immunity from impeachment and let me take over as president if Trump is removed via impeachment".
Democrats would be inclined to take that deal if it means Pence can move senate Republicans to agree and vote to impeach.. as it preserves control of the White House AND removes a huge boulder hanging over every senator in terms of public opinion and demand for truth and justice.
I honestly think this may be the final escape plan for Republicans... as Pence can then step in and run in 2020.. and after all the propaganda and spinning.. Pence will be seen as the same and better choice in 2020.
1
We’re doomed.
1
@Chuck: The Evangelicals bet on Trump to be set up just as you describe. This is a very determined religiously motivated coup d'etat.
Crazy Eight(s).
Apropos.
2
Missing are the three most important, and most reality based, reasons:
Emoluments Clause--
Using funds illegally diverted from the Pentagon budget to build his beloved wall on the Mexico-US border–
Illegally turning away asylum seekers sans hearing regards asylum.
There are others, having next to nothing to do with Russia, that Leonhardt forgot. One is the Muslim ban.
1
While it is easy to agree with proposed Articles of Impeachment every citizen knows that Mitch McConnell will never permit Republican Senators to convict and remove trump from office. Therefore, it will ultimately be up to the American people to challenge the legitimacy of the administration. Only by showing Senators that a no vote on conviction will cause such ethically blind officials to lose their respective offices can this goal be attained.
9
@Jerry Spiegler
Indeed, if Senators such as McConnell can be shown that they will have to give up their seats in order to cover the butt of a corrupt president, then we will have the removal from office consequent to impeachment that justice and the American people who believe in it properly deserve. Don't give up so quickly on the Senate--they haven't heard self-evident frauds like House counsel Castor tell their self-evident phony stories in public yet.
2
I can't complain about any of these charges or about the categories chosen. Indeed "The Great Divider" Trump's corruption is so broad and impeachable, it challenges the legal mind to encompass all of it in specific categories.
Watching Republican obstructions of today's hearing, I can't help but wonder if there is some way beyond defeat at the polls that these disgraceful legislators can be impeached. No wonder Judiciary Chair Nadler doesn't want to give them the extra hearing they want. Who wants to put up with such nonsense for even one more day, not just from the Trump-shillers on the committee but from the fraud of a narrative provided by their counsel Castor?
6
The only defense this utters slavish ranking member Collins has in defense of Trump is the claim that what Trump did leaked and therefore he cannot be held accountable for it.
There isn't a Republican on that panel who is worth a can of spam.
8
It is telling that in the midst of his impeachment, rather than trying to keep his nose clean, Trump brazenly sends Guliani to Ukraine. He is there meeting with the same corrupt Russian stooges who are propagating the nonsense conspiracy theories about Ukraine interfering in the 2016 election, rather than Russia and about Biden's supposed corrupt acts. In other words, as trump's agent, he is continuing to solicit foreign interference in the upcoming election. Trump is willing to behave this way because he expects to be acquitted by the Senate. It is proof positive that he will continue his same pattern of corrupt behavior throughout the remainder of his presidency.
139
@MRod
Trump ALWAYS "doubles down" and really does not care if it is done in plain sight. In fact, I would suggest that his ego and arrogance drive him to do it in plain sight as much as possible.
This is the mark of a true "grifter".
9
Please try not to use phrases like "[erring] on the side of conservatism" in listing impeachable offenses. It is awful on many levels. but for one, the arrogance to dictate center disrespects true middle-road readers. It sends them right-bound.
1
Let's see, Clinton was basically impeached for perjury concerning oral sex and saying it didn't happen in a deposition on an entirely different case. That was it. It had nothing to do with the American government or anything remotely associated with any aspect of it, he lied about a personal matter, period.
Trump has lied thousands of times, but never under oath. It is time to swear "Mr. Truth" in and ask questions. I'll pop the corn.
8
How about "failure to faithfully execute the laws of the United States"? This is related to your #7 example, but is broader. There are many examples where he has knowingly urged executive branch employees to disregard the law (usually by offering some tortured interpretation or rationale that clearly lacks good faith) The administrative procedures act (census issue, muslim ban?The impoundment act (ukraine)? The emergency powers act. The security excuse for tarifs on canada. Also, any time he exercises his legal discretion for a corrupt purpose (firing comey, removing the ambassador to Ukraine) or to facilitate lawlessness (firing kristen neisen?) Would seem to me to fit under this rubic.
4
I just wish they would just do it already!
I. am. so. sick. of. hearing. about. it. and. nothing. being. done.
They House could have impeached at any time during the past year or so. Takes 218 votes in the House to impeach. Have had 234/235 Dems (plus the one who says he isn't but is).
They are just whining and whining and whining. I'm sick of hearing about it. If they aren't going to do it, then just please stop wasting time - and money.
1
YES.YES.YES. Nancy are you listening? Those of us who have been existing in a perpetual state of moral outrage need to put a marker down. Please do not limit so narrowly as to imply we are okay with the rest. We absolutely are NOT.
7
Conduct incompatible with the office never gets mentioned as an article as it hides in plain sight.
Amazing!
4
I'm glad to see point 8 included. The maniacal and incessant lying is so far beyond anything we've ever seen by a previous leader, it surely merits removal on its own. Yes, Clinton, Bush, and Obama were imperfect truth tellers, as are most politicians. But Trump literally cannot speak for five minutes without deceit. It's absolutely disqualifying.
3
@David Howard Absolutely. Since this nation should never be asked to tolerate a president who lies and dissembles so often, then impeachment is the natural remedy, because the lies--as Mueller has documented--always redound to illegalities.
Spot on. I hope the committee's and their staff read this
2
Trump will be impeached in the house. The process will be a raucous circus engaged by the usual GOP. Trump will most probably be exonerated in the Senate led by Graham engaging in partisan hyperbole and misinformation. All of which is to the detriment of the country. In the end, it seems imperative that the next election results in a Democratic Senate. McConnell is the real puppet master and has manipulated a malleable, unstable and incompetent president. 2020 is the year we must begin to rebuild America as a beacon of democracy.
3
I cannot get beyond the image of Nero fiddling as Rome burned.
A president so clearly and objectively corrupt and incompetent continues to push our democracy, our nation and indeed the world to the brink while we spend our time arguing about issues like how many articles of impeachment or whether trump’s mindless stooge Nunes acted as an accomplice.
I have given up watching the impeachment hearings in which the Republicans have self fulfilled their own prophecy and turned them into a circus with one ridiculous parliamentary objection after another.
4
Maybe "we in the media" can learn from this experience? Stop being manipulated by politicians.
2
Suppose that Trump gets elected in 2020 exactly the way he was elected in 2016. And suppose Pew Research takes a poll that establishes that, in the swing states Trump wins, the critical voters are agree with the statement that charging Trump with eight articles of impeachment, and the whole impeachment thing, was way over the top and so they couldn't vote Democrat and voted for Trump instead. In other words, the hypothetical poll shows that opposition to the impeachment was the difference between winning and losing.
I know that you will blame the electoral college and claim that history will vindicate you. But I will be thinking that you are a fool.
1
After watching Trump for years insult everybody on Earth, starting with fellow Republicans, after witnessing him putting children in cages, after watching his dismantling the institutions that makes the US a Republic, after realizing that he is subservient to Putin, who is a criminal and a tyrant, there is no doubt in my mind that if he is not the most repulsive human beings that exists today he is close to being that.
However all of that would be irrelevant if there were no facilitators in the Senate. People like Cruz, Rubio, Graham, McConnell, people who have been disparaged and humilliated by him, but who still carry his dirty water.
Makes me sad to realize that this is what the Republican Party has become.
3
This man is so criminal it takes my breath away. How do you expect anyone to follow the law when someone like this is leading the country?
And getting away with everything. The injustice for the rest of us who must follow the rules is mind-numbing.
It's strikes at the beating heart of this country.
We have been given a death blow. It remains to be seen if we will survive it.
2
Trump's conduct is a variation of something like "Too Big to Fail." He intentionally does so many unacceptable things as if to overwhelm any response to stop him. So much of his business and personal conduct has amounted to his asserting, "I dare you to stop me" and "why bother, because you can't."
He broke so many rules and still got elected. He continues to break many rules, almost on a daily basis, with the applause of Fox News, most of the G.O.P. and far too many voters who act as if nothing bad could possibly happen to them as a result.
At this point, anything that brings some accounting to him--to try to stave off the corruption and rot---even if the Senate ultimately votes as all the Republicans think it will, is far better than yielding further to Trump's and the G.O.P.'s obstruction of the process.
If Trump survives the Senate Trial, and, again, gets at least 60 million votes, then we will all know that the virtues of what was once considered the greatest county on earth have become myth. The rest of us will all be suckers to believe it was wrong for a president to be so petty, so mean, so crude, so despicable . . . .
I hope I never encounter Trump face-to-face. I am not as virtuous as Speaker Pelosi. I pray for Trump and his staff to leave office.
1
Let us all remember that this list of corruption is perfectly ok with the Republican party. Once the Republicans in the Senate let Trump off, and you know they will, this country is finished. The Republicans will have endorsed corruption to the point where Kellyanne Conway could hawk Ivanka Trump products during White House tour's, and they could hold public auctions for access to the President. Companies will have to pay homage to Trump to stay in business and foreign companies will have to pay Trump directly to avoid tarrifs.
The Republican party is officially The Party Of Corruption. I am not sure what will remain of this once great country after they let Trump off. Imagine Trump with no restraints! This is what we are headed for. And our disease isn't restricted to Trump and his gutless Congressional toadies, it includes millions of Republican voters who don't have the slightest respect for our laws or our Constitution. The goons have taken over. Bye-bye USA, hello banana republic.
1
While you're at it, throw in Stormy Daniels. As lies go, it's a small one, but it might unify the country since even Trump supporters know he's lying about the women. Think of it as Bill Clinton times ten.
1
I LOVE all 8!
I think treason should also be included. Trump's first act of treason was at Helsinki when before the entire world and standing beside Putin, he betrayed 16 US intelligence agencies and the thousands of dedicated, committed experts who labored long and hard to identify the Russian hackers and document their crimes against out election. Trump said he believed Putin's denial and thereby threw all 16 federal intelligence directors and their agencies under the buss. It was an unforgiveable and outrageous public act of treason, and it foretold his continuing support for America's most aggressive foes.
This betrayal has never stopped. Nearly every chance Trump gets, he does favors for Putin (and other strongman dictators which whom he has current or future business interests). He's discarded America's interests and instead he serves America's enemies. From Russia, Turkey and Syria and even Saudi Arabia Trump has put the American people's interests on the back burner.
This is treason. And because it's an impeachment, the article does not have to meet the requirements of any statutes.
Trump has taken an oath, and then violated it repeatedly, so it doesn't matter if he's technically violated a statue. He's violated his solemn oath many times!
Throw the book at him!
Impeach and remove him ASAP!
5
Too bad you didn’t come up with any suggestions supporting a charge of Treason, principally but not exclusively for Trump’s actions advantaging foreign countries (Russia, Saudi Arabia, Israel, as just 3 examples) to the detriment of the United States.
Under the heading of Emoluments, why is Trump not personally guilty of accepting good and valuable services from jet setting international lawyer and man of intrigue Rudy Giuliani while helping the former mayor curry lucrative foreign contracts as Giuliani also helped Trump’s re-election campaign by muddying the waters surrounding Russia’s involvement in his prior campaign, and taking up a fabricated Russian story about Ukraine?
Importantly, why does America deserve to be saddled with a President so unscrupulous that ordinary citizens have to query lawyers to find out how much of his behavior is illegal?
And his taxes - what’s in there, blank pages? How come they’re not released to Congress as required of everybody under law? By what mechanism are they not turned over? Did Trump illegally instruct underlings to stonewall that one, too?
2
The only one I would be unsure of is number 5. Unless you can show that these persons would not have stayed at a Trump hotel were he not president or that they paid more than other guests for the same rooms, this is simply normal business. I mean, was Jimmy Carter taking emoluments every time someone bought peanuts from his farm?
1
@michaelscody
Carter sold his farm immediately after taking office.
1
This assembly of impeachable conduct invites attention to two strategic considerations.
First, there's no need to sign off on a final set of Articles now. One reason is that a number of significant witnesses need to be heard from. And yes, that means waiting until the courts have finished their review of the House's subpoenas.
Second, an expanded time frame for a vote or votes on possible Articles will allow Democrats to campaign in defense of their process and to highlight the evidence already delivered.
And there is a bonus in this expanded time frame. Namely, if the Senate trial does not occur before next November, Trump cannot claim exoneration in the campaign.
When attacked for 'dragging' out impeachment, Democrats could validly claim that the American voter is entitled to weigh in on who should be the final 'jurors' in the Senate.
This last point has a notable precedent in capitol hill politics: Mitch McConnell made the same claim for the Supreme Court vacancy in the last year of Obama's second term.
Why not?
1
The best option I have heard so far is for the Judiciary Committee to complete it's impeachment hearings, and NOT vote on impeachment, but wait until all the subpaena'd individuals show up before the committee. It may take months to pass through the conservative courts, if ever, and the whole election year will be drowned in opinions about whether Trump should be impeached. This is much better than voting to impeach and letting it get shot down by the Republican majority in the senate, and Trump and his followers will say he was exonerated like they did with the Mueller Report.
3
I see no benefit to the price paid for Trump's presidency. Vast erosion of American values: Of respect for all people, of freedom of the press and speech, of fair elections, of Constitutionally-based checks and balances, of a tri-branched government which has been manipulated into a monarchy, and of degradation of a full-democracy to a flawed one.
And for what benefits? For Trump's delivery on his campaign pledges to his "base?" For protecting our southern border by spending billions on an ineffective border wall intended to keep Democrat-leaning minorities from tilting elections in Democrats' favor? For deporting illegal aliens who have contributed to our economy for decades? For weakening global alliances which have melded nations with common interests to oppose common enemies? To dis-believe climate change and ignore its effects? To oppose efforts to bring car makers into globally-competitive fuel efficiency for the 21st century? For propping up old, dirty, and dying fossil fuel industries? To redistribute wealth from the poor and middle classes to the ultra-wealthy, while raising the deficit to an unprecedented one trillion dollars in a time of prosperity? To initiate trade wars that have resulted in the US government bailout of farmers? To manipulate the Federal reserve for political gain? To basically create a centrally controlled economy rather than a free-market system? To divide Americans to a level not seen since the Civil War?
Too high a price, and no benefits.
2
I don't think the Democratic house can be blamed for lack of investigation of emoluments. I believe the Oversight committee tried, but of course ran into the same obstruction, refusal to hand over documents, and lack of compliance with subpoenas that have hobbled every other investigation into this president's criminal behavior.
They're still waiting for the Treasury department to hand over Trump's tax returns, and that authority is actually written into red-letter law!
4
If our education system weren't such a multi-generational failure, someone like Trump would never have been elected. And if he had, he would certainly have an approval rating less than 5% and a public overwhelmingly clamoring for his resignation and prosecution.
2
You've just given eight reasons why 80% of the Republican party support the President. They can't get enough of this stuff.
1
What about refusing to address climate change - a Crime against Humanity?
4
Democrats are going to try to impeach Trump not on a crime, but on secondhand heard testimony. I hate Trump , but if he is impeached on Ukraine - not for a crime - , then all future Democratic presidents will face impeachment. This is based on flimsy evidence that Trump withheld military aid for the Ukraine - the same aid that Obama held back because of the loss of life if provided. The Democratic Party is now officially the party of war and Raytheon, just like the Republicans. Meanwhile 700,000 will be taken off Food Stamps last week and barely a peep about this.
“Impeachment Non-Bombshells Endanger Democrats in 2020”
@aaronjmate
https://www.thenation.com/article/impeachment-sondland-democrats/
“When questioning began, Sondland made clear that Trump never told him that the military funding was contingent on investigations. In fact, he said that Trump never mentioned that military funding at all. The idea that it was conditioned on the investigations did not come from Trump, but, as Sondland explained, from his own interpretation “in the absence of any credible explanation” for why the money had been frozen.”
On 5 - Impeach on acceptance of emoluments. Then for example Obama should be impeached for accepting $500,000 speaking fees as thanks from Wall Street and the Bankers he did not prosecute for the 2008 crash.
1
For all of the reasons listed in this essay, for his repeal of environmental regulations, his thoughtless attempt to get rid of Obamacare without any regard for the harm that would have done, for his appointment of profoundly incompetent people to high office, including his family members, the role of Russia in the 2016 election, and for many other actions that he's taken during the course of his presidency shows that he fundamentally hates Americans and America. He will continue to harm our country if left alone and that is the fundamental reason why he needs to be impeached and removed from office. And today would not be too soon.
1
Aiding and abetting Russia who are affirmed adversaries of America and democracy in general. We don't know the reason or reasons why Trump's statements and actions always appear beneficial or favorable to Putin's Russia. The Helsinki news conference where Trump dismisses the assessment of our intelligence agencies concluded conclusively that Russia interfered in our 2016 election while embracing Putin's strong denials. Trump's assertion that Ukraine was really the country that interfered in 2016 election further promotes Russia generated disinformation. Trump as far back as his 2016 campaign expressed that he favored removing sanctions against Russia and various oligarchs. It may seem harsh but one might conclude that Trump is a Commie lover favoring Russia over America.
1
Crafting articles of impeachment against Trump is like delaying a decision to buy a new car because you believe next year's model will be so much better. Yes, there is enough damning evidence of Trump's attempting bribery and corruption, and of his flagrantly obstructive behavior. But all that appears to be the tip of the iceberg. The smart move would be to continue to hold hearings right up to the election, thus preventing the Senate Republicans from acquitting Trump and exposing the full measure of Trump's corruption.
1
Do you really believe this ? And more importantly, do you really believe the American people is going to believe this ?
1
1) Trumps’s request for Zelensky to open an investigation into the mythical missing DNC server is an extortionate and eminently impeachable abuse of power. Quid Pro Quo is not an issue. Representative Mike Turner took umbrage at what he characterized as Ambassador Yovanovitch’s unfair accusation that Republicans foster a theory that Ukrainians, not the Russians, hacked the DNC. He pointed to a Republican-chaired committee report which concluded it was the Russians who did it ,so he knows that the “missing server” is a Putin-inspired myth. The requested favor is extortionate because the more powerful figure, Trump, is requesting the less powerful figure, Zelensky, to do something that benefits Trump and Putin while injuring Zelensky and Ukraine.
2) The Republicans say President Trump was concerned about Ukrainian corruption. The reality is that Trump told Zelensky that corrupt prosecutor Lutsenko, whom Giuliani got to slander Yovanovitch, was “very good and was shut down [by Zelensky] and that’s unfair.”
This is an example of Trump meddling in Ukrainian affairs to promote corruption.
If you applied the same thought processes as Leonhardt does to Trump to every other president who has ever served, all of them would have been impeached. This is a twisted grope for anything (anything) that might, in any way, tangentially or otherwise, be something that the Congress might possibly use to impeach this president. The dangerous thing is that such specious "arguments" will inevitably be used in the future when similar house majorities square off with a president from the other party. Is this how we are going to run our government?
2
In my dreams this scurrilous abomination of a president is removed from office, followed by his vp. Then a “‘really ‘uge’ mirror is held up in front of all his cohorts and defenders who are all forced to truthfully account for their actions, and ask themselves if they have lived up to the oaths of office that they took when they were sworn in. I doubt that they can look themselves in the eye and truthfully answer “yes”. Blind faith, corruption, fear of being outed... who knows what drives their loyalty to this this man. How can they be so blind to the multiple reasons that he is unfit to spend another day in the White House?!
4
US elections are the foundation of our democracy. As such, trying in any way to actively subvert them should be viewed as treasonous.
5
I like the eight counts. I do think that multiple offenses could be included under each of these counts to show the patterns of Trump's malfeasance.
I am puzzled that you stated, "In making the list, I erred on the side of conservatism. I excluded gray areas from the Mueller report, like the Trump campaign’s flirtation with Russian operatives."
I remain deeply interested in why Manafort reportedly gave U.S. polling data to the Russians before the 2016 election. When the Internet Research Agency (IRA), the Russian troll farm, was putting posts on social media, was the placement of those posts in any way influenced by American polling data? Were there any links – direct or indirect between the Russian IRA and the Trump campaign’s digital operations team under Brad Parscale, in using big data analytics, model behavioral science, and ad targeting?
Were voters not merely being polled, but also manipulated, by exposure to targeted social media posts – including the ones originally posted by the IRA? Which 126 million Americans ultimately saw and/or shared?
"Russia, if you're listening?"
"Ukraine, I need you to do us a favor, though."
4
I think your eighth count, which includes lying, is the most egregious and obvious. According to the WaPo, this president made 13,435 false or misleading claims in his first 993 days in office.
T. Jefferson: "Ben, what if a president lies. Is that impeachable?"
B. Franklin: "Thomas, no that's fine. Everyone lies."
TJ: "But let's say we can prove he lied over 13,000 times before he even hit his 1,000 day in office? Is that OK?"
BF: "Are you kidding me? That will never happen. Be realistic, Thomas!"
