This is the smoking gun -- and every American should be appalled. Evidence suggests that Donald Trump colluded with a foreign country, abusing his presidential powers in exchange for information on a political rival to help win an election.
Here’s the surprising part, Friend -- this isn’t coming from the Mueller Report, or MSNBC, or Democrats in Congress. It’s by the White House’s own admission! [1]
In a phone call dated June 25 -- only made public this week -- Trump urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden’s son, after he had frozen aid authorized by Congress. And, ABC News has since reported that Ukranian officials were aware they needed to conduct that investigation in order to get the $391 million aid package. [2]
Remember, this was one of our worst case fears during the Russia scandal -- that the President could be compromised, and abuse the power of their office to help subvert our elections. Now a whistleblower and Trump's own transcript of his conversation with the Ukranian President shows he may have done just that!
That’s not just a gross abuse of power -- it’s against the law. Common Cause immediately filed formal complaints about Trump illegally soliciting foreign campaign contributions with two federal agencies. [3]
But we know by now that we can’t trust the Trump administration to investigate itself. We can only fight back with the persistent -- and powerful -- force of organized citizen action.
Trump’s actions make a mockery of accountability, transparency, and the rule of law. We’ve been putting pressure on Congress for months to start an impeachment inquiry, and this latest scandal has proved to be the tipping point for many members.
But Friend, starting an impeachment inquiry is just the beginning. Trump and his allies are frantically spinning -- and you can bet they’ll use every dirty trick in the book in their crusade against legitimate oversight.
The only possible response is to mobilize millions of Americans -- united in defense of the principles we believe in. When lawmakers visit their districts next month, we’ll be there to show that voters expect them to represent the people -- not Donald Trump.
Common Cause has always held power accountable -- but this may be the highest-stakes fight in our entire 50 year history. We were on the front lines during Watergate -- so we know how monumental an effort this will be. But our democracy is worth fighting for, and I simply can’t imagine doing anything less.
That’s why I’m asking you and every other Common Cause member to chip in to our Rule of Law Emergency Fund -- we simply can’t do this without you. Will you step up today?
There’s still important work ahead of us -- but I’m simply amazed about how far we’ve already come. Together, we spoke out loudly and clearly, to demand that Congress fulfill its constitutional duty, and hold the executive branch accountable.
We’ll be counting on your help to keep the pressure on -- and ask every member of Congress: will you side with this president who ignores our democratic norms, institutions, and laws? Or will you do your constitutional duty and defend the values that unite us as Americans?
Your action in the coming days will make all the difference.
In common cause,
Karen Hobert Flynn, President
and the team at Common Cause
[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/25/us/politics/ukraine-transcript-trump.html
[2] https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/ukrainians-understood-biden-probe-condition-trump-zelensky-phone/story?id=65863043
[3] https://www.commoncause.org/press-release/doj-fec-complaints-filed-against-president-trump-rudy-giuliani-and-others-for-illegal-solicitation-of-contribution-from-ukrainian-president/
