John,
Former President Donald Trump was impeached—the first time—for illegally withholding military aid from Ukraine, after he tried to extort Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy into announcing an investigation intended to damage his then-opponent Joe Biden.
Using your official power in an attempt to extort a foreign leader to help you politically is about the most blatant abuse of power imaginable. In fact, his actions weren’t just worthy of impeachment: several of his actions connected to his attempts to extort Zelenskyy were likely crimes.
Of course, Trump was let off the hook—every Republican Senator except Mitt Romney voted against convicting him and removing him from office.
That lack of accountability is, quite frankly, dangerous. There is, of course, not a direct line from Trump’s abuse of power and attempts to extort Zelenskyy to the war in Ukraine. But it would be a mistake to think that breakdowns in the rule of law, Trump dodging accountability for likely criminal behavior, delaying military aid to a democracy facing down an authoritarian enemy, and Trump cheering on Putin’s attacks on democracy aren’t connected—and aren’t dangerous for democracy in the United States, in Ukraine, and around the world.
Trump was impeached a second time for his incitement of the January 6th insurrection—itself a violent attack on our democracy. But he was let off the hook, again.
And now he’s made it clear that he sides with Putin’s attacks on Ukraine, calling it “genius.” This is a man who disdains democracy, who will stop at nothing in his pursuit of power, and who openly cheers on a violent autocrat.
The window for accountability will not last forever. Trump must be fully investigated for the multiple crimes he likely committed while in office and campaigning for the presidency and prosecuted if the facts support it. Anything less is letting attacks on our democracy go unanswered. We cannot stand for that.
Thank you,
Noah Bookbinder
President, CREW