1
A guy in Detroit named Don was running for re-election to the city council. His opponent was an old guy and kind of a jerk. Don talked to his buddy, a local justice of the peace, across the river in Windsor and told him it would be nice if he would bad mouth his opponent. In order to coax his buddy to help, Don held up Detroit city funds that went to pay for the security guard in the courtroom used by his buddy. Detroit paid the money because so many Detroit citizens walked their dogs off leash in Windsor and were taken before the justice of the peace.
One of the dog owners blew a whistle on the courthouse steps in Windsor and told the story to the small crowd that had assembled. Everyone had a good laugh.
Treason. He is trying to destroy America, it institutions, its impact, in favor of doing Putin’s bidding. It is the article of impeachment that would summarize and make sense of all the rest. People ask why when it could not be more obvious. He was installed by Putin to destroy America; he is doing it and all his deeds are step children of his traitorous mission. the concept he relishes most. it Is the one that would force his republican senators to openly support and end there complicity in these endless acts of TREASON.
4
Richard Nixon looks like a boy scout next to Don Trump - easily the most corrupt president ever. Unfortunately, the Republican congress is only interested in bending over backwards to excuse all of Trump's impeachable offenses. As a country we will have to vote the GOP out of office if we are to retain any semblance of a Democracy.
5
Yes to all this. It's a mistake to impeach Trump on the Ukraine stuff alone.
4
OK, enough is enough. Maybe the Senate Republicans should consider ditching this President ASAP and running in November on their legislative record. Granted, it’s thin, but they could run on promises: better health care, an infrastructure plan, solutions to address climate change that could simultaneously benefit American workers, a plan to address immigration that addresses the realities of the 21st century, etc. Would this really be more challenging than continuing to drag around this ball and chain? I assume they are discussing…
It seems to me that the best way forward is to censure the present now. There is enough evidence to support this. Then, keep the investigation going and continue efforts to get administration witnesses to comply with their subpoenas and testify to what they know. More information will come forward in time. Removal by the Senate will not occur, and is best done at the voting booths in any case.
Trump’s corruption in office is his lack of character and the immorality of the man. It is in his mentality and disposition. He has lived his life by these standards.
5
I am delighted you added his penchant for lying. This is an
unforgivable grievance. He has lied to the American people
over 13000 times. I never listen to anything he says anymore
because in my opinion, if his lips are moving , he's lying.
2
The best reason for including Trump's torrent of lies (over 13,000 and counting according to the Washington Post) is that Republicans would have no comeback except to tell the easily disprovable lie that Trump doesn't lie. Here's a neat list complete with fact-checks and a False-O-Meter: https://www.politifact.com/personalities/donald-trump/statements/byruling/false/
1
Trump publicly denigrated US intelligence.
The maxim "innocent until proven guilty" is hard to support for an individual that is tumbling his nose at every single judicial and intelligence institution, judges, laws and rules that hold this country together.
Using the Office of the Presidency for personal financial gain basically sealed this country as a banana republic, despite all the verbal contortions that we "great".
His behavior is suspicious and treasonous.
2
No. 8... yes, yes, yes. The Lies. The Lies. 13,000-plus... and counting. Nothing else Trump has done is nearly as foul and evil. Grossly incompatible with the presidency? It's grossly incompatible with sanity! American democracy can recover from all of his other crimes, major and petty. But undermining the social fabric itself with his barrage of falsities, claiming fiction as fact and blaming fact as fiction... and having 62 million cultists obediently follow him down each rabbit hole... is a dagger into the beating heart of civilization. If we can't agree upon what is true and what is not, there is no hope of cooperation, only confusion, distrust, chaos. Mostly because of his incessant lying, Donald Trump has become the most dangerous person in American history. He is the American villain.
2
If lying while not under oath is an impeachable offense you might as well add using language unbecoming of a President to the list of impeachable offenses.
4
Trump is a disgrace to the presidency.
The problem is that 40% of the nation have blinders on. They love the tax cuts for the rich, the low unemployment, the denegration of immigrants and his bullying. This is the conundrum that we are in. Therefore, Republicans in congress will stand by their man. His supporters are more interested in money than anything else. For example, Trump told Jewish Republican supporters on Saturday you won't vote for"Pocahontas" because you'll have to pay a wealth tax. He said, even more antisemitic tropes but he gets away with it because for some it is about the money.
I am glad the economy is doing well but at what expense. The question should be what if unemployment were at 4% and we had a normal president. Are we willing to be a country that is barreling towards autocracy or do we want to keep our democracy?
In 2020 the voters will make up their minds.
Trump will now be impeached and it doesn't matter how many articles are drawn up.
He will not be convicted now but it will be up to the citizenry to convict his actions in 2020.
1
Trump will be impeached but McConnell will not allow a full trial. He’ll find a way to prevent that. Trump will remain in office. Just as he did with the Mueller report he’ll misrepresent the facts until most people are misled into being his deceits. Republicans have terminated our republic and replaced it with a dictatorship of a fool and a crook. Quite an accomplishment.
2
A singularly uncompelling case for impeachment. The Democrats are faced with a corrupt rotten to the core individual who was placed in the presidency by the electoral college. His corruption is allowed by the congress and their poorly written tax cut bill passed in 2017. This misuse of his hotels for gov't business etc.
2
In “The Club,” Leo Damrosch, quotes Samuel Johnson’s observation about an acquaintance, saying that he much have taken a great deal of effort to get where he was because “ such an excess of stupidity, sir, is not in nature.” Wear that shoe Mr. Trump.
Nothing in this list about selling out U.S. national interests to a hostel foreign power. This is ongoing and at the core of U.S. retrenchment and embarrassment as no longer being seen as the leader of the free world. Trump's stance on climate change is a criminal act, whether or not he's really that dumb, or has just sold out like his Republican counterparts.
Blatant racism should also be impeachable. Civil Rights protections doesn't stop after an election.
1
In front of God and the largest crowd in Inauguration history, trump swore to uphold the Constitution. He broke that vow when he tried to bribe the president of Ukraine: guns for dirt. For that grave offense against our foundational document, trump should be impeached in the House and convicted in the Senate.
1
Democrats have a better chance of impeaching Trump for making Obama look like a fool for asserting that low economic growth was the new normal.
That is the only thing they have that is clearly true and not made up or assumed.
All of the counts you have laid out are true in my experience and knowledge of this president. His conduct has gone far beyond what Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton did and is a shameful betrayal of our democratic principles and government “of the people, by the people and for the people”. His interpretation is “of himself, by himself and for himself”. Congress should indict him on all counts. What comes after we don’t know, but Americans are sick and tired of his corruption and his lies.
1
Trump deserves no impeachment articles. None. Nada. Just get this to the Senate so he can get this dismissed or an acquittal and we can move on to 2020. Go Trump.
2
@JP
If only he would.
1
Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. AND...GUILTY.
All eight offenses are indeed impeachable.
1
Trump lied to the nation about climate change, and about the Russian interference in the 2016 election, which he calls hoaxes. These are the two greatest lies ever by a President in violation of his oath of office and with grave damage to our nation.
1
Everything about trump is an abomination. The sooner he is gone the better. He AND his supporters are doing lasting harm to this country. He won’t be removed by the Senate. We all know the Republicans are too craven and dishonest to do that. He must be voted out of office. November 2020 will be his reckoning.
3
My biggest concern is that Trump is grossly incompetent in almost every area, including selecting and keeping staff. surely we don't have to tolerate incompetence do we?
1
The more the merrier!
1
This is a solid piece, but it makes it even harder to understand why so many not-at-all-rich people still support Trump.
I can easily see why Republican officials support a president who routinely aids Putin and literally repeats the Kremlin’s propaganda; they also make oceans of money on Trump’s unethical and criminal activities.
But why do so many hard-working (and unemployed) Americans support a man who was born rich, dodged the draft, mocks the armed forces, despises low-income Americans, is a life-long sexual predator, and has evaded millions in taxes?
Trump has taken health insurance away from many people who voted for him and, near as I can tell, has done absolutely nothing to help anyone who has less than a million bucks. Nothing.
In effect, he has said over and over: “I despise you, exploit you, ridicule you, and lie to you all day, every day. So vote for me.”
And they will.
2
I know this isn’t a crime, per se, but I do not want a president whose only conversation is to sling names, who cannot put a sentence together, and who has no idea how our government works, thus destroying our country, bit by bit.
Oh yeah, and who revels in his ignorance and lack of education-this is what attracts so much of his base.
1
You forgot witness intimidation.
4
Can the president be courts-martialed ?
Counterpoints to "Eight Counts of Impeachment"
1. no crime, no foul
2. most Americans have "Contempt of Congress"
3. the Democrats in Congress are guilty of their own "Abuse of Power"
4. Huh?
5. This must be a joke- Obama and Clinton became vastly wealthy "profiting off the office"
6. the silliness of this "count" shows desperation
7. Clinton's pardon of Marc Rich is real "abuse"
8. Democrats in Congress charging "Gross Conduct" ?People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones
2
Do you really believe this ? And more importantly, do you believe the American people is going to believe this ?
As a non-American, I've always admired the office of the Presidency and held the US government with a certain reverential regard.
No more.
I can't even watch movies / tv shows about the Presidency anymore because I can't suspend my disbelief and now know it's all a sham; that you have the most corrupt government this side of Mugabe, Pinochet or Idi Amin.
I laugh at the sombre tones used by mainstream media to discuss the current abomination of the Office because we all know you just tolerate ANYTHING this man does.
Good luck with the impeachment. II have outrage fatigue. If you can't oust this pariah, then indeed the world will move on without you.
1
Thank you. Hopefully the impeachment documents will be as clear as this NY Times article.
2
There’s only one thing that would convince me that our current President is not a Russian asset, owned and controlled by Vladimir Putin.
That is, if Fred and Mary Trump never had a son named Donald.
1
Wow, that’s three less than Clinton.
It's time for country over party! Stand up GOP!
1
There is nothing like Trump's deliberate corruption of Zelensky in the entire annals of US published history.
1
“He would have pressured the Ukrainian government to announce an investigation of the Bidens, and we in the media would have played along, producing the headlines that Trump wanted to see.”
Finally, someone says it. Mr. Leonhardt puts his finger on one of the greatest dangers our country faces in these times: a credulous and lazy media willing to follow whatever shiny object is tossed its way, rather than being properly skeptical of a deeply mendacious and provably dishonest administration and doing the hard work of exposing and telling the truth.
The media, and the public, have now had over three years to observe how this administration operates, and honesty doesn’t enter into the equation. Television “news” is infotainment garbage, but it’s sad to think that, if the whistleblower hadn’t come forward, major newspapers might have fallen — yet again — for Trump’s blatant lies.
Don’t forget “Failure to bow to the ruling castes.”
All eight make sense. I hope the House reads your column.
2
Opinon
The Eight Counts of Impeachment That Trump Deserves
The lessons from Nixon and Clinton.
by David Leonhardt
Gaslighting for the heck of it... I am limited to 190o my stuff.
Lessons? That's weak. We are at war! At war with common sense. It's an objective. No one can do everything so wrong, day after day, and not have an objective. Was is his threat?
Gaslight comes to mind. Staring Charles Boyer, Ingrid Bergman, Joseph Cotten? George Cukor directed.
Let's pray for a decent outcome.
Forgot witness intimidation.
The Republican Party is corrupt to the core, impeaching Trump is like impeaching the entire Party. They will game this to to their advantage without any regard for the consequences to the Constitution, democracy, or right and wrong. America is hurdling towards fascism and this is just one of the hurdles.
"we in the media would have played along, producing the headlines that Trump wanted to see".
This is a stand alone and stand out sentence. Let it sink in.
My question is WHY? Why would the press have played along? The press is too close to the power. Didn't the press corp attend or throw a farewell party for that liar Sarah Huckabee? The press should have stopped attending press conferences the day Spicer started talking about crowd size. Currently, the White House doesn't even hold press conferences and yet, as soon as the current press secretary (I don't even care to know her name and I pay her salary) speaks there is very little pushback and regard for truth.The response to liars should be, "nope, you're lying and that's not going to be printed."
Reporting unfounded, cockamamie ideas is not reporting- it is giving the microphone to maniacs. I include our President, his press secretary(ies) at the top of the list.
Please allow me to expand generously on item #8. Here is my bakers dozen:
1. Misogyny
2. Racist tendencies
3. Religious intolerance
4. Indecent behavior
5. Immigrant bashing
6. Kidnapping children from their parents
7. A pitiful fantasy for dictators and strongmen
8. An abject distaste for armed services personnel
9. Rage Tweeting
10. Refusal to release tax returns
11. Refusal to cooperate with any agency requesting documentation that might even eventually exonerate him (fat chance though i would say !)
12. Name calling
13. An abject and wanton ignorance of American alliances
4
I would go further: I would say he should be impeached and he should keep being impeached until he is no longer President. Enough!
1
Acceptance of President Trump's behavior has one pondering if more people cheat playing golf than previously realized.
Trump is guilty as charged.
2
They should.
I fear our House leadership is too conservative and cowardly to throw the book at him (entirely deserved & appropriate). I hope they prove me wrong.
Is it possible to have Trump impeached on the ground of ignorance of the constitution?
suggest you change your panel of experts from revisionists to upholders of the constitution
the list left out bribery/extortion, and i would remove your last one. it invites endless debate
The Founding Fathers wrote impeachment...into the constitution for the purpose of removing an official who had “rendered himself obnoxious,"
-Benjamin Franklin
Well surely Trump has met the "obnoxious" threshold. Did that the day he took office.
Excellent list Mr. Leonhardt, Ben Franklin would be proud of you.
I could not agree more with all 8 but the gross incompetence is really the Trump presidency not a nutshell. Where presidential timber had grown for over two centuries there a mere twig discarded on the ground as a footnote of greed, ignorance and narcissism.
It is well documented
https://apnews.com/a4349ac80a7048bdb61f017fffd9623f
that Trump donated every year $200K - $300K covering profits from foreigners using his hotels.
So accusing him under the emolument clause would allow him to document that the impeachment was done by ill informed raging House Democrats.
None of the things Nixon was about to be impeached or Clinton was impeached for were provably wrong.
This comment will make most NYTs readers guffaw and dismiss as un-educated.
There is none so blind as the one that refuses to see.
...
Donald Trump has assembled a very good legal team. They assiduously study the laws and very carefully OBEY them. Yes, they use every trick in the book......but they have the Law on their side......every time.
Donald Trump has been very careful to always, always, always obey every court order....until it is overturned by a higher court. Every Time.
The Vengeful Democrats are playing into his hand.
The trap is set.....and Dems will lose elections, because they cannot resist the trap.
...
1. Obstruction of justice.
2. Contempt of Congress.
3. Abuse of power.
4. Impairing the administration of justice.
5. Acceptance of emoluments.
6. Corruption of elections.
7. Abuse of pardons.
8. Conduct grossly incompatible with the presidency.
Every member of Congress is guilty of the same charges.
Donald Trump, by his own exagerated shocking behavior.....exactly what passes for "normal" in every other office in WashDC.
The voters will not take too kindly to Impeachment.
They all will be punished.
Laugh while you can......you have 11 months to think about it.
My opinion is that all charges sustained by real facts should be included in the impeachment action. Take the time to get all the information, there's no reason the impeachment and campaigns can't run simultaneously. The GOP constantly claiming that this is an effort to overturn the 2016 election is idiotic. The impeachment is about the corrupt and criminal conduct of Mr. Trump since taking office, and his fundamental incompetence and unfitness for the job should influence all of the members of our legislature.
Emoluments? Do you know how much money Trump has lost because he is the president? As for Barr, how do you know he wouldn't have booked the Trump hotel if Hillary were president. You must be joking.
I agree with all eight.
Trump is an abomination. He has no business being the President of the United States. He has failed in every aspect of the role.
It will take a very long time for the US to recover from his highly damaging Presidency.
2
contra Castor, the victim is Congress not Ukraine.
You make the mistake of thinking Trump can only be impeached once. That is true if he is removed and disqualified. But if the idiocy which seems to dominate this country elects him again, he can be impeached again and all his misdeeds can be pararded in front of the people again.
As for now, the house should keep it simple. If it does that there is perhaps a 1% chance he will be removed. If the impeachment gets Muellerized, that chance goes to zero. To me, I will take a 100 to 1 longshot anyday over a flat out impossiblity.
1
Talk about a disconnect...I'm reading this even as Collins--he of the faux folksy "Aw, shucks folks, why are we even here?" tone--is attempting to make the case that there is literally no reason to have a hearing.
What I most resent is that he pretends to speak for the nation, claiming that "none of us know why we're here," and "people are tired of this."
No. Mr. Collins. We are tired of you and the collusive and treasonous GOP's cultivated stupidity and venality. We're tired of your inability to admit that what DJT did is wrong and indefensible. We are tired of the noise machine, the rolled eyes (yes, Mr. Biggs, that's you) the spittle and bluster you exert in diverting us from these eminently impeachable offenses.
These eight counts are just the tip of the iceberg; the wrongdoing is incomprehensibly worse than what we see. Bank on it. DJT did.
All eight are spot on, but if Castor and Collins have their way, we'll never get to any one of them. They bring new meaning to obfuscation.
The GOP has crossed the line into overt collusion and covering up in these proceedings. They are now fully complicit in DJT's crimes.
He is truly a non-patriot; he is an enemy of the US. This must be understood. He is for himself and himself only. His flag, his country and his constitution are those of piracy. His vow and motto: me, me, me. His range is the open waters of crime and corruption. His tools: lies, cruelty to children, begging for the love of dictators.
AND
Further to Abuse of Power: his appointments for so many positions have been by him knowingly unqualified, guilty of ethical and possibly criminal wrong-doing, disloyal to the United States, embroiled in foreign businesses, with a readiness to be part of a gang of WH political mafioso.
“ I excluded gray areas from the Mueller report, like the Trump campaign’s flirtation with Russian operatives. “
Not a grey area at all. It’s the black hole into which we are slipping. Step by step , inch by inch, slowly we turn into a pathetic victim of V. Putin and D. Trump’s perverse goals of self enrichment and US collapse. Clear as day, I’d say!
1
No don't muddy the waters. Keep it simple.
Mr. Leonhardt underscores his duplicity with this line: “A longer process, with more attention on his misdeeds, seems unlikely to help Trump’s approval rating.” Determined to reverse an election in a bumbling campaign now over three years old and becoming farcical, the media colluding with the Democrat Party and who knows how many foreign entities, are not interested in facts, just a disregard of the electorate via hearsay.
Mr. Leonhardt mockingly supports a conservative list of Presidential fault lines merely numbering eight. Dismissing the high crimes and misdemeanors he subjected the public to in his earlier rants, now dumped into the dustbin of falsehood, he concocts his new list with his unnamed legal experts. Rather than focus on drafting and passing legislation, the actual purpose of Congress, Mr. Leonhardt prefers elected Democrats to be solely directed to impeach and continue their campaign of hatred and divide. In effect, this reckless disregard of their constitutional duties creates a new list for which the entire Democrat Party and its elected members of Congress can now be impeached for the same crimes Leonhardt is accusing the President.
1
Speaking of abuse, it is abusive to not mention that if Republicans are intent on "rooting out corruption" why don't they start here in the United States since what also happened in November was Donald Trump, along with his offspring, being declared guilty in a Court of Law - here in the United States - of defrauding contributors to the Donald J. Trump "Charitable" Foundation, where they have to now pay restitution.
Then there is their misrepresentations made of the Mueller report. So tired of their "no collusion" schtick when you can see for yourself, if you ever even bothered to read up to page 2, that the report is rife with events where collusion took place, as well as obstruction of justice. Obstruction is why Trump did not get the spot that lands on conspiring against this country with a foreign adversary.
He paid off a porn star while in office as well.
So sick of this, as I'm sure his co-conspirators, now doing jail-time, most likely are.
Sick of this as anyone who watched what happened at Helsinki, are.
So sick, that this is what Trump has made of this country. He is sickened it.
1
I make it nine articles of Impeachment against Trump: an overriding one of sheer and utter Incompetence.
@James Murphy In other words you think most Presidents should have been impeached and removed from Office. That is a novel view of the U.S. Constitution.
David Leonhardt just made the case for not reelecting Trump to a second term and failed to make a credible case for Trump's impeachment and Congress removing Trump from the Presidency. David Leonhardt should learn from his own commentary and so should the Democrats in Congress.
1
Let’s add one more. How about, “Failure to Register as a Foreign Agent?”
1
Agreed, it must be about more than jut Ukraine. Giuliani is in Ukraine now promising goodies for them to support Trump.
1
Always pushing Putin’s agenda in The Ukraine and Syria makes me think that the Trump Presidential Library will be housed in The Kremlin.
1
Can everyone send this article to their representatives please?
How strange that the party of Family Values and Christianity is actively opposing truth and facts to shield a criminal in the White House.
The United States, as an ethical nation, no longer exists.
222
@Maureen Steffek yes we do still exist. we are 60% of the population, never forget that. We will get through this somehow, and how we get back our reputation will be the 2020 elections. If that fails and in my opinion will only be through their cheating, or our apathy. THEN and not until then will we no longer exist as an ethical nation
14
@Maureen Steffek
And can't wait to hear Trump's defense of Russia for being banned from the next two Olympics because of doping.
Isn't this the second time?
But Stay Tuned, America...
Trump will most assuredly dispatch his fixer, Rudy Giuliani, to eastern Europe to dig up some dirt and find some other country to blame for Russia's doping scandal.
