Friend, I want to thank you for everything you’ve done to get us this far.
Back in July, when Common Cause first called for an impeachment inquiry into President Trump, the conventional wisdom was against us. House leadership didn’t want to conduct an impeachment inquiry, because they feared it would impact their 2020 election prospects.
But you didn’t give up -- and your consistent, powerful advocacy paid off this week as public hearings into Trump’s impeachment began. This couldn’t have happened without you.
Now, millions of Americans are watching as multiple distinguished public servants bravely come forward to describe a dangerous pattern of wrongdoing -- bribery, abuse of power, and obstruction of justice -- by President Trump.
Friend, how the American people respond to this will determine what kind of democracy we leave for our children’s future.
All week, I’ve been hearing from Common Cause members like you who want to know what Common Cause plans to do next. And as one of our most active members, I wanted to get your input -- because we’ll be counting on your engagement and dedication to see it through.
Based on what you know, do you think President Trump should be removed from office?
Click here to instantly record your vote, and if you’d like, tell us why once you've voted:
Impeachment is an extraordinary measure that We the People put in place to remove a president for his dangerous actions. And in our nearly 50-year history, Common Cause hasn’t once called for a sitting U.S. president to be impeached.
But we’re in an unprecedented and sobering moment -- one that goes much further than a single Trump scandal. Here’s why I personally think impeachment is the right thing to do:
Ukraine: President Trump withheld an almost $400 million military aid package to Ukraine to pressure Ukraine’s government into investigating his 2020 election opponent, Joe Biden. [1] That’s bribery, and a flagrant abuse of his power. (In addition, it is illegal for anyone to solicit campaign assistance -- which counts as a “contribution” -- from a foreign national.) [2]
Dereliction of Duty: The Russian government launched a large-scale effort to interfere with the 2016 elections -- through disinformation and hacking. As a candidate, Trump openly welcomed their assistance. [3] And as president, he’s done absolutely nothing to protect us from a future attack and in fact invited further interference, continuing with a pattern of behavior that strikes at the heart of democratic governance.
Obstruction of Justice: Trump went all-out to derail the investigations into Russian interference -- firing FBI Director James Comey and repeatedly attempting to fire or intimidate Special Counsel Robert Mueller. [4] Mueller’s final report detailed ten potential episodes of obstruction of justice. [5] He has also done everything he can to obstruct the House of Representatives’ constitutional right to launch an impeachment inquiry by refusing to comply with document requests and letting White House officials ignore legitimate subpoenas. [6]
Emoluments: The Constitution forbids the president from receiving any “emolument” -- a gift or payment -- from any government, foreign or domestic. Trump has repeatedly violated this by continuing to own and profit from the Trump Organization: diplomats stay at his hotels, foreign firms rent space in Trump Tower, and officials of our own government continue to use his properties at taxpayer expense -- potentially compromising his decision-making as leader of the country. [7]
Hush Money: During the 2016 election, Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen arranged for six-figure “hush money” payments to keep multiple women from coming forward about alleged extramarital affairs with Trump. Cohen, currently serving federal prison time, testified under oath that Trump directed him to do so -- which would be a felony campaign finance violation. [8] We can’t let anyone -- not even the president -- break our laws, then not hold them accountable.
In our view, any of these offenses could be grounds for impeachment on their own. Taken together, they comprise a pattern of brazen, habitual, abuse of power by President Trump. And this pattern of behavior continued, even after the Mueller report was released. The president has shown he is willing to ask a foreign nation to interfere in our election and there is little doubt he will continue this behavior as we head into the 2020 election.
Friend, the possibility of an out-of-control president, acting as if they were totally above the law, is precisely what the impeachment process is designed to address.
If Common Cause, a nonpartisan watchdog that fights daily for a democracy that is of, by, and for the people remains silent in the face of this unprecedented assault on our democratic norms, values, institutions, and laws, then what do we stand for? Our silence would telegraph to future presidents that this kind of conduct is acceptable.
I know this is a big step. Before we move forward, I need to know how many Common Cause members like you are in this fight with us. Can you please take a few moments to let us know where you stand?
Should President Trump be removed from office? Click here to instantly record your vote, and if you’d like, tell us why once you've voted:
We the People have the ultimate power in our democracy -- we always have, and we always will. What we do with it is what matters.
And, if our democratic principles are going to survive for the next generation, it will be because of the actions of concerned Americans like you and me in this moment.
In Common Cause,
Karen Hobert Flynn, President
and the team at Common Cause
[1] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-whistleblower/white-house-acknowledges-strings-attached-in-trump-withholding-ukraine-aid-idUSKBN1WW1BG
[2] https://www.commoncause.org/resource/common-cause-v-trump-ukraine-contribution-solicitation/
[3] https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/13/us/politics/trump-russia-campaign-help.html
[4] https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/04/18/special-counsel-robert-mueller-report-justice-department-release-investigation-trump-russia/3330151002/
[5] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/obstruction-of-justice-10-times-trump-may-have-obstructed-justice-mueller-report/
[6] https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/politics/trump-blocking-congress/
[7] https://www.citizensforethics.org/2000-trump-conflicts-of-interest-counting/
[8] https://www.commoncause.org/resource/common-cause-v-trump-cohen-stormy-daniels/
