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John,
This month, we reached a critical milestone: over half of the Democrats in the House now support opening an impeachment inquiry. I think you know I agree, but do you know why?
Trust me, I’ve heard the partisan talking points when it comes to impeaching Trump. Will it help Trump win in 2020? Will it hurt Democrats’ chances of taking back the Senate and holding their majority in the House? Would a trial even be worth it in a Republican-controlled Senate?
But we’re asking the wrong questions. We need to ignore the distractions and ask ourselves: is the Constitution of the United States important enough to us to uphold? Does the rule of law matter to us as a nation? Should we do everything in our power to protect our democracy?
I think those questions are pretty easy to answer, John. Congress must open an impeachment inquiry against Trump — even if it goes nowhere, even if it’s unpopular, even if it’s politically risky — because it’s about upholding our Constitution.
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Every child in America is supposed to learn about the Constitution’s basic principles of separation of powers and checks and balances. But Trump is throwing those Democratic norms out the window.
By doing whatever he could to stop an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, Trump told America it’s OK for a president to obstruct justice.
Goodbye, law.
By outright refusing to release his tax returns to Congress, Trump ignores their constitutional authority to hold him accountable. He’s lying to America and saying that Congress is a subordinate branch of government rather than a co-equal branch.
Forget separation of powers.
By spending money on his wall that Congress explicitly refused to authorize, Trump is saying that Congress no longer has any constitutional authority over spending.
Farewell, checks and balances.
The core purpose of the Constitution is to prevent tyranny. The Framers of the Constitution envisioned three separate branches of government designed to limit the powers of the other two.
The Framers anticipated the possibility of a Donald Trump and made sure that Congress would have a way to limit the rule of an unhinged, undemocratic, and lawless president.
Article I, Section 2 gives the House of Representatives the “sole Power of Impeachment.”
Article I, Section 3 gives the Senate the “sole Power to try all Impeachments.”
It’s clear that Trump has abused his power and violated the Oval Office. Under these circumstances, the Constitution mandates that the House undertake an impeachment inquiry and present evidence to the Senate.
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Thanks for fighting for our country.
Robert Reich