13
@Maureen Steffek Sure it does! We just vote Democratic Party and fight for ALLL Americans
13
"Trump has gone much further than Nixon, outright refusing to participate in the constitutionally prescribed impeachment process. As a result, the country still doesn’t know the full truth of the Ukraine scandal."
That is because "the full truth about the Ukraine scandal" is likely much worse than the already-damning truth that the testimony a few courageous civil servants has revealed and corroborated! That one item, though characterized as "contempt of Congress", is much more encompassing in that it could well be characterized as "obstruction of justice", "abuse of power", "impairing the administration of justice" and "conduct grossly incompatible with the presidency."
1
The two committees have bright experienced people on them and Pelosi is guiding their decisions.
It is nice Leonhardt is trying to be helpful but he has no skin in this game.
The Democrats do. Let us trust they will do the right thing.
1
Ditto on constant lies. Has he passed 15,000 lies yet?
3
NYT reporters covering today's hearings...please write some stories that point out the sheer audacity of the Republican lies...right now I'm listening to Castor and am appalled at the lies he is putting forth. Here's a quote from NYT's Catie Edmondson:
Referencing that particular interview Zelensky gave Time seems to be an odd move for Castor, no? Zelensky very clearly expressed his frustration that his nation’s aid would be withheld: “I don’t want us to look like beggars. But you have to understand. We’re at war. If you’re our strategic partner, then you can’t go blocking anything for us. I think that’s just about fairness.”
This Time interview directly refutes the Republican talking point that Zelensky felt no pressure.
Castor is also promoting the conspiracy theory that Ukraine, not Russia, hacked the 2016 election. How many times will the Republicans use this blatant lie, that's been proven baseless many times, as their main defense? Don't let him get away with this!
4
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes!
2
A terrible mistake Obama made in his beginning was to NOT investigate the abuses in the Cheney/Bush administration regarding Iraq. For the sake of history and our national future the exposure of ALL our blunders is important. In a very minor way this applies also to Hunter Biden's cushy deal with the oil guys in Ukraine and Clinton's pardon of Mark Rich. Shine ultraviolet lights on all the germs.
Put all the charges on the table even if some are hard to convict. trump is a criminal of the presidency. We New Yorkers knew that well before the rest of the country caught on. Let's put all the chips on the impeachment table. Let's show everyone with a brain and sense of country who this cowardly mob boss bully really is. Politics will always come into play - game on!
Indeed - these and more - he is running a mob-like administration - and weakening our security and peace of mind every day....He has earned EVERY ONE of your suggested articles of impeachment..
1
Personally I think that #5 Acceptance of emoluments is the most egregious example and Trump has been doing this since day 1. He has proven he can't manage his own businesses sucessfully given the shear number of times he's filed for bankruptcy. Since taking office, he now directly uses taxpayer dollars to keep his failing businesses solvent. What a despicable, disgraceful person.
2
Unfortunately, and despite all of this heavily partisan 'bloviation', not one single Republican in Congress, joined by at least a handful of Democrats, are buying into Pelosi's prayerful feign of "defending the Constitution". Trump will come out of this unscathed, and be reelected in a landslide by the unwashed, smelly Walmart 'deplorables' who live in the wastelands between New York and Los Angeles.
Why?
"It's The Economy Stupid."
As an Independent what if the Republicans are correct in their assumption that we may be overreacting to feelings of despair brought on by the devastating loss in 2016. The hard "proof' for this impeachable offense walks a very fine partisan line.
1
"Courageous" whistle-blower? No. If his name comes out he will be fired, but he will also be a celebrity in great demand. A year of giving speeches for tens of thousands of dollars each and a million dollar book advance will make him set for life, and Democratic-leaning think tanks and academia will offer him permanent jobs.
If he's a political appointee, he knew from the beginning that those jobs are for a few years. If he's in the civil service, he cannot be fired.
I would remind my countrymen, especially David Leonhardt, and those in the House, on both sides of the aisle, that 8 counts of impeachable offenses is actually a rather paltry grocery list. Compare it to the 27 grievances listed against King George III in one of our founding documents, the Declaration of Independence. Notice how similar many of them are to what our current President has done, by his own admission! Instead, beginning in the Oval Office, and abetted by 1/2 of Congress, we have Republicans stonewalling (a huge irony, given that the term arises from the Confederate General Stonewall Jackson’s defence against the Union assault at First Bull Run). Federal Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s rebuke last week of the President over Donald McGahn’s refusal to testify to Congress (“Presidents are not kings.”) is the most sane, clear-eyed take on what is happening during the entire impeachment process. Know your own history, gentlemen and ladies.
1
Republicans need to grow a spine and quit pushing what they know to be Russian propaganda to prop up a president that they know to be corrupt.
5
Columnist Leonhardt should focus on the GOP in the Senate
who are also defying our US Constitution by supporting
a traitor like Trump; Pence and Pompeo; and even AG Barr..
Go after McConnell next time and let the world know he
is also just as culpable as the lawmakers who support Trump
and would destroy our rule of law.
2
If Emperor Trump isn’t impeached for being an Emperor and trying to complete our deadly devolvement (metastasis), since the end of the Second World War of Empires, into a Disguised Global Crony Capitalist Empire — then we will have to address this hidden “disease of Republics” (which is Empire) again, and again.
2
Well done. Thanks
1
I second the motions for these Articles of Impeachment!
1
Mr. Leonhardt presents a compelling case for these eight articles of impeachment. But then, many writers have submitted dozens of columns these past few weeks, clearly setting forth bases to impeach this "president."
But what is missing is an analysis of why Trump will not be removed from office. Oh, several have commented that the Republican Senate toadies to Trump. This is no doubt true. But had Trump voters' support dropped substantially, Senate Republicans would be crawling all over themselves to remove him. The fact is, they are terrified of Trump voters, and this is the only reason he will not be removed from office.
Some three years on in the most disastrous presidency of my lifetime (and I remember presidents back to Eisenhower), his voters are still in lockstep with him for only one reason - he is a white nationalist. The articles of impeachment drafted by the House of Representatives create a damning record of the morals, beliefs and values of Trump voters, who are some 40% of the American people. That is, they know of Trump's criminal conduct, but they simply don't care.
History will look at the clear evidence of Trump's crimes, and future generations will be incredulous that anyone ever supported him. Trump voters are willing to put up with multiple crimes by their "president", as long as he shows them that he hates brown skinned people as much as they do.
Trump voters have been given a pass for far too long. And history will not be kind to them.
1
FunFact...most impeachment proceedings in Congress are conducted to remove bad federal judges from office.
...
Nixon was never impeached. Reminder....he was removed from office by one GHW Bush who, as RNC chairman, and organizer and planner of the actual Watergate Breakin,,,,manipulated serveral Repub Congressmen to vote FOR impeachment and thus forced Nixon to resign.
There's your actual cover up.
Woodward and Bernstein were simply tools in Bush's game.
Deep Throat, aka Mark Felt, was also another of Bush's associates.
1
The 25th Amendment would be the proper way to remove Trump - unfortunately, it has as much support as does Republican support for impeachment. Trump is clearly demented. When he says that he doesn't know someone, despite many photos of him with that person, we should take it at face value that he really does not remember that person. And when he goes on a twitter rant about flushing his toilet after a bowel movement- well, take it for what it's worth. How can we really expect a mentally deficient person, who styles himself as a mob boss and surrounds himself with sycophants, to deport himself presidentially?
Don’t forget the illegal use of Trump Foundation funds to buy pictures of himself for his golf courses.
It would be intensely satisfying to lay out every provable impeachable offense but you’re gotta bring the whole country along on that joyride
Meanwhile, Trump is talking about toilets....
1
Why is the most obvious crime -- TREASON -- not even mentioned. Why must we continue to ignore this elephantine crime?
1
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
And yes
Nice job of grouping the important and impeachable issues
1
Please send a copy over to Kathleen Parker at the WaPo. Because of who she is and her intellect, her take on impeachment genuinely scares me.
This deserves a re-tweet or share, or to be blasted from loud speakers or printed on pamphlets dropped from planes over red states. Wake up people. "Owning the liberals" ain't gonna mean much in a failed democracy.
Agree!
He cheats at golf—too! And he’s a meanie.
trump would be the perfect leader of a third world, corrupt government.
1
I agree David
45 wants it quick
Give him slow and exacting
1
Eight is not Enough.
2
You couldn’t be more correct.
1. Firing missiles against Syria without Congress' authorization
2. China tariffs abuses Article I taxing power
3. If the Iran deal was approved by the Senate, violated the Constitution by withdrawing without Senate approval
Using unsecure phones violates national security
Undermining the press and FBI, CIA, DNI
Running out of ink
All well documented but the GOP regardless of Trump blatant lawlessness stand by their Trump. May they live to regret this quisling toadyism to this criminal character.
yes. at least 8
Impeach, take out of office, put him in jail like other criminals. He is not above the law. This would be the best finale of his presidential reality TV drama. Happy ending for America.
And politicians, stop saying that the American people should decide next year whether or not the 45th should stay in office. We don’t let the public decide if someone who attempted to murder your family should go to jail, right? The law should decide. So, just stop. It sounds stupid.
Republicans tried to crucify Bill Clinton for trying to cover up an office peccadillo. The gravest problem this country faces is that the Republican leadership protects Trump despite his obvious illegal abuse of power, obstruction of justice and subservience to Vladimir Putin. The hypocritical Republicans pretend that he has done nothing impeachable.
The gravest problem before America is that nearly half of this nation and the Republican leadership rejects the rule of law under the Constitution in order to keep the ignorant, incompetent Donald Trump in the White House. These are dangerous times indeed.
1
Multiple, multiple counts under each heading. Let's not forget his awarding to himself the federal contract for the G7 summit that would have made millions of dollars for himself and his crime family. In addition, I feel certain that he would have invited his boss Vladimir Putin, making it the G8.
I'm so sorry that the writer and this country is too timid to impeach this obvious traitor for the undisputed crime of treason. Why must we continue to officially ignore this elephantine crime against this country?
Absolutely.
The Republican Senate will bring Liberals back to a Planet Earth.
1
Missed one: Malignant gullibility.
Overwhelmed.
I’d suggest an article of impeachment similar to the “Lifetime Achievement Award” given annually at the Oscars. Just in the last few months we’ve seen Sharpie-gate, Doral-gate, Kurd-gate, SEAL-gate, NATO-gate, and today, Toilet-gate.
Trump administration accused of clubbing baby seals in international waters.
“We did not such thing!”
“So maybe we clubbed a few, but they were foreign fighters.”
“OK, it was a lot of baby seals, but there was no LAW against it.”
“What about that Democrat that hit a dog on the motorway?”
“Get over it, you would club baby seals in a heartbeat if you could and you know it.”
“What baby seals?”
By refusing to testify himself and refusing to let his boot lickers testify, The President has essentially "Taken the fifth" therefore we know he is guilty of all of these eight counts of impeachment.
1
His full on assault on keeping English as our official language.
Hey, we need to ask Rudy if there has been any high crimes or misdemeanors. After all Rudy and William Barr have all the facts. God save king Donald!
You're all wasting your time and energy but the more you stretch to add impeachment charges the bigger the pot will be for future partisan impeachments of Democrat presidents.
#9 TREASON: violated oath of office, weakened Allies [NATO, EU, Ukraine], strengthened or emboldened adversaries [Russia, Iran, Syria, North Korea].
Dems should play this like the Reps would. Just throw everything at him and see what sticks.
Throw some Civil Rights charges into the mix. Heck, he's got white supremicists in the West Wing setting policy!
1
I would not delay the impeachment proceedings by more than a month. That should be enough time to organize existing evidence into four or five categories with two or three outrageous examples each. It is incredibly important to move quickly to do our best to stop this travesty of an administration.
1
I`d add to that
" Neglect and Abuse and Disregard "
of most civil and regulatory
governmental and diplomatic institutions !!
He has sown chaos within them...!!
and emptied them out !
it`s so easy to disrupt and confuse..
especially in our confused ....and contused
state of affairs" media wise"
That`s the Russians playbook
sow confusion and distrust...
It`s the Donald`s too
Devoting adequate time to the impeachment process would make possible the assessment of the eight counts you suggest. But given the time frame the Democratic House is considering, doing so would seem impossible. Impeachment of a president is perhaps the most serious political action that a duly elected House of Representatives can undertake. The process should take as long is required to ensure that every aspect of the president’s performance has been evaluated for impeachable offenses. With Mr. Trump, that could take a long time.
Regardless of what happens with impeachment, the Republican Party, as it stands, needs to be voted out of existence. We are at a serious crisis point. The GOP is perfectly happy to see rule of law flushed down a gold-plated toilet and we need to stop them.
So – please be sure you are registered to vote. And if you know someone who is not, please help get that person to the polls in November of 2020.
You can register to vote online in 33 states and can register by regular mail using a downloadable form in 14 other states. You, or someone you know, can use this link to get registered: https://vote.gov
2
America's courts have categorically failed the people of the United States.
"We the people"
have been abandoned by the crows in black robes.
Are some of those possibly a stretch?
And what about bribery? It’s specifically mentioned in the constitution and his request for a favor in exchange for funds appropriated by Congress suggests something of value - like $400 million worth.
Eight articles is too many. I’m big on the KISS system - keep it simple, stupid.
@Steve Ell Agree, this is overkill and not at all the “most conservative” position; personally, I’d vote to impeach him on 1-3, but none of the others.
Bingo!
2
GO for all of them.
Worst president EVER.
3
Treason should be added to this list.
As Nancy Pelosi clearly stated, it is all about Russia. And he willfully destroyed written records of his conversation with Putin.
Let's add his support of Erdogan and betrayal of our allies, the Kurds.
Thank you
1
Criminal conspiracy. He was bribing Ukraine and Giuliani and other administration officials conspired with the president to commit this crime.
Excellent and relevant in all 8 cases. Thank you. Now when Republicans ask me “what did he do” I will memorize all and rattle them off intelligently.
If Donald Trump held any other job in the federal government, he would already have been indicted for multiple federal and state crimes.
Of course, if he had applied for any other federal job in 2016, he never would have passed even the most rudimentary background checks.
It is a fundamental flaw in our system — easily exploited by the worst domestic and foreign enemies of good governance — that a person of the lowest character and with abundant criminal connections can seize the reins of our government and nuclear arsenal simply by lying and pandering to our dumbest, most bigoted voters.
4
Excellent in each particular and well stated.
At this point in this sorry game of national disgrace, I like millions of other citizens who pay (too much) close attention to Trump and Trump's misdeeds, am worn down like an old car tire in service for 100,000 miles. I'm kind of numb. How about you? There are so many outrages it is hard to keep track.
Trump's basic MO is to stick his finger in our eyes and then shout, "Catch me if you can!" This bullying bravado is no doubt inspired in major part by ignorance of government and the fact that he got away with so many lies, business failures and bankruptcies, along with outright frauds (Trump University, etc.) in the past.
He thinks he is immune because he has been able to scoot through life constantly puffing up DONALD TRUMP and counting each failure in life as a success. "I came out pretty good," or words to that effect, in his biggest business flop, the casinos in AC. Nearly 1 billion in lost market value. Now that's an accomplishment.
Trump has left a trail of broken promises, "pre-packaged bankruptcies, outright bankruptcies and marginal business scams with his rented name plastered on the marketing brochures. Why should he change now? It is time for everyone to be brave and find a way to send him anywhere but here.
2
While this list fits the bill for impeachment, as a practical matter, the Senate does not appear capable of convicting him of any of the eight charges. That being said, Trump is certainly going to use any senatorial acquittal to shout from the rooftops that he has been totally exonerated. Instead, the inquiry and House votes should be completed, but, rather than refer to the Senate for trial, he should be censured in a clear and convincing manner. During the remainder of the presidential campaign, he won't have the Senate acquittal as a shield, and will have to answer the items of censure in each and every debate, and every reporters questions at news conferences. It will be humiliating for him. It will also throw him off his game which is used so effectively to disrupt the others who have lined up against him. We can't take four more years of his nonsense and impeaching him will not solve the country's problem. Force him to instead respond to his misdeeds and show the country the true nature of his behavior.
This is not exactly a response to this column but comes from a Sunday morning program this past weekend. Chris Christie referred to Clinton's behavior as presidential abuse of power. There was no good response to that from panelists or the moderator. Presidential abuse of power precisely describes what Trump has done (and what Nixon did). It is not black and white with Clinton, unless somehow sexual misconduct from a president were special--like, the president as king and a subject must obey. Certainly his behavior can be described as an abuse of power, and who knows what the founders would have thought of it, but it's not presidential abuse of power. However, Trump's impeachment is for exactly that.
Great article, if the house impeaches and the senate acquits couldn’t Russia then use that to blackmail Republican Senators in the future, how could we ever be sure they won’t go rogue on us just to keep there job.
Everything Has Changed. Nothing has changed.
I like to watch the History Channel and read historical biographies. Every corrupt government and leader had or has a very large following. Large swaths of people support the worst leaders imaginable weather it occurs within a civilization, a city, a Church, a business organisation, a school, Etc. Human beings can't help themselves. We are a tribal and emotional animal.
The people who support Trump, are emotionally committed to a position where facts don't matter. And, many of the people opposed to Trump are emotionally committed to a position where facts don't matter as well.
The human animal has stumbled through history supporting dictators and Machiavellian leaders. It almost seems accidental when good leaders emerge and keep us from acting on our worst instincts.
Whatever the outcome of our current situation, I hope that leaders will emerge before our world collapses upon itself. Occasionally righteousness wins over, but more often than not it fails. Let's hope that this impeachment process opens a path to a better future.
Thank you! When this is all over I hope we change some laws
and add others. How could a president spend four hours with
Putin or any other world leader with no witnesses? Presidents can be prosecuted -they should be held to a high standard.
1
I agree thoroughly that the impeachment should represent his broader actions so as to protect us against future behavior of this sort.
1
Do any Republican senators even bother to read the evidence? If not, is this dereliction of duty"
1
One crime against the Constitution that surely deserves to be included in the indictment is his attack on the freedom of the press, a concern of sufficient weight to the Founding Fathers that it's included in the 1st Amendment:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
For that matter, he should also be prosecuted for violating the stricture in this same amendment against making laws based on religion, which he's flagrantly violated in his attacks on Muslim Americans and Muslim immigrants.
1
"The House leadership has clearly been parsimonious in leaving behind a boatload of potential impeachable offenses, including blatant violations of the foreign and domestic emoluments clauses, the Constitution’s main anti-corruption clauses; violating election laws as unindicted co-conspirator 'Individual 1' in the Stormy Daniels affair; endangering the First Amendment by labeling the press the 'enemy of the people'; fomenting racial violence and attacks on critics who include patriotic witnesses; and any number of other things ... " (Laurence Tribe, Harvard Univ., Washington Post, 5Dec2019) Sheesh. It would be easier to list the impeachable offenses Mr. Trump has not committed.
1
As we have seen before every actual transgression not charged will be claimed as a verdict of innocence and vindication by Trump and his followers.
Stop worrying about what partisans deny and make clear what the right standard of conduct is - as in not lying, cheating, grifting, etc. - and demonstrate how those have been violated.
Remember that guilt has already, and very publically, been established. It is now only the affirmation of the consequences that needs to happen.
What makes the Trump impeachment proceeding so difficult is that it's based on an abuse of power most Americans don't understand. The Democrats might have used the Ukraine abuse, but only after charging Trump with using the presidency for personal financial gain. American's understand conduct that involves money, theft, stealing; the kind of stuff they hear everyday over nightly news. But using a foreign government to personally influence the president's reelection, that's complex stuff - something which you might charge Pecks Bad Boy, slap his wrists and tell him not to do it again. Nixon was forced out of office because he committed crimes (breaking and entering, pay-offs, suborning witnesses to perjury, etc.), stuff everybody could understand. With Trump you have to follow the money - something nobody but the press has yet to do.
1
Our president is breaking U.S. Constitution laws. l
And, it’s staring us right in the face. But, some of us can’t see (or, don’t want to see) the forest for the trees.
The Mueller Report is an example. It contains more than a sufficient number of facts and evidence to demonstrate that our president has broken many constitutional laws.
Yet, Mr Trump suffered no consequences. So, the day after the Mueller Report was released, he did it again. This time he went further.
Mr Trump called Ukraine’s new, young, inexperienced president.
Our dear president had the gall to ASK Ukraine’s president to interfere in our 2020 elections.
Even “asking” foreign governments for such favors is prohibited by our Constitution. Our president didn’t know that? So what?
Ignorance of the law is no excuse, Mr President.
Mr Trump must be impeached. Otherwise, our dear president’s next move may be even more destructive, and even more damaging.
At the end of the day, I suspect Mr Trump may be a Russian “asset”. Is he? He certainly acts like one.
1
Mr. Leonhardt writes: "I also excluded all areas of policy, even the forcible separation of children from their parents, and odious personal behavior, like Trump’s racism, that doesn’t violate the Constitution." But after the well-deserved charges he details are pressed, it's Trump's rancid policy that will continue to influence and stain our nation for decades. Charge that, too.
Mr Collins accuses Democrats of seeking to unseat DT from day one, conveniently forgetting the GOP pledge to make Obama a one term president when he took office. This is what we've come to and both parties are guilty of hypocrisy which, in DC, is apparently not a flaw but a talent.
