CNN: Chronicling Trump's 10 worst abuses of power
As the Senate gets set to try Trump's 2nd impeachment, CNN is highlighting
the stakes if Trump is ever again allowed to hold federal office by
compiling his 10 worst abuses of power.
The worst of the worst? Subverting the 2020 election and inciting an
insurrection.
[ [link removed] ]Join thousands who have signed the Senate petition to CONVICT Trump and
disqualify him from ever again holding federal office.
And, [ [link removed] ]chip in to help build pressure in Congress to convict Trump and to
hold Republican traitors accountable who voted to overturn our democratic
election -- including our new ad campaign we're preparing to launch in
Texas and Missouri, right in Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley's backyards.
To put together the list, CNN conducted interviews with a group of 16
"politically diverse constitutional scholars, presidential historians, and
experts on democratic institutions." WARNING -- reading this may be like
remembering a nightmare!
#1: Subverting the 2020 election
"Nothing remotely compares to this. His actions since the election have
threatened the very existence of our constitutional democracy. This looms
large in the history of not just this administration, but the history of
America. This is what history will remember most harshly."
"Trump has put more pressure on the integrity of the election process than
any individual in modern American history. There has never been anything
on this scale."
#2: Inciting an insurrection
"This in and of itself puts Trump in the lowest circle of hell among
America's presidents."
#3: Abusing the bully pulpit
"Trump abused the bully pulpit to intimidate witnesses, literally bully
people and spread disinformation. It's never been done on the scale that
he did it."
"The amount of lies that came out of this presidency was corrosive to our
political culture. In theory, you could pass new laws to address many of
the norm violations we saw under Trump. But earning back people's trust is
much harder to do."
#4: Politicizing the Justice Department
"It's extremely important for the integrity of American democracy that the
president cannot manipulate law enforcement for partisan, political,
self-interested preferences. Trump constantly agitated to eliminate the
boundaries between a President and the DOJ."
[ [link removed] ]Join thousands who have signed the Senate petition to convict Trump and
disqualify him from federal office forever.
And, [ [link removed] ]chip in toward our pressure campaign on Congress to hold Trump and
others accountable.
#5: Obstructing the Mueller investigation
"The offenses in the Mueller report make a powerful and overwhelming case
for obstruction of justice and political corruption...Mueller couldn't get
to the full scope because of the obstruction."
#6: Abusing the pardon power
"He used the pardon as a tool to entrench himself in power and to subvert
the legal system."
"To abuse the pardon power like Trump has, while not unconstitutional, it
is surely impeachable and deserves condemnation."
#7: The Ukraine affair and cover-up
"The problem is the misuse of that power for personal political gain, and
it's clear that's what Trump did. That is impeachable, and this is the big
one that got away."
[ [link removed] ]SIGN THE PETITION: CONVICT Trump and disqualify him from ever again
holding federal office.
And, [ [link removed] ]help hold Trump, Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, and the other Republican
traitors accountable.
#8: Loyalty oaths and personalizing government
"Trump's demand that government actors pledge loyalty to him, as opposed
to the law or to the constitution, is a corruption of the rule of law, and
it's a corruption of government institutions."
"To the extent that a president tries to use his own authority to pressure
executive branch officials to be loyal to him rather than to the law, that
undermines the government on a fundamental level."
#9: Firing whistleblowers and truth-tellers
"These are actions that are within the president's constitutional powers.
But it's still an abuse to use those powers for corrupt personal
purposes."
"The President can fire an ambassador, but Trump fired Gordon Sondland
because Sondland was a whistleblower against him -- and that's an abuse of
power. If you punish someone for exercising their rights, you are
violating those rights."
#10: Profiting off the presidency
"The autocrats that I study, like Orban in Hungry, Erdogan in Turkey and
Bolsonaro in Brazil, they all do this -- they operate in this space where
no law actually prohibits, but soft norms govern. And because there is no
law, it's hard to hold them to account. That's how democracies collapse."
[ [link removed] ]The only way to ensure Trump never again holds office is for the Senate
to convict. Join thousands who have signed the Senate petition to "CONVICT
Trump and disqualify him from ever again holding federal office."
And, [ [link removed] ]chip in to help build pressure in Congress to convict Trump and to
expel Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, and the other Republican traitors who voted
to overturn our democratic election for him.
Thanks for being a bold progressive.
-- The PCCC Elections Team ([ [link removed] ]@BoldProgressive)
Paid for by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee PAC (www.BoldProgressives.org) and not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. Contributions to the PCCC are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes.
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