However, that being said, the House should censure DT for poor behavior and move on to the election. Impeachment will, I fear, lead to a second term for him. His people don't care and our people have lost interest. For me, Adam Schiff and Jerry Nadler have lost my attention. They're just not a statesman-like pair to handle this. Polls in formerly blue states show DT winning the impeachment, which is simply too deep and unimportant to attract attention. Watching HGTV while these guys bicker like children.
I like #8, "Conduct grossly incompatible with the presidency," especially much.
The constitution calls for impeachment of a president who commits "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors."
In the language spoken by our constitution's Framers, "Misdemeanors" did not mean what it does today, "petty violations of criminal statutes." What it meant instead was "misbehavior," which in more modern language might be stated as "conduct unbecoming a president," or "unpresidential conduct." Donald Trump meets the standard for this ground for impeachment every single day in numerous and obvious public ways.
But I strongly object to not having an article of impeachment regarding his border policies. His forced separation of children from their parents without any means by which the families can be reunited are "crimes against humanity," the very highest among "high Crimes."
He has demonstrated since his insulting and vituperative inaugural speech that he is a man wholly unfit for the presidency. Should he be impeached, and the Senate refuse to remove him from office, it will be as egregious a case of jury nullification as there can be devised, as his wrongdoing will be tolerated simply because he is a member of the same tribe as the majority of his jurors.
In my mind, you find one article that is unassailable, and move forward. Trying to prosecute too many articles ,which may be legitimately refuted, will water down the message. Find one, and make it stick.
Republican Congress members must be held accountable for obstruction of justice as well. Their histrionics and interruption of the process are as deplorable as the actions of the president himself. I would add the names of each and every Republican Congress member to a list of individuals to be impeached who continue to violate counts 1-4 as the impeachment hearings unfold.
1
Failing to register as a foreign agent.
Failure to uphold the moral tenets of the Office of President.
Failure to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.
Abusing the dignity and respect of the Oval Office.
Using every facet of Executive power to his own end and for his own personal glory.
This man is the greatest threat to the future of our country since the Civil War.
2
cant wait for this all to be behind us. our country is better then these partisan politics.
David, this is an awesome summation of the overwhelming reasons this president must be removed. However, in response to your comment about hoping to move more Trump voters I would suggest you abandon that pursuit. Other than New Yorkers who grew up knowing what Trump was, middle America sees him as the tough guy they watched on TV for 14 years, and they want him punching the government in the face repeatedly.
This is the real underlying problem. Much of our population has forgotten what grace is, and how leaders should conduct themselves. They're angry, and only responding to that anger. This is something we all need to focus on and resolve, Trump or not Trump. He's just a symptom, though a malignant one.
I agree whole heartedly with all 8 counts. And I agree with other commenters that even more could be added. We need to throw the book at him. Trump doesn't treat anyone or anything with respect. He does not deserve any respect for doing such a bad job at domestic governing and foreign relations.
He is not a leader, he is a taker. He is a reality show entertainer, in other words a "fake president".
Trump is right: he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and his base would stick with him. This obviously includes the Republican Congress.
Nothing in Republican politics happens in a vacuum. It's telling how much in thrall to Trumpism the Republicans are that Nikki Haley, a woman of color who was probably elected with large support from the Black electorate, last week trotted out the old defense of the Confederacy as representing duty and sacrifice. The Confederacy represented the continuation and extension slavery, full stop. It now is inextricably linked with Trumpism.
Thank you for clearly summarizing 8 key areas where President Trump has
earned impeachment.
I agree with the 700+ legal scholars who concluded that President Trump
engaged in impeachable conduct.
https://medium.com/@legalscholarsonimpeachment/letter-to-congress-from-legal-scholars-6c18b5b6d116
WOULD AMERICANS WHO DON'T GET THE NEWS REGULARLY benefit from
understanding how their vote is being taken away by this president and
Republicans? PAINT THE PICTURE: 1) Just how are people going to lose
their right to vote if Russia (or some other country) is allowed, again,
to interfere in US elections?
2) How much money are President Trump and his family making thanks to
their inside knowledge or position-- violating the Emoluments Clause?
3) Noone knew of the alleged Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal affairs;
if they had, would they have voted for President Trump?
KEEP INVESTIGATING, and try the impeachment in the House.
1
Technically, there are probably hundreds of "impeachable offenses" in several dozen discrete strands.
To bad the Times does have an interactive thing like its spelling bee. Where would letting the VA be administered by three of his Mar-A-Logo cronies fall? Providing false weather data to population in active harm's way of a hurricane? Playing appropriations games to pay for unapproved wall construction (that's sneaking a retroactive line item veto into the works)? Telling administration employees to break any laws necessaru to make that wall real--especially on his stated grounds of keeping a campaign promise? Telling White House staff to ignore the Hatch Act?
Maybe the House Appropriations committee and the congressional accounting office could do up some charts about how presidents are supposed to spend our money and how this one is doing it.
1
I agree. Trump’s assault on the office of the president, the constitution, international relations, etc is overwhelming. He should be broadly condemned.
1
One I was sure wouldn’t make the list— complicity in crimes against humanity in Yemen. He’s guilty. The problem is, so was Obama. And before him, Bush lied about WMD’s and invaded Iraq under false pretenses, which is the crime of aggressive war.
Pelosi just said at a town hall on CNN that Bushe’s lies about WMD’s were not an impeachable offense, which lets you know where trivialities like that fall on the DC legal scale.
Investigate early and long! Impeach late!
Everything he has done should be on the table. Let it go all the way into the campaign season. Show the trump voters what a mistake they have made.
There has not been one shred of exculpatory evidence produced. And who knows what evil lurks in those tax returns.
I do reserve some ire for the light-handed treatment POTUS has gotten from Dems overall: Waiting to investigate finances until the Mueller report was done (which did no financial investigation after all); Not doing any emoluments hearings, as pointed out here; and why are Mnuchin, Rettig and Barr not in jail, paying a daily fine for Contempt of Congress?
1
Can Nancy Pelosi and the other Democrats in charge of the Impeachment and next stage, the Trial process, keep the focus as well as they have done so far???
Trump is a showman who quickly turns everything, especially anything critical of him and his performance, into a circus. When that happens, care and thought are lost.
Under conduct, at least it should be said whenever possible how his conduct is unfit as a role model for our children and our conduct towards one another.
It is unbecoming for a President to call people names, make fun of them, lie and "entertain" rather than inform.
And more so, no one should be President of the United States who has pending more than 3,000 lawsuits by ordinary citizens who performed legitimate work and not paid. The pattern is to wear down the person to the point he/she cannot afford to continue with the lawsuit.
That and more than alleged money laundering (his extraordinary multitude of Russian thug connections) and more than likely tax evasion, all compose conduct unfit for the president of the United States.
Thank you for this and agreed. In addition to the “acceptance of emoluments” there should be something about the nepotism. Regardless of whether this ultimately leads to his removal or not, Congress has a duty to officially, and thoroughly, document the criminality of this administration. If they do not, what message does it send to future administrations if DJT got away with it? This is a man who has clearly never been held to account on anything. Congress now has the opportunity to give him as you say what he “Deserves,” we should accept nothing less.
Yes, yes, yes, Democrats, please include the emoluments. Voters not attuned to the nicety of diplomacy will understand immediately when reminded that their tax money is feeding Trump's personal empire. Perhaps the Constitution could have benefited with a portmanteau clause along the lines of, "total blurring of the line between personal and public business." Not very 18th-century in its rhetoric, admittedly, but it covers the present waterfront pretty well.
My apologies to readers who may remember my moniker and my obsession with this particular issue.
Such an excellent analysis! Thank you David!
1
I agree with your picks. The constant lying about everything is evidently not impeachable, however it’s exactly why he continues to maintain support from his base.
1
Al Capone may have been the last criminal as amoral as Trump. Despite everyone knowing what a criminal he was, they finally got him on Tax Evasion, nothing compared to the murder and mayhem he had committed or enabled. If you could terminate Trump's on-going damage to the U.S., a shadow of its former greatness without a friend in the world, by only the "attempted" extortion of Ukraine, I would take that.
A Canadian "former" friend who laments my friend's descent to the bottom of the swamp.
1
Remember: Despite incontrovertible evidence of perjury and obstruction of justice, not one Senate Democrat voted to remove Clinton. In fact, they held a pep rally at the White House afterward. So, don't expect removal of Trump.
"Conduct grossly incompatible..."
Can the net not be cast even further? Trump has lied about 15,000 times according to Fact Check. Chronic lying, not just under oath, has been cited in other impeachments has it not? Furthermore, there are numerous women who have alleged sexual abuse including rape and some are bringing cases. And NY is preparing a huge tax fraud suit based upon irrefutable evidence of wrongdoing worth potentially $ hundreds of millions.
Whether this despicable behavior occurred during his tenure or not is less relevant than the fact that had he been prosecuted (in the case of civil and criminal acts) he would not be president. He has denied unlawful acts publicly and defamed some of his accusers resulting in defamation suits. He is benefiting from successfully eluding prosecution and punishment that would be forthcoming were he not president.
But does 'demeaning the office' through provable lying, civil and criminal acts committed during and prior to assuming the presidency--and the pipeline of suits being prepared--not qualify as an impeachable offense merely because suits cannot be brought while he is in office? (There is something to be said for the Israeli model...) If not then let's be very sure that they are referenced prominently in the articles and supporting documentation to underline the fact that we are dealing with a pattern of chronic, egregious behavior that demeans the Office of President and the United States of America.
This list is in the style of the list of offenses credited in the Declaration of Independence to England and King George III.
A good and timely article. But where is charge of the conduct that insults us, the public, daily: Lying to the American people.
This he does, publicly, deliberately by tweet, by "press conference" and through his spokespersons. This is most dangerous, divisive and corrupt of all. Isn't it a cause for impeachment?
How about a very narrow and very specific offense, one for which we already have Trump's admission that he committed?
52 USC §30121
(a) Prohibition
It shall be unlawful for-
(1) a foreign national, directly or indirectly, to make-
(A) a contribution or donation of money or other thing of value, or to make an express or implied promise to make a contribution or donation, in connection with a Federal, State, or local election;
... or
(2) a person to solicit, accept, or receive a contribution or donation described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1) from a foreign national.
It is a clear violation of the law (52 USC 30121(a)(2)) to even ASK (“solicit”) any political advantage from a foreign national, such as president Zelensky of Ukraine, for use in an election (such as asking for "dirt on Joe Biden for use in the 2020 election).
The readout of the July 25 2019 phone call includes a plain admission by the White House that Trump did ask for such dirt for use in the 2020 election.
That violation of the law is enough to make impeachment, trial, conviction and removal from office an appropriate response.
Very good summary. The Senate "acquittal" headline should already be set to run. I suggest "Republican Senate Kills Republican Impeachment."
Also, isn't Trump's pardon-abuse, as described, also "incitement to commit crimes" which itself is conspiracy? Or is that just what law-abiding jurisdictions call it.
Not a single crime. Most of what you list is actually debunked by the Constitutional Rights of the President. Made up crimes and no evidence for any of them. Good luck as this only will give the GOP a supermajority in 2020.
Everyone has a different take on how to approach impeachment. Larry Tribe advocates not being too narrow, Leonhardt does. Either way, Trump was unfit for the job in the first place, and any same person who examines the facts and seeks the truth can see that this president has violated the Constitution, obstructed justice, and wasted taxpayer dollars watching Fox news and governing by Tweet, bullying and amassing a collection of sycophants who justify his actions. This is no way to run a country, and if people really care about the integrity of upholding our democracy, they will view impeachment as the only reasonable solution.
You missed a few...
1) Trump openly accepted help in the election from a foreign power. He then asked for more ("Russia, if you're listening..."). He then told George Stephanopoulos he'd do it again. He then tried to do it again with Ukraine.
That's a violation of 52 U.S. Code §30121, which forbids soliciting campaign contributions of "a thing of value" from a foreign national.
2) Trump violated his oath of office by refusing to "take care the laws be faithfully executed", as required by the Constitution. For instance, EPA enforcement actions are down 90% since he took office.
3) He failed to register as an agent of a foreign power, namely Russia, in violation of 22 U.S. Code § 612 "Foreign Agents Registration Act" and 18 U.S. Code § 219 "Officers and employees acting as agents of foreign principals."
4) He caused the govt to fail to provide his taxes to Congress, as required by 26 U.S. Code § 6103(f)(1).
Number 7 is also an attempted bribery count.
Just remember 2 things: (1) The serious flaws of almost every Democrat President in the last 80 years; and (2) The precedent that you are setting for all Presidents for the next 80 years. Three years ago, the left was convinced Trump was a Russian asset. Mueller showed that wasn’t true. Now you are trying to turn a phone call (that was so innocuous Mr Schiff had to fictionalization it) into 8 impeachable offenses. In 10 years, even you will recognize that Trump Derangement Syndrome really was in the air at this time.
The terrible frightening thing about this impeachment is that Trump's voters will still vote for him even if Trump admitted to all of the allegations. Even if he would publicly state that he intentionally violated the Constitution with the intent to create a dictatorship. That is how far the Republican Party has shifted into fascism.
A #9? : Abridgment of the Freedom of the Press, as set forth in Article 1, Amendments to the Constitution, by his near constant vilification of the press, going so far as to brand it as “the enemy of the people”.
In the same vein we have the entire tRump cult displaying obstruction of justice, abetting criminal behaviour, and contempt for their own positions in Congress, to name a few. If there were a process for impeaching an entire political party they would be the second (after the Dixiecrats) to deserve it.
In other news, stock markets at an all time high and unemployment at 50 year low.
1
@Chris -- Thank you, Democrats!
1
If this isn’t impeachable it ought to be: Pardoning war criminals and then inviting them to come campaign with you. And what kind of message does this send to soldiers — do whatever you want and I’ll not only pardon you, I’ll make you part of my show to get votes. How is this not an impeachable abuse of power?
His rejection of the Paris environmental accord is immoral imho, and is a sickening symbol of deliberate unconcern, and although it is probably not impeachable, it tragically should be, and yet it may be deemed too d late in the future to actually matter by then aka catch 22.
1
Yes, Donald Trump deserves to be impeached. What I’m not certain of is whether he’s worse than Richard Nixon.
Nixon had an enemies list of many prominent people in politics, business and the media on whom he wanted to unleash the force of law and the IRS. He talked openly about his desire to make them pay for opposing him. Trump wanted to do a political dirty trick on the Bidens and probably didn’t care if they were ever put in legal jeopardy.
Nixon had a burglary team funded by his campaign contributors that had committed multiple burglaries, including the one at the DNC. He worked to corrupt the FBI and the CIA to quash an investigation. He talked with his aids in the Oval Office about paying hush money to the burglars. Trump fired the FBI director and the Mueller investigation was allowed to complete.
I would impeach Trump for targeting states that he didn’t win in 2016. I would probably censure him for the Ukraine mess. Unfortunately, the Republicans don’t care what Trump did. They would accept anything he says or does. The political system is broken.
1
Trump has no convictions, his word is worthless, he plays on people’s fear, resentments, and greed. He cannot retain honorable people in his administration. His decisions are made without serious consideration of anything but how they affect himself. They are not showing good results for the country but he claims that they are great and his Republican voters claim that he’s the greatest. He profits from being President with deliberate exploitation of Presidential impunity. His family are given high government jobs and use them for personal gain. He is the very best example of an oath breaker and an incompetent, and our Congress will not remove him from office. Effectively, impeachment is useless for removing a really bad President who can be the demagogue.
1
I'd add "International Human Rights Violations" for
tearing young innocent children away from their parents and storing them in cages.
The permanent trauma to these tens of thousands of terrified children as a result of being ripped from their parents arms and kept in cages for months to suffer, not knowing whether they will ever see their parents, again is just so heinous, so inhumane, so beyond the pale that Trump and Steven Miller should be brought up on international charges before a world tribunal and sentenced to 20 brutal years behind bars.
1
This list of allegations is persuasive, but only to those empiricists deeply invested in the “facts of the case”and the ambiguities inherent in the founders’ grounds for “treason,bribery, and high crimes and misdemeanors”?
Taking the civil grand jury as the analogue to the impeachment process in the House, its problem is not with the facts of the case. Their problem is that the House must only charge the President with impeachable offenses against the State that they can prove with hard evidence at trial in the Senate.
Conventional wisdom has convinced the Republican Senators (Trump’s jury), that by exonerating him, they win.
They forget to account for the second jury that will not decide Trump’s guilt or innocence until the election in November 2020.
Should The sovereign American People find him guilty after his party declares him innocent, the Republican party may suffer defeat in the House and Senate as well.
The last time, in 1932, the Republican party stood by and failed to act in an existential Economic and political crisis, the People elected Franklin Roosevelt and the Democratic party were in a landslide.
In terms of Left/Center policy, they did not surrender policy power until the Reagan counter-revolution in 1980. As it should be, the Republican Senators will only turn against Trump if they sense the People have already turned against him.
1
@Thomas Good job of looking at this from a historical perspective. Here's a different, and I would argue a more applicable historical perspective. Try Germany in the 1930s.
The NAZI party was a minority party. They certainly used populism, racism & nationalism to their advantage. But as for whether or not "the People" would turn against them, they didn't care. Those organized social forces that opposed or disagreed with the NAZIs were rounded up BEFORE Jews were.
The events of the past week or so have shown that the Trump "base" is a base for fascism, and that comments like Barr's have resonated with that base. So, now what are we to do? Wait for the election? No guarantee that even if Trump loses he'll leave office. There's a reason for those military pardons we've just seen. It's called "rallying the troops."
David, this is a very solid list of crimes that are beyond debate. And they will never make any difference to any republican or any other category of trump supporter. Ask any dedicated POTUS supporter about any of these listed infractions, and you will likely get a response that amounts to "How does this affect me?" I am inclined at this time to believe the only possible way to sway a POTUS supporter is to reveal impactful facts regarding what they personally stand to lose by continuing their blind and solipsistic loyalty. Writers in your position and of your status should be reporting specifics that resonate with the personal lives of this population. However, it may be unlikely that the audience that needs to be reached is ever going to read the New York Times!
1
Osama bin "Forgotten" once said he wanted to destroy the US financially. He did. "W" bit hook, line and sinker into not only Afghanistan but Iraq, draining the treasury. We know well Putin wants to destroy the West, primary target is the US. Goal? Re-establish old Soviet primacy in world affairs. His way in? 45, or that guy in the White House. What better tool to destroy US democracy and Western liberal democracy?
It is indeed sad to see 45 serve the Soviet/Russian goals while destroying US Constitutional laws, mocking due process, lawful procedures while so many in Congress seem to puppet those goals.
There are many many details that can be argued, but the facts of the case are all too plain; 45 did bribe Ukraine for personal political gain, period. 45 did obstruct justice, period. 45 did abuse the power of the office, period.
This is not about politics. This about who we are as a country. Who we want to be as a country. And, moreover, what do we want to leave as a legacy.
The articles of impeachment need not be broad, but they need to be deep.
2
Donald J. Trump has done nothing that deserves impeachment except winning the 2016 election. Of all the presidents so far who have impeached, William J. Clinton is the only one who truly deserved it. Clinton's behavior in the White House truly amounted to what the Founders would have considered "high crimes and misdemeanors." Thank you.
2
The Senate will almost certainly not vote to remove him regardless how many articles there are so the list o should cover ALL of Trump’s perfidy.
1
You're so right and it is a true mystery why the Congress has not hammered on the constant, blatant, and highly-corrupt emoluments violations Trump commits daily to the tune of millions of dollars. You could add to this the recent fraud ruling with his charity. I mean, think about it. He was proven guilty of defrauding veterans of millions of dollars with his own charity while he was in office. Why on earth they allowed him to settle for only $2 Million is astounding, but he could be and should be impeached for this. Now take into consideration his blatant contempt for the Senate too -- think of how many unconfirmed "acting" ministers he has now -- that's also impeachable. Adding that to the articles would at the very least force the Senate to confront their own cowardice. Together, it's an incredible dirty-laundry list of corruption and contempt for the Constitution the likes of which the Country's never seen.
4
I absolutely agree that Trump ought to be charged with the full slate of "high crimes and misdemeanors" he has committed. The breadth and scope of his abuse of the office needs to be laid out in no uncertain terms. This impeachment should not hinge on the narrow issue of his attempt to coerce Ukraine to help his reelection, but on his entire record which is packed with egregious behavior, as this piece lays out. His supporters may be able to dismiss even an obvious abuse such as the Ukraine affair, but many will not be able to excuse or justify the whole pattern of abuses when confronted with them all.
Let his supporters cry "Witch hunt!", but even they will be hard pressed to excuse all of his crimes. They need to be made to face his transgressions without dilution. For it isn't just the number of crimes, it's their total effect on our democracy and system of laws that is his greatest felony. His supporters need to understand the damage he has done, and continues to do, not just to the institutions they don't like, but how it impacts their way of life.
Lay his whole rotten behavior out, and paint the true portrait of the man. I guarantee, it's not a painting that anyone will want to hang in their house, let alone the White House.
3
The gutless Senate will never impeach Trump. Censure is the answer. Both parties save face, somewhat. And can get back to attempting to run the country, such as they do.
1
This is the third impeachment during my adult life.They are memorable and sad but this is the first one which presents danger to our Constitutional government .Nixon’ s transgressions were a cover up of illegal activity but he had been in government long enough to respect its institutions.Bill Clinton’s behavior was tawdry and illegal when he lied under oath.Trump has completely ignored the Constitution and his oath of office.He lies and bullies and puts our country in jeopardy as he panders to authoritarian leaders.This time the impeachment is frightening-it is for a person who does not put our country first.It is frightening that he sides with authoritarians against our government and tries to impede the work of lawful governmental agencies.By all means , broaden the charges-he and his minions need to answer for all illegal behavior.
1
I am still appalled that two people I know closely, one related and one with a long history of association with us voted for the Gutter Rat. One I will limit the length of time spent at family events, the other I will no longer associate with. Period. Ever. They did it for a little extra money in their pockets. I find them boorish, and unconcerned about the world. If there is a problem, throw money at it.
2
We have a criminal in the White House but we also have a derelict group of Republicans who will do everything and anything to exonerate their puppet president and brush off all his crimes and misdemeanors because he serves their purpose and they serve his: retain power at all costs, even if in the minority, as they are now in the House, and stuff the courts with conservative judges who will unravel and overturn all the democratic social progress we have done in the past few decades. The train is definitely off its tracks but they do not care about going down with it even if it destroys democratic principles. If this president is not held responsible for his actions and removed from office the Republicans will hear a very loud and clear message from the people on November 3, 2020. Nobody is above the law, even this corrupt president.
3
I truly think Trump is one of the worst presidents in our nation's history in many regards (though not the worst), and I remain in shock that our principals choices in 2016 for president were between a reality TV start/awful businessman and a corrupt ultra-Hawkish Democrat who lusted for power for its own sake and whose policies as Senator and SecState decimated emerging democracies the world over. But much as I'd like to get behind these 8 counts, I don't believe a single one of them is legitimate as things stand. The Dems just didn't come up with the goods against Trump, try as they might, and unless and until they have something more concrete (say, for instance, Putin turns over the videos he surely has of the Donald doing something kinky) and you can nail him, they are shooting themselves in the proverbial foot. Dems have not done a darn thing about kitchen table issues since taking over the majority in the House after all these years, and they will pay a steep price in Nov 20. They have lost their way even more than Trump, if possible.
I agree that the violation of the Emoluments Clause has been greatly under-emphasized. More generally, both Robert Muller's investigation and that of the Intelligence Committee failed to heed the fundamental rule of investigation, as stated by Mark Felt (AKA Deep Throat) when he advised Woodward and Bernstein during their investigation of the Watergate break-in to "follow the money." The fundamental question about Donald Trump's perverse allegiance to Russia is "What was the motive behind it?" And what did Vladimir Putin have on Trump that caused him to pick campaign and high administration officials who had strange ties to Russia and to pro-Russian factions in Ukraine? There were many hints that Trump owed money to Russian oligarchs, since US banks would no longer lend him money. Trump never did provide his tax returns. They and other financial records certainly should have been subpoenaed by both Robert Muller and Adam Schiff. They should not have left it to the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York. This was a no-brainer. So between Muller's refusal to state forthrightly what he concluded about culpability, and the failure of both Muller and Schiff to follow the trail of corrupt financial practices and conflicts of interest, the public was deprived of a clear picture of the motives behind Donald Trump's impeachable behavior, other than a desire to be elected President.
1
In short, a very great deal of The Donald's continuing behavior violates some critical standard of conduct for a president. This man should be removed from office at the earliest possible opportunity.
3
Good start!
But under each of your 8 articles, there should be “a long train of abuses” starting with the letter “a” and continuing for as many letters are needed.
Trump has definitely earned a huge long list of his abuses.
1
I have thought this from early on. If you document all eight of these counts, then, perhaps, enough Republicans would feel they needed to agree with at least one.
3
The easiest and surest way to get Republican Senators to vote against Trump should it come to trial would be to just bribe them, the same tactic that gets them to side with him to begin with. It wouldn’t take many. Start with the junior Senator from Utah who has already been dissed by Trump - offer him a quarter and the chance to keep his job. Move on to the two Arctic Queens, see if there isn’t a a snowball effect. Really, it would ultimately be cheaper than standing pat and so what if it’s crime - they can always get Giuliani to defend them or Barr to excuse them. And Republicans don’t appear to have any compunction about illegal or unethical behavior in their own interest.
I am frustrated and more than a little tired of hearing Republicans talking about undoing the 2016 election.
What undoing? The man is the sitting president. He has enjoyed (and openly abused) the prerogatives of his office for nearly three years. This is about his conduct since the inauguration, though his previous behavior was a good predictor of his current predicament. Impeachment is the remedy that the incumbent himself has lead us to.
7
All excellent points. Thanks.
I'd be interested in your thoughts on the commentary by Lawrence Tribe about not sending this on to the Senate, but rather extend the investigations into 2020 and beyond.
At that point we end up with flow chart of options.
1. Trump loses in 2020. The nation breathes a huge sigh of relief and SDNY and others start bringing their charges and indictments.
2. Trump wins in 2020 and the Dems take the Senate. The nation groans, initially, but then cheers when the Senate convicts.
3. Trump wins in 2020 and the Republicans retain the Senate. Worst of all possible options, I imagine. But I guess we'd be no worse off than if the Senate fails to convict now.
What is truly astounding is that Republican legislators, and Republicans generally, continue to support and excuse this vile creature. Everyone in the reality-based universe, from Dems in the US to rational foreigners to international leaders can see that the emperor has no clothes. We've all read anecdotes of children, for goodness sakes, who see Trump for what he is. Are these legislators so fearful of Trump that they can't bring themselves to vote to convict? Are Republicans generally so fearful of change that they would support a president who sidles up to dictators worldwide and shapes our foreign policy to align with our adversaries?
4
Seems Congressional Republicans are most afraid of missing the gravy train.
An impressive list, though I suggest calling #8 "Conduct Unbecoming a President". Trump is crude, vulgar and seemingly insatiable when it comes to attacking opponents or even ordinary citizens.
Recently his use of swear words at rallies has escalated, as he revs up his more extreme followers to a frenzy.
Teachers, doctors, lawyers and other professionals would have licences suspended if they frequented the nasty language this president of ours uses in public settings.
5
Well put. We do, as Rachel Maddow eloquently pointed out, watch what they do - not what they say.
I cannot imagine what lies and fairy-tale stories Giuliani is concocting in the Ukraine today to discredit the facts laid out here.
It is clear that there are at least three motivations for the Trumpers to lie: fear of Twitter bullying that can ruin a career, hope to last long enough to pack the courts with conservative judges including the SCOTUS to overturn Row v Wade, and to protect the seeds of nostalgia for discrimination as a way to stave off the pluralism successful nations like ours have.
G-d Bless America!
Someone put together a list of 24... though they are not all technically impeachable, most of them map to one of the 8 points you've made:
www.impeachmentadventcalendar.com
It is a 2-minute video (with sound) that pretty sums up the last 3 years.
1
While the president’s conduct in the past three years has been completely reprehensible, I am more flabbergasted by a Republican Party so willing to place party before patriotism. In my opinion, the actions of both the president and his party border on treason. I supported both John McCain and Mitt Romney in past elections, but it will be a long time before I am able to trust a Republican. Granted the current field of Democratic contenders isn’t perfect, but what choice do we have—socialists or sociopaths? I sadly say socialist.
2
Great list. Should add tax fraud.
5
To all those who still "stand-up-for" this president and excuse his lies, his deceit, his pitiful need to be adored by followers, his contempt for those who disagree with him, his open admiration of kings and dictators, and above all his blatant disregard of his oath of office, I say: How dare you call yourselves American patriots and me, a never-Trumper, unpatriotic. When we can't depend upon our votes being counted accurately and fairly, when foreign powers can spend millions and propagandize our elections, when our voting systems can be hacked, our nation and all it stands for is in deep trouble. Trump obviously doesn't care. We must!
3
David, I have not read your column yet, but will. I would be remiss if I did not say this to you: You are such a great voice for the times (meaning the NYT and these fraught times!). I really like it when your column allows the comments most of your thoughtful readers love. Much of the time, your writings don't allow for the comments I know many are eager to share. Keep at it, either way.
1
Surely a well thought out and comprehensive list of misdeeds. Nonetheless your discussion leaves me a drift with thoughts I cannot straighten out. I understand the major insecurities and disaffections of the Trump Tribe - they are quite valid - and he intuitively plugs into them. I understand the past policy, focus, and strategic weaknesses of the Democratic Party in creating the political space for Trump. What I cannot understand is the continuing fervor and support by the Trump Tribe, in the face of these 8 faults, for tearing the whole constitutional house down around us. The future will be ugly.
1
I think it'd be more effective to boil it down to 3, replace the word "emoluments" with "bribery" and use under 240 characters.
1
All of this unfortunately this means nothing to the repubs, not a word of it. They are complicit and guilty just as mcuh as bone spurs. Our only hope is that enough people vote him and his entire crew of grifters out in 2020.
2
Democrats are having their "Thelma & Louise" moment this week and next. Come November , Trump will be reelected and both the House and Senate will be in Republican hands.
I'd add bribery, but otherwise I completely agree. Even if the Senate won't convict (I'm extremely pessimistic but there is a nonzero chance that they will), President Trump's bottomless corruption and contempt for his office must be laid out thoroughly before the public.
I have another: Bribing Republican U.S. Senators with Camp David retreats and possibly campaign cash to induce them to take the official action of heavily favoring him at their impeachment trial.
3
All eight will be ignored by the Russian assets in the GOP.
That list is how a strong leader like Putin operates and stays in power. After all Trump has not jailed or killed his adversaries- yet.
We now have leaders of the Senate GOP spreading Russian disinformation about Ukraine meddling in 2016. Trump's love affair with Russia agents and Putin are considered proper foreign policy by his GOP enablers. Rudy's disruption of Ukrainian investigation of Manafort's connections to Russian agents in 2016 are not even being considered as a completed quid pro quo for military aid.Saudi terrorists killing US military personnel does not bother Trump.
A combined Russian and GOP ad campaign is underway on Facebook and elsewhere to discredit Democrats and enable Trump for reelection.
Impeachment for anything less than treason and violating US national security is a waste of time.
1
Nicely stated...the Democrats are dreadful at messaging and gut issues. The should take this list and ask Hollywood to help them message this to the people. Meanwhile a whole swath of politicians have lost their minds, incapable of assessing evidence, forgetful of their fealty to removing the deficit, and free trade among other things. It is a dark time muddling towards disaster as the earth boils.
2
The fact that he defaced an official weather map in the middle of a national crisis, lied to our faces about it and the act goes barely noticed when it would have sunk any normal presidency, is proof positive of how corrupt and outrageous Mr. Trump is. He needs to go and I sincerely hope the vote next year is overwhelming against him. That's the only way America can right her dangerously listing ship of state.
2
Once again, the Democrats are snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. The impeachment needs to focus on crimes, actual felonies with actual citations in the federal criminal code. He is a career criminal who has been caught red-handed. The Democrats should also emphasize the number of years in federal prison each of these crimes is punishable by. People don’t get upset about “constitutional issues “.
2
Trump routinely accuses investigators of the same misdeeds of which he is being investigated. The point of this disinformation is maximize confusion and doubt. Yes, Trump is a corrupt liar, but it hardly matters when everyone else is, too. If everyone comes off more suspicious and tarnished than when Trump started, he has won. Yet, the real victim is trust in our democratic institutions. By harming this essential trust, Trump deserves another article of impeachment regarding a direct deliberate assault on our institutions of democratic governance.
1
Trump has unfortunately provided an embarrassment of riches to to the House Judiciary regarding impeachable offenses.
There are just too many to enumerate and a fully accounting would likely take until November 2020.
While nobody expects Senate Republicans to suddenly develop spines or character, a full exposition of Trump’s malfeasance my bring the necessary Independents and old school Republicans to their senses in time for the Presidential election. One can only hope.
For now it seems the Republican Party has decided to endorse any cockamamie Russian disinformation story to bolster Putin’s puppet in the White House. It seems that some politicians have no shame... just like the President.
1
Alan Dershowitz, on Mark Levin, said that if Donald Trump can be impeached on the grounds of a phone call discussing foreign policy with the leader of the Ukraine, then no future leader will be able to conduct foreign policy. Contrary to the wishes of many liberals, you do not give away American money and might without a few strings attached. Presidents have shut down newspapers, put Americans in jail without trial, sent Americans into exile from their homes, propped up segregation, none of that was impeachable. Even Bill Clinton's nasty behavior was a "low" crime, not a "high crime" or misdemeanor. If you want to ensure that every future President will have articles of impeachment being drawn up before they take the oath of office, just go ahead with this nonsense, and get ready to become Argentina or Italy, or, at best, have a system where the Prime Minister can be kicked out every time the majority is displeased.
1
In addition the the perhaps unwise electoral college, the founding father's gave us a lemon law called impeachment. It is clear after the 2018 election there was buyers remorse with the overwhelming election of Democrats in the House. Trump was not cleared by Mueller who was hamstrung by DOJ rules and he did find evidence of illegal activities including obstruction. Now there is clear and compelling evidence that Trump has broken the law and attempted to enrich himself doing official United States business. Clearly the Republicans need to understand that he did not win the popular vote and he won by our arcane electoral college. He has not been a popular president by any poll in the last three years. time to turn the Trump page and impeach.
1
Great arguments. But the judiciary committee should slow down just a little for two reasons: first to allow people to read, listen and reflect about the facts; secondly, to allow more information to be revealed and the supreme court to rule.
2
It would be very helpful if the NYT would provide the public with a fully-fleshed out version of this op-ed. Make it an eight-day series focusing on a single proposed article of impeachment. And, for each day, provide detailed evidence of the "high crimes and misdemeanors."
Such a series would, at this point, last well beyond the point when articles are drafted for the current impeachment process. That does NOT matter. What is needed is a comprehensive but clear accounting--and, most importantly, accessible written record--of the vast number of crimes and abuses of power Trump has made....so far.
I think it would also be very helpful to have a comprehensive visual timeline of Trump's and Guiliani's efforts to strong-arm Ukraine into publicly committing to investigate red herrings in order to bolster Trump, help Russia, and hurt candidate Joe Biden. A color-coded time line illustrating all of the links and the specific timing of various persons' actions would provide very convincing visual evidence of Trump's corruption.
I encourage the New York Times to take on these two endeavors as a means of enlightening and educating the electorate AND securing a written record for posterity. Trump is trying to destroy our democracy. We need this documented.
5
It is a cloudy, rainy day today in Northern NJ. To have a Sunny Day can also be a matter of attitude.
The reason he cannot be impeached on all counts is because of delays caused by the White House. It is thought by President Trump that obstruction is a winning strategy - it isn't. At cause by the President; each committee will finish court battles for access to interviews and documents; this will separate the availability of information into different time periods; each different impeachable offense then will be brought up for impeachment separately. This President may end up being impeached 2 or 3 times. If needed, impeachment investigations and litigation will continue into President Trump's 2nd term after 2020 (the House of Representatives needs to stay under Democratic control for this reason of course).
The Republicans and President Trump can complain all they want. President Trump is the root cause of this fractured process. His strategy will be turned against him.
You know, you look back now and realize the respect that President Nixon deserves. He maintained the integrity of the President's office over everything else. He may have messed up in office but in the end, he acted Presidential. This made him a great man. I don't think anyone is ashamed of him today.
1
If he acts at least arguably in U.S. interest, does his true motive matter? Investigating presidential candidates is arguably in U.S. interest. What's not in _announcing_ investigations: our own DOJ doesn't. Comey's 2016 announcements were ruled improper by the DOJ Inspector General and by Trump appointee Rosenstein; Trump even cited them as reason he fired Comey. Coercing such an announcement for 2020 wasn't even arguably in U.S. interest.
In the call with Zelensky, Trump didn't press for _announcements_, but told Zelensky to "talk to Giuliani", who did. Is that enough to prove that Trump did? Democrats should subpoena Giuliani and let courts rule. Giuliani wasn't acting as a lawyer or as a U.S. employee, so neither attorney-client nor executive privilege should apply.
2
@Ilya Shlyakhter, just stop that stuff. You don't need to pull one obscure phrase out of one contested vague incident. There are several clear, obvious violations of the constitution here. Democrats DID subpeona Giuliani. He won't talk. Ditto Pompeo, Bolton, Mulvaney, etc.
Letting 'courts rule' is what trump wants. He wants to tie all this up in useless litigation till he gets to land on Bret Kav's friendly SCOTUS.
The process is clear, constitutional, and well documented. trump team continues to act like the most guilty, inept 4th graders caught trying to bribe the teacher for A's.
Just listen to the level of their arguments now: No fair! No fair! Mean old laws, mean Congress, too fast, too slow, too secret, too public, wrong witness, but we won't testify, wrong rooms, wrong wrong wrong! But ZERO legal defense.
Sheesh, The lessons from Nixon and Clinton, indeed.
2
How about the lies? As of August, the Washington Post noted he’d told at least 10,000 since taking office. This is no petty complaint. The day he was elected, the truth died. Being able to trust the president to be truthful, or to know what truth is, is crucial. Every time he lies, our country becomes weaker, the bonds between citizens fray.
He has zero credibility with our allies because they know most of what he says is nonsense (there’s a better word but not fit to print), subject to change in the slightest whim; he’s a laughingstock to our adversaries because they know he’s ignorant and weak, susceptible to manipulation (look how Kim and Putin have him wrapped around their little fingers) so they don’t take him seriously.
His addiction to deceit and treachery are dangerous, and a mortal threat to the country. He’s incapable of respecting the oath of office because he can’t be trusted to tell the truth. A sworn oath from him is totally worthless.
How can we believe he has our best interests at heart when he can’t put the country first? He lies to protect our enemies, and is more interested in currying their favor than carrying out his sacred duty to the nation. His ignorance of, and disrespect for, the constitution, is a more than a disgrace, it’s criminal.
Isn’t taking an oath and repeatedly violating it a form of perjury? This needs to be called out, loud and clear.
And how can Republicans go along with the lying? How do they face their children? Astonishing.
8
@Endangered , David covered that in his Article 8.
How about illegal use of philanthropic assets for personal gain.
10
9. Treason, helping Putin restore USSR by witholding Ukraine military aid with criminal intent of extortion for personal gain, regardless if or when Ukraine knew aid was withheld and regardless of quid pro quo.
9
Perhaps a flippant observation but will this degenerate into valid grievances followed by "binding arbitration" in the senate?
1
I'm not a lawyer but pressuring a foreign country and asking a foreign country to interfere with and control a US election is pretty close to Treason. Please add to the list.
12
As long as the Fox/Oval Office "feedback loop" is operational, Trump will skate. For Americans who wish to hold on to Democracy, we need to turn out en masses in the streets. We can't wait until 2020.
9
Functional illiteracy should be not only impeachable, but an absolute barrier to eligibility for office in the first place.
7
This is a well thought out argument as to why Trump must be impeached. Or course the Republicans will howl. BHut they Impeached Bill Clinton for charges that seem silly compared to Trump's violations.
11
Considering how unfit this individual is for the office of President, it is remarkable that the corrupted senate will find him not guilty of violating his oath of office.
5
@Michael Kittle: The wrath of God is forever, and the odds are almost certain that God is a Republican.
I may be tone deaf to all the legal niceties
of the 8 counts, but I don't see any single one
as a wholly impeachable conduct.
Trump is a loose cannon without doubt.
Why the 25th Amendment has not been invoked
only makes me wonder.
3
Thanks so much for these--clear and reasonable accounts--and reminders--of his abuses, which have gone on too long.
Republicans say Democratss hate Trump and have wanted to kick him out of office since almost day one. Yes, that's true, but not for without reason. They've wanted this not because he won the election(something Reps keep harping on but Dems never do), that he's enacted policies that Dems don't like, and not because of his ideology. Its for all the reasons laid forth here: that he lies, obstructs, illegally gains from office, illegally shifted money to his campaign, etc.
Leonhardt doesn't even mention the money he stole from the veteran fundraiser or the wildly inappropriate things he's said about women, minorities, and even members of Congress.
8
He should have been impeached after Helsinki.
Once Trump is impeached, Congress - or at least the Democrats in the House - needs to turn its full attention to the enablers: Barr, Pompeo, Pence , Cippolone, Perry and Bolton. Yes , Bolton enables by his silence. Like 2018, the electorate will decide about the Republican Party.
Trump knew his Ukraine gambit was wrong which is wy he kept "Javanka" out of it.
8
Dentist in GA wrote "The House should provide MANY charges in the hope that some or all of them will weaken Trump's support in congress and in 2020."
I agree. Throw everything at him and try to make something stick first with the Senators, and if not them then with the public and if not the public, then the voters in 2020.
Also, I think it matters that everything is charged in the impeachment because it forces the Senate to consider and publicly debate each charge. In the process the American public will become more familiar with the depth and breath of the criminality and the lawless of this "president" and his chaotic White House.
If this man's mental illness and arrested development isn't obvious to everyone already, perhaps it will be to more and more people as this process continues.
Drag it out, then get him the heck out!
7
This president's long record of verbal abuse, intimidation, blatant lies, and incitement to violence extends from his candidacy through to the present day. The examples are in the public record. Item 8 includes all of this malfeasance. It is indefensible.
6
Perjury -- he swore to uphold and defend the Constitution. He'll plead ignorance.
4
@DCBinNYC
...and he did so before the largest Inauguration crowd in history. It was yuge.
1
And yet it doesn't seem to matter if there were 100 articles - the truly scary support that this God-awful man still gets is beyond comprehension.
What would it take to convince his base that his presidency was/is a horrid mistake?
5
Under the last category: how about his abusive, bullying tweet storms? His undermining of the free press -calling them ‘ the enemy of the people’? His insulting behaviour towards global allies and his sycophantic subservience to dictators of all stripes? And perhaps his most egregious-fostering divisions between all Americans. Divisions that may not be surmountable and which seem to be becoming more entrenched and hardened.
How do you come back from this? How do you become The UNITED States of America again? Can you?
3
The worm will turn. His numbers are shrinking and Republicans will soon learn how much of a liability he is - and how much damage he has done to the Republican Party. This will be the last Republican anything for a very long time.
4
A balanced and complete layout for the Articles of Impeachment. The House could adopt it in it's entirety. It captures the fact that the President's conduct began with Inauguration and is accelerating in an accumulating manner.
There is no other choice.
3
The House must vote to impeach along the lines suggested in this article. If it does not, it fails to uphold the members' oath to "protect and defend the Constitution."
If Congress members do no impeach on this full list they also stain their honor and their reputations forevermore for failing to act as their oath required them to do.
Additionally, if they do not impeach with this list, they encourage, indeed, provide permission to Trump and others like him who may hold the same office to commit the same offenses and crimes in this presidential term and all future such terms.
Throw the book at him. The Senate will no doubt fail to remove in all events. The House has the constitutionally required to impeach based on known facts.
It is their duty to impeach for all eight of the reasons outlined in Leohardt's column.
4
Overlooked both in democratic counsel's narrative today and in this excellent itemization of impeachable misdeeds: (1) Trumps public request that China investigate the Biden's while we were in the midst of high stakes trade negotiations with China. I think this would merit a count of its own. (2) Trumps public threats to the whistle-blower -- "you know what we do to traitors" -- which is an acute species of obstruction of justice very close to witness intimidation.
5
I think the broader approach opens Democrats up to criticism of spitefully shopping for charges, but the Republican push back today on the questionable actions of Hunter Biden may give the Senate Republicans some cover - even if in their hearts they know Trump was purely politically motivated.
Therefore I do think it is important to go beyond Ukraine, if only to remind voters of the pattern of grossly unpresidential conduct which is the hallmark of this administration.
5
Given the existential crisis of global warming, Trump's dismantling of the EPA and refusal to acknowledge or take action against this threat constitutes grounds for impeachment.
9
@hark We may not like this anymore than we like trump's team putting actual humans in cages. But all is within his power, and David is rightfully (and congress too) avoiding policy issues. That's for the voters to decide, and afterwards for We the People to insist on a reining in of the Presidency.
Lost in this discussion is any sense of nuance. An action by a President can be worthy of bipartisan criticism without rising to the level of impeachment. As impeachment is a serious and political act, a President needs to commit some form of unlawful or treasonous action to be worthy of our final congressional check.
This list is small and petty. He's allowed to pay hush money. He's allowed to disagree with the FBI or CIA. He's the CiC, and is thus permitted to open investigations with adequate predication. He did not collude with the Russians, so the "obstruction" claim is politically weak. The emoluments claims amount to market rate uses of his hotels. His "abuse of power" can be checked with measures far below impeachment.
None of this is worthy of impeachment. Try a censure vote, and then move on with trying to win elections with good policies.
2
@AJ
This list is neither small nor petty. As you point out, impeachment is a political act. Perhaps, if we can have an election free of foreign interference, we can let the people be the judge. With Giuliani still actively working with corrupt Ukrainians, we may have to rely on our elected Representatives instead.
@AJ
"He's allowed to pay hush money." Seriously?
What, pray tell, do you think Michael Cohen is sitting in prison for? What do you think "unindicted co-conspirator" means?
I strongly agree with Leonhardt's change of mind towards broadening the articles of impeachment in order to show how the totality of trump's presidency has been marked by egregious practice from the outset. Even though I generally accept what Leonhardt says is the relative conservatism of eight articles, I do believe that one should be broadened and a ninth added. Article 5 on emoluments is, to my mind, quite a lot too narrow, as there has been any amount of self-dealing that probably would not count as an "emolument," but which has nevertheless further enriched trump from the public purse. We need think only of the Secret Service being assigned to family members who remained in trump Tower and obliged to pay exorbitant rents in order to do its job; or the cost of renting trump-owned golf carts every time the "I wouldn't have time to play golf" golfer-in-chief goes to play one of his own courses.
The article I would like to see added concerns trump's failure to do the job for which he was elected. Three years into his presidency there remain important posts not yet filled; in some cases there has been no nomination, last I heard. He has nominated demonstrably unqualified people for some of these jobs, though the Senate is to blame for the fact that so many are feeding at the public trough even so. Surely, surely we as employers should be upset when the person hired is shirking some of his most self-evident responsibilities (to say the least)?
4
Contempt of Congress is a logical and legitimate view according to many, many people. Otherwise, how do so many members of Congress enter the job as a regular working stiff and exit as rich?
4
@Rollo127
Can you name some? The ones I know either got rich before entering Congress or after leaving Congress.
@Sam Browning Yep, I could do that. I just looked it up earlier today. But I'm not putting names on the internet. The internet isn't 100% reliable regarding truth. On the other hand, it's not too difficult to find public officials who have been indicted & convicted of crimes. Public officials rarely take money directly but if I'm an official and I work on a law that specifically favors a business that Sam Browning's brother in law is in then maybe i'll become a franchise partner after I leave office.
Impeachment is precedent-setting, either to condone or condemn certain behaviors. The fact that Trump’s abuses are so flagrant and so many should not limit the counts that must be leveled against him to protect the health of our democracy. Yes, Trump should be removed from office but even if he isn’t (OK, when he isn’t, more likely), it will still have mattered that he was indicted for all of his obvious crimes and misdemeanors. It will send a message that, despite politically motivated “exoneration” by a partisan and disingenuous Republican senate, abuse of power such as that performed in full sight by Donald Trump will not be tolerated. Ultimately, Trump will pay a price, as will the party that enables him.
4
A well reasoned and restrained analysis. And the Comments seem to suggest a consensus that House Democrats should not put all their eggs in one (Ukrainian) basket.
Yes, this charge is well established and is clearly improper conduct and abuse of power.
But, given the array and intensity of criticism and controversy deservedly generated by this Administration, this single ground of impeachment sure looks awfully lonely.
I can appreciate the tactical need to make the case as simple and understandable as possible. But surely that does not necessitate incompleteness.
If Democratic strategists are concerned about selling impeachment to the voters, they should include in their calculus how difficult it will be to argue that they COULD HAVE presented other grounds for impeachment, but deliberately opted not to do so out of a (misguided, in my view) desire for speed and simplicity. Democratic partisans may accept that, but it will hardly resonate with other voters.
Moreover, even if the odds were always against removal, would it not be politically beneficial to try to entice the support of at least some Republicans in Congress? If so, I think a broader indictment of the President would have a better chance of this.
Perhaps someone should get a note to Ms Pelosi and company before it's too late...
3
President Trump should be impeached for failing to fulfill his duty to act on the climate emergency. This is the #1 national security threat, human security threat, and life security threat. It is imminently upon us--and, terrifyingly, this was something we needed to act upon before there were ANY signs of it. Imagine if hearings on climate, with leading scientists, were taking place this December instead of the unproductive back-and-forth about Ukraine. Why should we have to go to a "radical" source like Democracy Now for coverage of COP25 and related demonstrations? The networks tell us endlessly of impeachment. I feel like I am stuck in "On the Beach," except that we, unlike the Australians in Nevil Shute's 1957 novel, actually have a chance to avoid the catastrophe.
3
The Obstruction of Justice and/or Contempt of Congress section should also include the witness tampering that he’s engaged in, from his very publicly and not very subtly threatening witnesses on Twitter to his refusal to allow members of his administration to testify. Even Nixon recognized that the power of the Presidency does not extend to dictating who can and cannot be subpoenaed by Congress.
6
What's laughable is Burisma, as a roughly $400M/yr company, wouldn't even make our Fortune 1000 list. It brings in 1/5 the revenue of Carvana. It doesn't even make Ukraine's top ten list. So if the President's rationale for withholding military aid was that he wanted to root out corruption, why go after a company as small as Burisma?
I think we know why and it's pretty transparent.
7
I think dislike of his hair-do should be at the top of list of charges considering the other charges as compared to other presidents. Trump was proper to initiate investigations in Ukraine given the multiple aspects of Ukraine involvement in the 2016 election. A President of either party should pursue the big questions still unanswered.
3
@DEN
Please. 17 intelligence agencies verified that it was Russia who hacked the election, not Ukraine.
The only people who think otherwise are gullible, easily-led Trumpers.
Knowing full well that when McConnell gets his hands on the case, a trial in the Senate will be turned into a Republican circus, I think the House should impeach Trump on all eight charges BUT not send it on to the Senate. Rather than allowing the Republicans to engage in a mass exercise of confusion and denial, why not just sit back and allow the facts to hang over Trump's head, as he goes into the election?
7
@Mort Ehudin , Because going to a senate trial is step two in the impeachment process of the USA. Because a trial on multiple offenses will expose the senators who enable trump as the charlatans they are.
1
Thank you! I'm so tired of hearing everything discussed exclusively as politics, as what will play best to the electorate. The law has meaning and figuring out what Trump is potentially guilty of, even if it doesn't make it into the articles of impeachment for political purposes, is vitally necessary for the democracy.
1
As the saying that fits perfectly goes, "Throw the book at him." That's how prosecutors deal with a perpetrator whose crimes are complex and involved, such as we have here.
5
Let's not forget violation of the Constitution's carefully laid out separation of powers. DT wanted a border wall, and Congress said no when it specifically declined to fully fund it. So, like some absolutist monarch, DT took the money anyway.
8
your legal experts might have spoken to this point, and I may have no legal leg to stand on here, but I would suggest the white house's classification of documents in order to hide damaging information deserves to be it's own offense.
mishandling of classified information has been a running issue for this administration, and should be included separately from obstruction.
5
After your introduction I was surprised and disappointed at the vagueness of your impeachable offenses. But more importantly, I have argued in the past that Democrats could and should walk and chew gum at the same time. By that I meant they could pursue impeachment but also focus on substantive legislative issues. I favor impeachment and still think House Democrats can do both. But I am seriously concerned that the American electorate cannot do both. For that reason, I continue to believe that Democrats must move the impeachment process quickly so that it does not dominate the 2020 electoral campaign for president and Congress. The Articles of Impeachment should not be as lengthy or as vague as you are suggesting today. Democrats must return to the winning approach of 2018 by focusing on the substantive issues that concern voters, including those in battleground states, such as healthcare, infrastructure, climate change, affordable education, manageable student debt, income and wealth inequality, race and gender discrimination. Otherwise, we Democrats risk not only Trump‘s reelection but losing the House majority we currently hold.
2
Thank you for this informative column, Mr. Leonhardt.
The case you make is strong.
Justice will be served.
I have to believe that.
4
I do not see a downside to increasing the counts against him. In particular, I ask, where is the approval by congress for his acceptance of emoluments? He did not ask the GOP congress, knowing he didn't have to. And he did not ask the Democratic congress, knowing they wouldn't grant it. Case closed.
7
The depravity of human nature is unfathomably wide and deep. Democracy & the rule of law, more so than monarchical rule, can successfully restrain the worst instincts of human nature. Effectively to reign in those more evil inclinations inherent in our instinct to survive, representative democracy works through a finely-tuned system of checks and balances, about which we should all be aware. No such system can prevent a driven personality from subverting its workings for the greater good in service of its narrower & more selfish interests. It takes the workings of a fine Swiss watch more so than a straight jacket. Even in the best case most favorable to liberty for every individual, democracy can only function well assuming a large component of good faith among its participants. If one skillful but nefarious political being, operating purely out of self-interest takes a wrecking ball to the assumptions implied by the letters & words that make up the law, any Democratic system will fall like a house of cards. Then what remains will be the shards of a noble egalitarian experiment.
Since a supermajority of us has identified a leader directing his personally driven wrecking ball, it is the duty of our citizenship that we root out this clear and present danger as efficiently and atraumatically as possible. Avoid punitive instinct. Stick to the most easily understood of directives. Restrain and contain Trumpism before it damages our noble experiment in self rule beyond repair.
6
Just in case there is any merit to trump’s absurd claim he did not know what Rudy Giuliani was doing in the Ukraine, he should be charged with recklessly delegating foreign policy to an unelected person, never confirmed by the Senate, and not an employee of the US government. Merely telling the State Department and Ukrainian officials that they should talk to Rudy and/or listen to Rudy and/or cooperate with Rudy should be enough to make him responsible for Rudy, regardless of whether it can be proved he knew what Rudy was doing.
14
Let's not forget, Trump's own senior staff once seriously considered removing him on the grounds of insanity. There is no precedent for such a removal, but perhaps it deserves consideration by Congress as well?
13
@Mr. Adams unfortunately the text of the Constitution leaves that decision to Trump's own men, rather than Congress. Room for amendment, perhaps?
I have always disagreed with wobbly attempt to find the straight and narrow. Polls have shown a shift in support of impeachment, which the Trump's favorable rating doesn't necessarily reflect.
Nothing will persuade Collins, Jordan, and their supporters to impeach the president, even if he crows about prosecution immunity for shooting someone on 5th Ave. Don't need Crowd Strike to confirm that statement. So, I say, go broad. Disagree with the timid NY Times editorial board. Articulate succinctly the impeachment reasons for the history books and show Congress has fulfilled its Constitutional obligation to check and balance a self-anointed autocrat. Besides, as Redish and others have noted, a broad set of impeachment articles can rein-in Trump's pardon power, because Article II of the Constitution states explicitly that the president "shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of impeachment. Writing an obstruction of justice impeachment article, as Mueller has implicitly implored, will ensure that Roger Stones, Paul Manafort, and Michael Flynn will escape their punishment and Giuliani cannot dodge his comeuppance. Now that prospect should remove the mental wobbliness in finding the straight and narrow.
10
@Tom I could not agree with you more. Your comments are very thoughtful.
1
I'm not buying our national security hinges on the Ukraine therefore Trump endangered our safety. How did Ukraine become worth starting a war with Russia, cold or otherwise.
The question should be who is really endangering our national security, our "hero's" in the State Department and military intelligence and progressives in the Democratic party or Trump?
4
@JoeG
The list of damage to U.S. national security interests is too long to enumerate here.
1) Most importantly, Mr. Trump has increased the vulnerability of the world to the effects of the climate crisis. The risks include population displacement, failed states, famine, wars over resources, increasing numbers of refugees, and warming irreversibility.
2) There are questions of compromise of Mr. Trump by the Kremlin due to its support of him through money laundering via multiple real estate transactions. His sexual appetite is also subject to blackmail.
3) Mr. Trump uses unsecured communications to keep Americans in the dark. Not so the intelligence services of our adversaries and allies alike.
4) The policy of containment of Russian expansionism, which led to the collapse of the Soviet Union, has been the mainstay of NATO in protecting the democracies in Europe, key U.S.interest. Ukraine and Turkey have been key states to limit Kremlin access to the seas. Mr. Trump has essentially ratified the fraudulent annexation of Crimea and pushed Turkey into Putin's arms.
5) Mr. Trump has failed to protect American elections from Kremlin interference, following the proved Russian interference in 2016. In violation of US election law and his own oath of office, he has attempted to force Ukraine to improve his chances in 2020.
A compromised intelligence officer is dangerous; a compromised president is a thousand times worse.
This column is on the mark. If the house goes narrow it will lose in the court of public opinion. Focusing strictly on Ukraine will allow the Republicans to hammer away on 'Impeachment for one phone call? And 'investigate the Biden's for corruption.'
Make House and Senate Republicans vote on several articles, most importantly contempt of congress. Let them fail to defend their own institution.
10
Republicans would be mistaken to overlook what happened in the midterms. The people were saying loud and clear they don't want Trump as their President and they won't allow a repeat of him losing the popular vote but hijacking the Electoral College, to happen again.
Senate Republicans should be forewarned if they toe the party line instead of doing their Constitutional duty, they will pay dearly by losing both the House and the Senate.
6
Well done, I agree, thanks. I think it is a solid case on most if not all counts but alas, without a smoking gun or a big name with courage, integrity and love of country (like those who came forward during the hearings) to step forward, tell the truth and rally public opinion -- the senate will cowardly acquit and Trump will claim victory -- like he and Barr shamefully did with Mueller's report.
History will have to be the final judge and history will be a damning judge indeed. McConnell, Barr, Graham, Pompeo, et al... will not be remembered as patriots... but as self-serving puppets dangling from brittle strings held by the man who lit the Constitution on fire.
16
The one crime to trump has committed that no one seems to want to talk about is jury tampering. he keeps having meetings at the White House with groups of Republican senators who will comprise the jury in an impeachment trial. this is blatant out and out jury tampering and should definitely be one of the charges brought against him .
10
@RalphE
Yes, not to mention that he is also exhorting his donors to send lots of money to this' jury' of senators.
No president in our history has damaged the constitutional as much as Trump. He needs to be held accountable.
Trump is a man without a conscience. He sees this as a big power game. where he is determined to win at all costs, no matter the price. Tragically, the Republican Party agrees with Trump and thus shares his values.
It is already pretty clear the Republicans have abandoned all concern for the Constitution, the co-equal power of all three branches of government, facts, truth, and justice, and they will vote as a loyal block to protect their president and to defend all Trump's indefensible actions.
Leonhardt's list of 8 is a start. And let the Republicans vote down each of these 8 charges in the House, and then vote to acquit Trump and not remove him from office in Mitch McConnell's Senate.
Why? Go on record for the sake of history. To Americans and the world that is watching, Trump walking away from 8 impeachable offenses looks far worse than walking away from just the Ukrainian offense of asking a foreign power to meddle in our elections, which the Republicans have already spun as just a president doing what a businessman would do.
As Sondland put it, with regard to Trump withholding military aid until Ukraine's President Zelensky agreed to publicly state that the Ukraine was investigating Joe Biden's son for corruption: "Pay up before signing the check."
The Democrats need to stand on the right side of history and uphold the Constitution for the rest of us
10
I introduced successful advisory motion for Impeachment based on Constitution Emoluments Clause at 2017 Vermont Town Meeting. Violations from day 1 were clear.
https://www.necn.com/news/local/vt-woman-welcomes-announcement-of-impeachment-articles/2203047/
4
You missed one. It should be an impeachable offense for a President of the United States to be the world's biggest jerk. In fact, to borrow a phrase from Trump himself, he is the biggest in the history of the world.
11
Why do you think Congress hasn't already acted upon this? Is it possible that many members of Congress (both Senators and Congressmen, Democrats and Republicans) also have accepted gifts in return for favors without reporting them in a United States that has become increasingly corrupt?
3
They should "call" Trump to testify by showing his pronouncements and tweets as evidence, all are in the public sphere.
For all the lies, he is often truthful about the most damning information.
1
I used to think the allegations that Trump was some kind of foreign agent were ridiculous. But, his recent rush to defend the Saudi king, even before he had expressed any sympathy for the victims of the Florida military base shooting, has made me question that. Someone should be looking into Trump's association with foreign governments. It seems like he's more interested in protecting them than defending his own country.
16
@Ms. Pea I agree. But I do not think that is part of the Impeachment process. That is a larger issue, beyond all this, which probably has its roots in his financial obligations to Russia. This is treason of course, we just don't have the goods on him to include now.
These are all right on target. But even on a very basic human level, he is a failure. To any of his defenders, I would ask, "What values does he represent?" "Can you give me one example of any common human decency shown by this man?" "What do you think would happen if a co-worker or manager called someone who disagreed with him 'human scum' or told a person of color who disagreed with him to 'go back to where you came from'." "Would you trust him in a room alone with your wife or daughter?" "Can you give me one example of something he said that was true?"
13
Americans elected a bull. Now democrats are trying to capitalize, politically, on his breaking the China.
Good luck with that.
5
Your comments to this regard always perplex me.
The bull was elected to preserve and defend, not destroy, the Constitution.
1
Actually a minority of Americans, representing by and large the least populated, least productive parts of the country, elected against the popular will a criminal who sides with America’s domestic and international enemies against his own country. Trump supporters elected a traitor.
1
@AACNY: How many Americans elected him?
1
I understand the need for simplicity in messaging to the public about why Trump is unfit for office, and the urgency in impeaching him before the 2020 elections, given that a large portion of his abuse of power involves collaborating with foreign powers (oppo research, social media misinformation, cyber attacks, and money) to sway the election in his favor. But I agree with Leonhardt and Bauer that the House's failure to pursue Trump's gross abuse of the foreign and domestic emoluments clauses of the U.S. Constitution is inexplicable. Profiting from foreign delegations and foreign and domestic companies, lobbyists, foreign agents and other unscrupulous characters in your personal businesses is both easy for the public to understand and attacks the very core of our republic and our sovereignty (also an easy public message to convey).
7
I would add, if possible, abandonment of moral duties to treat all citizens (and residents) of the United States equally and fairly, especially but not limited to discriminatory treatment based on sex, race, religion, national origin, sexuality, gender identity, disability, marital status, and a host of other characteristics that in most civilised countries are classified as protected characteristics.
This is the most fundamental dereliction of duty under the Constitution outwith Trump's criminal activities.
6
None of his will play in the heart land. I am convinced he will be re-elected.
4
@Chris Anderson It's also not playing well outside of the big cities and smaller enclaves of ultra liberals. In my suburban town on Long Island, I see more and more bumper stickers saying Trump 2020. The Democrats are moving too far to the left and that will yield a Trump victory in 2020 even though he is beyond corrupt.
2
@Chris Anderson
Not that your opinion may not come to pass but Trump should be impeached, found guilty and removed from office. Those things should happen. Because, A) Trump's corruption merits those and B) It will demonstrate to future presidents that this form of corruption of the presidency and moral governance will not be tolerated.
1
Ultimately, the individual articles of impeachment are almost meaningless, except to establish a historical record of resistance, however impotent. What America faces is the almost complete erosion of the concept of separation of powers in favor of a cult of personality. Trump isn't beating impeachment because he is innocent, He's beating impeachment because 95% of Republican voters support him. And they support him because they revel in how his antics infuriate "elites", which is everyone who isn't a Trump supporter. How do Democrats, or anyone else who values integrity, honesty and lawful governance, win a fight where the more evidence of wrongdoing they produce, the more strongly Trump's mob supports him? These are the politics of spite, and Trump is the king of spite. Soon, he will be the king of America.
6
@Rob , It is for now at least, potentially the end of the government and country we have known. But in the civil war lead up, you did not see Lincoln, abolitionists, and Northern elected officials just lie back and watch what was the treasonous confederate succession. No, they fought, even as it lead to a war of ineffable losses. Fighting the Confederacy-- with words was just as important as with blood and treasure later. so the Democrats must go all in. this is no Bill Clinton having sex with an intern and (ahem) lying about it. This is the hill to die on.
I've always supported multiple articles of impeachment, or go wherever the evidence takes you. I've always recommended that the House take as long as necessary and do 'everything in their power' to gather irrefutable facts and evidence. At the same time they must do a far better job of 'selling' the seriousness and urgency of the situation to every American.
Frankly, I fear the Democrats don't have what it takes to stand up to Trump and Congressional Republicans, and they have done little in the last 10 months to disabuse me of this fear. Republicans are making a mockery of these hearings. Failing to answer a subpoena used to mean something. People at the highest level of government who have taken a sworn oath to uphold the Constitution are disrespecting the Constitution! The most insane part of all this, is the blatant ongoing effort by Trump, his administration, and Congressional Republicans to cover-up high crimes and misdemeanors and refusing to offer any rebuttal or defense to facts in evidence.
Democrats are the last best hope we have to regain trust in government, and respect for the Constitution and the rule of law. I fear if they fail to uphold these fundamental tenets, the country will be irretrievably broken. "Democracy Dies in Darkness" to quote the WAPO banner.
6
I think that the reason the Dems are on a fast track is that they believe, like a lot of Americans, that Trump and his corrupt cabal will do anything to impact the 2020 elections.
Eight counts seem reasonable.
Trump is a walking, talking violator of the emoluments clause.
Impeach him.
The Senate will not vote to convict but at least Trump may understand that he will be under oversight which is Congress's responsibility. Something which the GOP committee members will not comprehend.
8
Trump's enablers, in congress and among the public, have gone all in. They have no other choice. His conduct is so thoroughly and consistently reprehensible, that even a single admission of wrongdoing would release the logjam of hypocrisy they've created since the day he took office.
I don't expect a single Republican in the House and Senate to vote for impeachment. It must be done, nonetheless.
The historical record must document what political cravenness refuses to do today. The Republican party will not be judged kindly. Integrity matters.
6
Mr. Leonhart,
In my opinion, you missed two counts:
1 (or, in your case, 9): Witness tampering and, in the case of Yovanovich, in real time, no less.
2: I'm very serious about this one... Three acts of treason.
The first was in asking an adversarial foreign power (Russia) in finding and publishing the supposedly 30,000 Clinton emails. Never mind that the Russians were already in the process of undermining the 2016 election. That Trump asked for their help was, in my opinion, treasonous.
The second was in taking the word of adversarial foreign leaders (Putin, Erdogan and MBS) over his own intelligence services.
The third is what's going on now in the Ukraine in asking a friendly foreign power to dig up dirt on a domestic political rival for Trump's gain.
All of that said, it's possible that Trump's election could actually be our finest hour because maybe, just maybe, we'll begin to clean out the stench and the slime of what our political system has become and that we can better recognize that many of the people we elect are more in it for themselves and their party than anything. But there's probably not enough Clorox in the world for that.
9
Good luck with this. America is a nation run by the industrial military complex, corrupt Real Estate developers, and everyone else who has a piece of America’s prosperity fueled by greed and conflict. Our defense budget of $700 billion is the whole story. The other part of the story is the removal of the food stamp program, increased costs for healthcare, increased taxes on the middle class (that no one is talking about) , decrease of regulation of our water and air, total disregard for climate change effects......the list goes on. America today is a corrupt Nation caring little for the bottom 95%.
5
What Democrats seem to have forgotten is that you need to have proof. Like the DNA evidence with Clinton and the video of his Grand Jury testimony. It was a cut and dry case of perjury.
What we have here is an investigation conducted by a partisan Committee ( no independent council) that developed a group of people that didn’t actually witness anything but rather opined about what they thought happened or theorized happened.
The two are not the same.
4
The only case that you or the mentally defective members of the Democratic party in the House can make for impeachment is that you don't like President Trump. NONE of the testimony presented supports anything past this. I must congratulate you, however, in that you and your Democratic lackeys have definitely had an impact on my opinions and actions. I voted for Trump in 2016, but it was with a lot of anger in that the "system" offered no better option to me. He was disgusting but better than the alternate choice. 2020 will be my 13th presidential election. I have never contributed to any political candidate but the farce being played out in the House has caused me to change this and I have started to make donations to primary opponents of Pelosi and Schiff and will also provide support to their eventual Republican opponents. I am doing this even though I am retired and on a fixed income - this is too important to our country to ignore. To quote Obama, elections have consequences and I fully plan on helping this to occur and strongly encourage others with a similar mindset to support their opponents as well.
4
All emotion, not a single fact presented, exactly what is wrong with your argument.
1
Listening and looking at Republicans contorting in each and every way to protect Trump is sad, disappointing, depressing and humiliating for us who still believe in the power of electing our representatives.
History is recording the impeachment and witnesses' statements showing there were still true patriots left at the beginning of the dark times when the US Democracy disappeared whispering 'vote, please vote".
7
With such a low threshold for impeachment, pretty much all presidents should have been impeached.
Presidents make decisions, sometimes unpopular decisions. What you are saying is that whatever you and your liberal friends don't agree with, is enough to remove a president duly elected by a majority in the electoral college.
Democrat presidents made mistakes too, let alone the decisions the conservatives didn't agree with. Should that be enough to impeach?
This is total lunacy.
Impeachment is a very serious measure and should be reserved for the very egregious crimes (yes, actual breaking of common law, not just loose concepts such as 'abuse of power' which is not a crime) and also should only be considered if there's a bi-partisan support for it.
Nixon's impeachment was bi-partisan.
Clinton's was not that much but still. There was a clear crime there.
Trump's impeachment is not bi-partisan. And there's no crime proven. Just allegations of bad actions.
Keep in mind that some day a Democrat president might be subjected to such egregious impeachment procedure. You will not like it.
Check out Nadler and Pelosi's anti-impeachment speeches from the 90's. They were right then.
4
Or better yet.. flushed. 15 times.
1
When I read about Trump like in this case, it is usually written like the author is walking on eggshells not offending His Highness using the facts. Fearing not to provoke for a legal action?
At the same time, the Trump‘s monarchy style continues to produce lies, to embark on character attacks, to demean the House, to ignore the foreign friends and embrace the foreign foes... and the list goes on and on.
Why not openly say that the king is naked?
4
A very good list. Congress should definitely adopt some of these items for impeachment.
4
The Russian/GOP is making a "good" counter argument that, "We all knew Donald Trump was a 'criminal' when he was elected, so his behavior shows, 'Promises made Promises kept.' However, first and foremost, because Donald Trump is a foreign agent, he is the greatest internal national security threat that America has ever had. This is why he should be removed.
5
This is so well said. The list is concise, the language everyday English and the charges so obviously corrupt even a smart child would understand.
Could we somehow get this this list on social media or what ever Trump's base is using for news, and try to get voters to give their Republican Senators permission to convict.
2
Sadly, the process, largely due to GOP obstruction and obfuscation, has become a political tactic and subject to debate on this basis.
Does the House continue to draw out the investigation and hope it increasingly damages Trump and, by default, the GOP? In the context of 2020, there are strong arguments for and against. Timing is crucial. If one believes the GOP senators so craven as to “flip” on Trump once their candidacy is assured, then it may be in everybody’s interest to drag it out, excruciating detail and noisy partisan proclamations to be used to sow further divisions. That tactic was my thinking initially.
What is so desperately tragic about this entire presidency is the rabbit hole that has been dug to defend a treasonous, profoundly corrupt, lunatic administration.
Ultimately, the Dems appear to have chosen a route that will lessen the fissure cracking impeachment provides, largely out of concern for control of the narrative and a pragmatic approach, given the short term politicking the news cycle is in.
Having had a speedy approach to the House investigation(s) should not automatically make a narrow focused drawing up of articles. The breadth of offences committed by Trump and the lack of exculpatory evidence to excuse them make it a delicate, fascinating balancing act.
“May you live in interesting times “ has never been more appropriate. So “ interesting “, never been more devastating . I sincerely hope the US can recover from these times.
1
#8 is absolutely on point. How can it be O.K. that the President lies indiscriminately, and tears down the fabric of our democratic republic?
He has so damaged our democratic institutions that it will take a special next President to repair them.
5
Democrats rightly worry that impeachment should be expressed in terms that every reasonable person can understand and agree with. This administration is, by far, the most blatantly corrupt and self-serving administration of my six-decade lifetime. That should be the main theme of any impeachment articles.
The Ukraine fiasco is one appalling symptom of this corruption, but it is not the only one that deserves to be in the articles of impeachment.
That he openly continues to promote and profit from his businesses while in office is corruption that everyone can understand. Trump's use of his "charitable organization" to purportedly raise money for veterans, only to stash the money in a personal campaign slush fund instead, is another recent example of why he should be removed from office.
At the very least, there should be a list of the most blatant instances of personal and institutionalized corruption in the final articles of impeachment. Let's get it all on the record and vote.
3
The House should definitely move slowly and wait for Trump’s tax returns. They will most likely reveal a lot. Otherwise, he would not be hiding them. The obsequious synchophants in the Republican Party may not have a leg to stand on once the tax returns get out.
3
@Lauren Rombach
He can be impeached over and over. NO need to wait on the current high crimes na misdemeanors.
Today is the best day Trump and the GOP's will have in the next year because every succeeding day will be worse as more information about his corruption emerges.
1
What's astounding is the number of lies the president of the USA has easily told. The Washington Post records over 12, 000 lies now. By 2018,it was 5000.
That alone merits impeachment. He just doesn't worry about truth. Did our Framers ever anticipate such a thing?
Every day this sociopath is in office is an insult to Americans ---and to our reputation in the world.
And to US school children learning about our Constitution. We have to boot him out, so that we can face the younger generation without shame.
Even a mediocre candidate will be miles better than what we've put up with for 3 years. But that also may mean some of his negative influence can live on--our standards can be lowered, while still being 'better than Trump'.
We the People have to insist on what the American colonists demanded when they overthrew and defeated King George and his aristocratic court --true Representation For Our Taxation.
We haven't been getting it. That led to the 2 candidates in 2016. Then this exploitive sociopath, admirer of dictators, rose from the swamp depths to get power.
To reform our politics we must 1st change how we finance our election campaigns. That will set off positive ripple effects so average citizens get influence in our lawmaking-- for the public interest. The media must discuss, or future swamp denizens are ready to rise to the surface---and with excellent financing to lure them.
We have to set a standard that won't lead to the creation of future Trumps.
3
Based on my interactions with former Presidents, I don’t see anything wrong here per se. While President Trump’s brash, blunt and arrogant style, provoking to many while inspiring to others, may present a viable case for impeaching his personality, it’s nothing more. Obama, Bush and Clinton all transgressed similarly, if not more egregiously, but did it quietly, behind the scenes with widespread media cooperation using guile and influence. All very de rigueuer, as it is with President Trump.
3
Then why have so many people associated with Trump been indicted or are in prison?
This is far, far, more than someone’s “personality.”
If it walks like a duck, looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck.
Trump is corrupt. The US now is a corrupt nation because of him.
Trump has committed numerous impeachable offenses by even the most conservative measure. The problem this nation faces is the the Republican Party has abandoned the rule of law under the Constitution. They will protect Trump at any cost to the nation.
Trump has been running the country like it is just part of his corrupt family business. However, responsibility for Trump's presence in the Oval Office rests squarely on the shoulders of the Republican leadership who do nothing to protect America from Trump's self-serving and dangerous incompetence. Top Republicans stand next to Trump even after his crimes and misdemeanors have been fully illuminated by multiple direct witnesses. The GOP continues to stand by Trump's side and join him in his lies and distortions as he attempts to impede the rule of law by obstruction of justice.
No self-respecting American can support Trump's presence in the Oval Office and no amount of hand-waving will ever absolve the Republican leadership for their complete lack of patriotism.
7
The biggest window into Democrats view of reality is they think it is a bad thing when anyone other than themselves benefits. It's not necessarily a conflict of interest if he gets any benefit from something that is good for the nation. When all this is over I can't wait til we finally get to investigate the horribly corrupt Biden family and whatever Ukraine did in the 2016 election. It's not a conspiracy theory, the Russia hoax was. This sham impeachment needs to end. Most of his followers will go to war to stop this coup.
3
Trump also publicly defended Paul Manafort, undermining the judicial process, and accused the prosecutor of fabricating evidence. Trump also continuously accuses Hillary Clinton of wrongdoing even though his own administration has cleared her.
The separation of immigrant children from their families is a crime against humanity, and the incarceration of these young people in cages is a violation of the Geneva Conventions.
3
Why not use the term "witness tampering" under obstruction of justice?
By holding his party at Trump's hotel, you suggest the attorney general has given the president an emolument. Is this legal? You don't say.
Has anyone made a list of all the times Trump's actions have benefited Russia instead of us? Surely, this pattern of behavior has happened enough times to indicate intent. Even if this behavior would not be deemed a crime, it has to be worthy of impeachment.
1
Thank you. Speaking the truth is important, even if it's politically unhelpful. No one who possesses even one tiny speck of judgment can deny that this president is corrupt beyond all measure. Of course the Senate won't do its job and remove this odious man. But at least the House, not to mention a huge chunk of the American people, can take some comfort in having done their duty. And Trump, who desperately seeks adulation and desires nothing more than to be worshipped, really IS upset by impeachment. He'll never admit it, but he is. That alone is worth the House effort.
1
It no longer matters whether Trump is impeached or convicted in the senate.
The damage is done to the integrity of the constitution.
Trump has corrupted the Republican Party and a large part of the American population.
4
Absolutely agree with this op-ed. There is another challenge. The President is a walking/talking crime wave- probably committing even more serious crimes as I write (Rudy- are you enjoying your visit to the Ukraine??). Even worse, House and Senate Republicans will deliberately lie and distort the truth in defense of the President regardless of the crime. Of course, the last should have no impact whatsoever on proceeding forward- but the question of how much to broaden the charges becomes interesting. Force Republican lackeys in the House and Senate to defend multiple abuses and crimes? Or speedily dispatch one of the most serious crimes (bribery and treason)- avoiding a prolonged trial in the Senate.
Or will McConnell prolong the trial anyway to secure political advantage. And since when should this type of determination be dependent on the feckless and unprincipled Republican leader?
Before Trump, I never realized that a chief weapon of the corrupt and evil was to blitzkrieg the judicial system with legal maneuvers and bold face lies- the more the better. And in Trump's case to do so brazenly in public. Nor did I fully realize how corrupt segments of the public might be- as defiant of facts as the perpetrator.
What a mess.
I think the nation will be better off if the Democracts impeach on the counts Leonhardt describes. This will answer to history- if nothing else- and inject a needed shot of reality into our politics- even if large numbers no longer care.
3
I think that the House should hold the vote on impeachment and do so by explaining that the Senate is basically a tainted jury, members of whom will refuse to listen to evidence.
Agreed! Trump has done the exact opposite of any good for the United States. He and those who support him are so sure that they are pursuing economic stability, fighting the forces of corruption, and keeping poverty from overwhelming the financial coffers. HA! The short-sightedness of their vision will be known soon enough ... nauseatingly soon enough. We hold our breath in hope that U.S. citizens with clear vision and noble heart will prevail in the impeachment inquiry and sweep out these cobwebbed ideas and craven activities. Godspeed to Speaker Pelosi.
Every impeachable offense should be put forward, the fact that Trump will be acquitted at the Senatorial level should mean nothing. It is the Democrats constitutional duty to put all articles of impeachment forward and create a historical record. A line in the sand must be established that the behavior of this administration and any other like behavior in the future will not be tolerated. This is a historical moment and it should not be lost.
If the impeachment is theater designed to sway public opinion, then there is an argument for stagecraft. Not too many articles, nor two few.
The number three is especially significant in the public consciousness, e.g.
Three's a crowd
Good better best
Duelists count to three
One two three jump
Turn the patient on my count 1, 2, 3
Build a stool on three legs, and it sits on any surface without wobbling
The triangle cannot be bent into any other shape
I could site more, but one that is particularly relevant can be seen if you watch any police procedural on television. There is usually one major crime to be solved, plus some back and forth between two conflicting theories, plus a third subplot involving some other tension not associated with the major crime.
When this form is followed, it's OK if one of the three plots turns out unexpectedly. In fact, having one subplot come out "wrong" lends a touch of credibility to the drama in toto.
My strategy would be to make the 'major crime' the Ukraine affair. The defense would be that yes he did it, but it 'didn't rise to the level of impeachable'.
I'd go hard on both obstruction of justice as seen in the Mueller Report...many counts of sworn testimony by associates like the WH attorney.
For the third, and clinching count, I'd go with violation of the campaign finance law, where there is documentary evidence AND sworn testimony (from Michael Cohen) that Trump's efforts were meant to corrupt the election process.
Diminishing the country's institution. Endangering the health of the American people.
1
This article clearly lays out the case against the most corrupt president in United States history. What the House hearings show us, is that 40% of Americans blindly support the unlawful and unpatriotic behavior of Donald Trump. At the point, the Democrats need to take off the gloves and fight to protect the Constitution. The future of our country is at stake. The America, as we know it, is in peril.
You left off Treason. With Trump, all roads lead to Putin. Any analysis of Trump's foreign policy moves, and his domestic policies, will show that Trump's decisions inevitably lead to weaker, diminished US influence abroad, while strengthening, sometimes very directly, Russia's interests. Just look at the Trump decision, surprising even his own military advisers, to withdraw abruptly from Syria. This left one of our allies stranded, while Turkey and Russia moved in on them, and ISIS, the whole reason we were in Syria, got an opportunity to break out of prisons and rebuild, which the took advantage of. Net of this independently-Trump decision? Syria's war-criminal president Assad reinforced in his abuse of his own country; Russia taking over US facilities for their own military 'advisers'; our Kurd allies invaded and scattered by Turkey without reason or evidence to support claims of 'terrorism'; and ISIS prisoners breaking out and disappearing into the chaos, to rebuild strength and inflict new terror on the whole world. Did this Trump decision help the US's interests? Did it help Russia's? This is just one of the the more recent incidents where Trump makes decisions that weaken US influence, standing, and prestige; and reinforce Russia's interests, or yield a field of influence to Russia unopposed. Putin has something on Trump, and that's evidenced by Trump's independent decisions... which is Treason.
1
The problem with your list is that my 89 year old mother, who has nothing if not common sense, will understand none of it.
Where is the clear crime? Where is the perjury? Where is the cover up of a burglary?
And in 2020, where is the credible opponent?
Resign yourselves to four more years of Trump.
5
The Constitution makes no reference to abuse of power, U.S. criminal code refers to what people call “abuse of power” as “abuse of office.” Abuse of office is an impeachable offense because it is a misdemeanor. The abuse of office statute (25 CFR § 11.448) states:
“A person acting or purporting to act in an official capacity or taking advantage of such actual or purported capacity commits a misdemeanor if, knowing that his or her conduct is illegal, he or she:
(a) Subjects another to arrest, detention, search, seizure, mistreatment, dispossession, assessment, lien or other infringement of personal or property rights; or
(b) Denies or impedes another in the exercise or enjoyment of any right, privilege, power or immunity.”
The Democrats’ problem is that no one has alleged president Trump has committed any of the offenses that constitute abuse of office.
2
An article of impeachment for repeatedly violating his oath of allegiance to the Constitution by, among other things, favoring foreign powers over American agencies.
An article of impeachment for lying constantly to the American public.
You may consider it “policy”, but the Trump administration took children away from their parents at the Mexican border, and only that border, and only Latin American people. The key point is that they had no mechanism in place to reunite parents and children, or any plan for such a mechanism. They admitted that. The assumption being that the children would end up either in permanent custody or with someone else.
This violated article 2(e) of the 1951 Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. That is, taking children away from one group to give to another.
Sure, the right wing hates non-white immigrants, but that doesn’t mean that we should ignore an open violation of the Convention we signed. It is not hyperbole to call it an attempted act of genocide. It fits the established, internationally agreed upon definition perfectly. It was and is a moral outrage. Add it to the charges.
The Constitution makes no reference to abuse of power, U.S. criminal code refers to what people call “abuse of power” as “abuse of office.” Abuse of office is an impeachable offense because it is a misdemeanor. The abuse of office statute (25 CFR § 11.448) states:
“A person acting or purporting to act in an official capacity or taking advantage of such actual or purported capacity commits a misdemeanor if, knowing that his or her conduct is illegal, he or she:
(a) Subjects another to arrest, detention, search, seizure, mistreatment, dispossession, assessment, lien or other infringement of personal or property rights; or
(b) Denies or impedes another in the exercise or enjoyment of any right, privilege, power or immunity.”
The Democrats’ problem is that no one has alleged president Trump has committed any of the offenses that constitute abuse of office.
1
Perhaps the most egregious error, as well as the most dangerous outcome of Donald Trump's attempt to govern, is his undermining of trust, which is crucial to citizen participation in a democracy. He has demeaned the FBI and its civil servants, he has paid off those who might interfere with his election, he has tarnished truth with lie after lie. He has encouraged hatefulness and vulgarity. and his ignorance handicaps his ability to govern, because he is not interested in learning - only in dominating.
3
The Democrats need to go long with all eight of these counts of impeachment or every future President will assume and presume that failure to be the new definition of their Article II executive powers as President of the United States.
Along with not being a violation of their solemn sworn oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of our republic.
1
When video clips of “MAGA” rallies are shown, notice how many minors are among the cheering assemblage. Presumably these children were brought by their parents, and obviously they are absorbing some important lessons such as how to lie and get away with it, how to ignore science and history, how to break the law if you don’t like it, how to belittle anyone who doesn’t agree with you, how to turn friends into enemies, and how to brag about it all until the fans are hysterical with joy. The continual encouragement and glorification of dishonesty and ignorance may not be impeachable offenses, but those poisonous themes are laced through virtually everything this toxic sham of a president does and says. Impeachment is too good for him, but right now that’s all there is. Next year there will be more — if thinking people care enough to make it happen.
2
Whatever, narrow or broad, I like John Dean's recommendation that the impeachment itself be held, not sent to the Senate, for several months. Let Putin's pal swing in the wind for awhile.
1
All of your arguments make complete sense but do you really think this will reverberate with his diehard fans, and do you really think more charges will change the minds of those scoundrels in the GOP who should also be impeached?
If anything the more they throw at him the more they’ll all dig in and call it a conspiracy.
“ A longer process, with more attention on his misdeeds, seems unlikely to help Trump’s approval rating.”
The House committees are struggling with impeachment
rhetoric, but Trump's corruption is so broad and all pervasive that it misshapes the very fabric of justice in this country. any one of these articles presented by Mr. Leonhardt would disqualify a former president from holding office and the evidence both in the Mueller Report and our current hearings is so strong that it is undeniable. In fact even republicans acknowledge this as they ignore evidence and attack those who present the evidence and in this case trash the names of people whose reputations have been beyond reproach for their entire lives something that Trump can not claim except in the deepest depths of his lying and obfuscations. The real question becomes now whether our system of government is so compromised that it is now beyond redemption. Has Putin finally beaten the vaunted US of A?
Mr. Leonhardt, thank you. Your well-written ep-ed is the most heartening assessment of the impeachment controversy I’ve read in some time.
I look forward to Trump’s pathetic defense of his indefensible corrupt behavior, on multiple counts of each of the eight charges you outlined.
As a senior citizen, born during the Truman administration, I never imagined it possible that a man of Donald Trump’s low character could become our president. The past three years have been a nightmare.
Your article brings the end if the Trump tragedy a bit closer, a bit more into focus.
Thanks again.
2
Ok. Needed that. Thank you. The volume and vitriol of the everyday gaslighting and dishonesty are overwhelming. My decency and democracy circuits are fried. 8 counts of impeachment, each with one or more subsidiary charges: a conservative list, all having precedence in the Nixon and Clinton impeachments, political tactics aside, nothing to do with policy. I made a copy for my own records. Our eyes have not deceived us. Unbelievable.
Obstruction of justice: Multiple counts pertaining to the Mueller investigation and Ukraine.
Contempt of Congress: He did not cooperate with Mueller. He has not cooperated on Ukraine.
Abuse of power: Extorting Ukraine into interering in our elections.
Impairing the administration of justice: Abuse of power involving the corrupt use of the direct investigatory powers of the federal government
Acceptance of emoluments: Many counts.
Corruption of elections: Unindicted co-conspirator in campaign finance law felonies.
Abuse of pardons: Multiple counts.
Conduct grossly incompatible with the presidency: Multiuple counts.
1
And this is what we have gleaned from a WH that has completely stonewalled ALL oversight. It will eventually come out. One can only imagine what is hiding in Trump's tax records apart from his apparent two sets of books....one for the IRS, the other for loan applications....already seen in several instances.
And keeping all calls with Putin, Saudi Arabia, Turkey hidden from everyone.....funny, he wants to build in all those countries.
And the military. Using them to build a wall when there is no real emergency, and tacitly saying we are now a mercenary force (sending them to Saudi Arabia....because they will pay the costs.)
Historically, the "mob" has found that suborning a jury, AKA in this case the Senate, the easiest path to escape unfavorable consequences in a "jury" trial. Looks like this path is being counted on by the "extremely stable genius".
Surely undermining national security and international defense alliances would be worth an additional indictment— in the imaginary Congress willing to get at all the other truths you list.
How about wanton destruction of the earth to enrich his oil/coal company cronies?
How about wanton destruction of our economy by making the rich, richer, the poor, poorer and driving up the national debt to eventually bankrupt the country?
How about total lack of morals ?
How about potential destruction of our democracy ?
How about .....
1
“ 8. Conduct grossly incompatible with the presidency.“
This one combines them all. Republicans that don’t see how true this is, just aren’t looking.
2
Indeed, it is important to clearly spell out the nature and full extent of DJT's misconduct. Each count of articles of impeachment amounts to a separate example of behavior which, by itself, constitutes a violation of his oath of office and ample cause for removal from office.
I want every craven GOP Senator & US Rep. to have to explain to the nation exactly why they are choosing to overlook each and every one of his unprecedented assaults on the Constitution and the rule of law. Every vote to shield DJT from accountability for his gross misconduct should stand as proof of a disregard for the welfare of this nation. Putting party over country must be the signature of every GOP Senator and US Rep.
1
I think they ought to add perjury, false swearing. The precedent was set during Clinton's impeachment. At the inauguration Trump swore to defend the Constitution, but we now know that he had no intention of even reading it. The proof? When questioned by journalists about the emoluments clause this year, Trump had no idea what they were talking about and even referred to your "your phony emoluments clause". You'd think any president with an ounce of intelligence would at least read the part of the Constitution describing his on office.
And although I don't know how it would be classified under the law, I would think that Trump's shutting down of the country for weeks a year ago as a terror tactic should be impeachable. We're just lucky that the country was resilient enough to survive; it could have permanently cripple the nation.
I'm sure there are other offenses..
Dear David Leonhardt, I hope you will contact every single person whom you know who may have influence with members of the Judiciary Committee and send them this list. I hope you will ask people you know, if THEY have influence that the people you know may not have, and ask THEM to send this list to members of the Judiciary Committee. It boggles the mind that the committee may write impeachment articles that neglect some of the president's most egregious, disgraceful, dangerous behavior.
This doesn't have to be that complicated.
If you had an employee, and he lied to you, you would fire him.
If you had an employee and he caused consternation and divisiveness in the work place, you'd fire him.
If you had an employee and he secretly conspired with your competitors, you'd fire him.
If you had an employee and he told a customer that the product he desired would not be delivered unless he did the employee a favor, you'd fire him.
If you had an employee and he was making money on the side while he was on your payroll, you'd fire him.
You would fire such an employee because his conduct would ruin your company.
Trump works for you. He has done all of these things, and his conduct will ruin our country. Fire him.
1
And all 8 pale in comparison to the 9th - withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accords and doing absolutely nothing about climate change. If you need a label, try - A Reckless Disregard for Humanity.
This list is a good start, better than those trying to truncate the proceeding. The White House has demanded truncation, a compelling argument against doing so. It's like a Chicago gangster arguing against going after the tax returns.
Oh those financial records ... what might they disclose that the W.H. is so intent on covering up.
Let the investigation begin.
I commend the readers here who have made many excellent further suggestions. Members of Congress, please take heed.
Agreed, probably not all inclusive but well written.
However, it doesn't matter if democrats think he is the most corrupt president in American history by far, if the a majority of Americans especially in swing states do not agree.
Lincoln taught us that lessen. He saved the union first, before ending slavery because without the former, he could not get the latter. In other words sometimes you have to put up with evil for a short time in other to eliminate it.
If a majority of Americans in swing states do not agree with impeachment, don't. It doesn't matter if the House is morally, legally right if you give the ego maniac serial criminal demagogue Trump another term.
Better to get rid of him in the election in 2020.
1
This would at least be intellectually coherent, as opposed to the current “Impeachment Lite.” But it's not going to happen.
Well done! However, "Conduct grossly incompatible" is too weak a characterization of his behavior and actions.
1
The American people need to know the breadth and scope of this president's misdeeds and downright lawlessness. Take time to gather more evidence. So long as the evidence hasn't become overwhelming, there won't be enough shift in public opinion and erosion of his base to force Republican senators to vote to remove. The minute he were to be exonerated by the Senate, it becomes a political windfall and helps his reelection. KEEP PILING UP THE EVIDENCE!!!
The gross, astonishing, unrelenting, shameful misconduct calls for the most thorough and broad approach to impeachment. The response must match to scope of the misconduct, whatever that may require. This president is everything we work so hard to teach our children NOT to be: he lies, cheats to benefit himself (his tax returns) and cheats others (Trump University), breaks the law repeatedly, bullies, name calls, is cruel to children and families which has resulted in the death of some, steals (has not paid people he has employed), corruptly profits (Trump Hotels), committed adultry, threatens others, covets women including his own daughter, and more. Our children are watching and listening. The president's own children have learned well and profit at the expense of others (hundreds of thousands of RNC dollars spent to purchase the newly published book) and all of Ivanka's Chinese trademarks. For the sake of our country, the impeachment response MUST match the scope of the misconduct and in that process teach our children about our Constitution, accountability, right and wrong, and the goodness and badness of human character and behavior.
Perhaps there is a middle ground for the Democrats: focus on Ukraine (2019) but show for each count where President Trump’ pattern of behaviour has been essentially the same throughout his tenure. That way they can maintain a simple view, but underscore that this is only the latest version of the same set of abuses of power. Thus the reason for impeachment and removal is not “one phone call” but the expectation that Trump will just keep committing such acts again and again.
What I remember about the end of the Nixon presidency is that Watergate was only one in a series of abuses (the milk fund scandal, the “enemies list”, lying about the war, and several others). Like Trump, Nixon had an overall executive approach to his presidency built in part on such abuses of power. By focusing on Watergate, Congress eventually did the right thing then. Perhaps that history should should provide context for the current impeachment process. If one president can have articles of impeachment drawn up for directing the use of a “black-bag” team to search for material to use as leverage against the other party during an election (and then trying to cover it up), then why can’t the current president be impeached for pressuring a foreign power for very much the same thing (and again trying to cover it up)?
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@Now Senior Enough For Discounts
"then why can’t the current president be impeached for pressuring a foreign power for very much the same thing (and again trying to cover it up)?
Because the republicans condone an support that behavior?
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@Now Senior Enough For Discounts
Keeping it "simple" by focusing on Ukraine subverts the oath of office that members of Congress take to "protect and defend the Constitution." Members are well aware of the impeachable crimes of Trump. Failing to report them to We the People in articles of impeachment is a gross miscarriage of justice and of congressional oaths.
Besides, as Leonhardt points out, the simple way has had no effect on approval of Trump's transgressions. A bit more heft in the "reasons why" can only help in swaying opinions for the more honest approach in drafting articles of impeachment.
Trump lovers will love him to the depths of his cesspool, as they always have. It is the middle electorate that needs to evolve. The Ukraine so-called "perfect...transcript" is apparently not enough for them.
Throw the book at the Crook of the Executive branch. Open some eyes that are still blind to the range of dangers and crimes of Trump. Do We the People "a favor."
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@Now Senior Enough For Discounts: I don't agree. There is no honest "Middle Ground." Would you take the middle ground if the President was a Democrat? How about the middle ground when a mass murdered killed 20 people? Would you be advocating that he be charged with ony 10 murders? What next? The "Everybody does it but I got caught" defense?
When it comes to upholding the Constitution of the United States of America, there can be no middle ground.
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Mr. Leonhardt just gave us a pretty stunning admission, to wit: "...I also excluded all areas of policy, even the forcible separation of children from their parents, and odious personal behavior, like Trump’s racism, that doesn’t violate the Constitution."
Racism is not a violation of the Constitution. I agree. And it is a very good reason to not admire that document, let alone those god-like founders, many of whom were slave-holders.
There needs to be rules and morality in any society, don't get me wrong. But all the enlightened people who swoon over the US Constitution like it came from a burning bush need to recognize the simple fact that the main thing the US Constitution does is institutionalize the right of individuals to own property. That property once included human beings. And contrary to what so many scholars have asserted (including a former professor of constitutional law who became President of the US), it was not the Constitution that facilitated the ending of slavery in this country. I took a civil war.
@Tom "It took a civil war" - sorry for the typo.
A clear and cogent summary of the case against Trump. This should be required reading for every member of Congress.
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We all are endangered by Trump’s antics. Leonhard doesn’t mention Trump’s unfitness based on mental illness—sociopathy—that has worked well for Trump in business—ripping off other sociopaths—but as US president, not so much. It suggests requiring an annual physical for presidents to include evaluating their mental health. What currently passes as political philosophy would be seen as a dangerous and possibly contagious anti-social condition that infects those susceptible to megalomania and violence toward humanity and nature. Once removed, Trump should be provided treatment and permanently denied a microphone.
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Thanks to David Leonhardt for developing this thorough list with the help of Constitutional scholars. In light of Trump's extraordinary assault on the truth, and his ability to drag much of the nation into his fantasy of his innocence, I believe the House of Representatives needs a new, 21st-century approach to its impeachment proceedings. They must commission a video showing Trump's relevant lies, many of which have been caught on camera, and the admissions that he and other officials (such as his press secretary) have made without realizing they were incriminating themselves (because they don't even know right from wrong, or understand the office of president. And, contrary to Republican talking points, a president who doesn't know right from wrong, US law, or the role of the president, is extremely dangerous and must be removed.)
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I agree with the author in every way. Put it all on the table and let the Senate try to defend him on each accusation.
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I don't know where this fits in but 'Helsinki' should be added to the list. Trump had a one on one with Putin for over 2 hours and to this day, no one knows what was discussed. As POTUS, there is absolutely no excuse for this conversation not to be know by our government. The Secretary of State, Pentagon, NSA, all the intelligence agencies, etc. should have a clear readout of that meeting. There is NO excuse for Trump to keep what transpired private. Was he not working on OUR behalf?
Why has everyone forgotten this?
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In my 28 years with the U. S. Department of Justice as a lowly Criminal Investigator, Senior Deputy U. S. Marshal, I closely observed many a prosecution of ongoing criminal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) cases while protecting witnesses. IMHO but for the fact Donald J. Trump is POTUS, he would have a stack of charges to face ... along with many of his enablers. (By the way, back in the day, I had great respect for U.S. Attorney Giuliani at the S/NY. Now, not so much.) Now I fear a DoJ memo rather than law, and the current U. S. Attorney General Barr has prevented the normal course of justice. Lordy, I hope the Congress follows the Constitution to save the Republic. Thank you David Leonhardt for your clear article on Impeachment.
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@Unaffiliated Voter In my humble opinion, I've often thought that RICO does apply to Trump's conduct, that RICO activities have transpired over many years of his national and international business dealings to include money laundering, bankruptcy financing and the purchasing of subsequent holdings with extraordinary terms. That he has been cultivated by the Russians over decades. I believe his refusal to submit his tax filings is key evidence to this suspicion I hold and the larger danger it represents. That his conduct additionally substantiates many peoples belief that he is beholding to Russian Oligarchs and thus Putin. All roads lead to Russia and his tax filings are the map, paved with Russian currency. Absent his compliance to release his filings, he is and remains a clear, present and imminent danger to our liberties. We deserve to know if President Trump adheres to the laws of this country, and where his loyalties are placed.
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@Unaffiliated Voter
Thank you for your service. It is appreciated.
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@Unaffiliated Voter: James Comey was prone to say "Lordy". I think his stunt with Anthony Weiner's computer is the most underinvestigated corner of Rudy Giuliani's opposition assassination operation.
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Not enough attention is being paid ~ nor perhaps will it ever be ~ to disabling those stereotypes who (1) voted for Trump (2) put money and power behind him to get elected. Likewise, we citizens must come clean and demand laws that prohibit anyone with the proven historic larceny and bankruptcies of Trump from being allowed to run for our highest office in the first place.
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8. Conduct grossly incompatible with the presidency.
How many of us think of the presidency as we did even during the most recent Bush administrations? If we are being honest, I bet it is many, including myself. My own trust in the presidency, the White House, and indeed, our partisan political system has diminished significantly. My guess is future presidents will continue to push the boundaries of presidential power, all thanks to the current disrespector of the Oval Office.
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The Republicans will not challenge the facts beyond trying to trivialize what Trump has and continues to do, and to demonize those who accuse him of abuse of power. It does look like Republicans will not be swayed from supporting him unconditionally. So politically they are supporting Trump without regard for what he does as long as what he gives them what they want that the other half or more of the citizens have not. That is remarkable in countries where liberal democracy under a government of law has not collapsed into autocratic rule.
What we see is about half of our citizens are no longer willing to trust democratic institutions to serve their interests and are relying upon a charismatic leader to assert their rights over and against the rest of the citizens in the country. Our system is now as broken as it was in the 1850’s over slavery.
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"And we and the media would have played along". The media helped Trump with constant coveraege and sound bites. If the impeachment proceedings should be kept simple so that they are easily understood by most people, then the media should
understand the impact of excessive coverage. I refer to rallies in particular, and constant referance to his campaign against Hillary emails while we are fully aware that he and his representatives use unsecured lines of communication. While all roads lead to Putin, all attention leads to the media.
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@jdoe212
I agree 100%. The media’s priorities are profit driven. Conflict is what the media wants. It will not go away until the public detaches and finds another way for getting the truth.
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I for one would like to see Trump physically removed from office right now for all the world to see. However, I tend to side with the others who believe that rushing this will have the inevitable outcome of no impeachment. The Dems should let this whole thing 'stew' a while because a lot of things could happen between now and next November. Perhaps some Senate GOP members could be swayed. Or Trump could, and likely will, commit even more crimes that could be added to this list, or he could even become totally unstable in his behavior which would could then make the 25th Amendment a reality. Another scenario would be that he might become so stressed over this that he would voluntarily resign. In essence, we should just 'hang this sword' over his head for a while and keep the pressure on...the outcome could become favorable.
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The Senate is controlled by the man who promised that he would do all in his power to see that Obama was a one term President. For the first time in our history, Republicans blocked any efforts to undertake public projects which would hasten an economic recovery, when our infrastructure was so in need of investment that bridges were collapsing. Now they are determined to support Trump unconditionally no matter what he does that violates his oath of office because he enjoys the support of Republican voters.
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Everyone knows the impeachment process is fundamentally a political process, not a legal process, though lawyers and legal documents are involved. The reticence of the Democrat-led House to dig into all aspects of presidential impropriety is part of this. Even though they will not (never?) receive a Republican vote, either in the House or in the voting population at large, they are still afraid of political consequences. Speaker Pelosi’ leadership in this matter has seen to that.
I would love to have her change her mind, make this a full-blown investigation, and let the chips flow over to the Republican (McConnell?)-led Senate without considering the fore-ordained outcome at their “trial.” She won’t because above all, she is a political animal and has been for a very long time.
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@MichiganMichael
You have to admit one practical aspect of Pelosi's strategy. If the Republicans are going to do a sham exoneration no matter what is sent to them, it makes sense to spend the least amount of time and effort that is required to get the job done vs wasting time attempting to deliver a perfect product to the Senate. The problem with taking the high road is that it doesn't let you take actions solely for your own benefit. If Pelosi judges that a more thorough investigation only has political benefits, she's morally bound not to pursue that path. My observation is that most people who question Pelosi's judgement eventually end up with increased respect.
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