Jan. 22, 2020
Permission to republish original opeds and cartoons granted.
Without any crimes cited, the impeachment of President Trump is doomed to failure in the Senate
The two articles
of impeachment against President Donald Trump — abuse of power and obstruction
of Congress — are not criminal violations under either federal or state
criminal codes, nor are they bribery or treason. Yet, Article II, Section 4 of
the Federal Constitution says that the President can only be removed for a
crime: “The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United
States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of,
Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.” In fact, the Framers
anticipated that a President, upon removal, would then be subject to
prosecution for the crimes that he was removed from office for, under Article
I, Section 3 of the Constitution, “the convicted party shall… be liable and
subject to indictment, trial, judgment, and punishment, according to the law.” Having
failed that most basic obligation to charge the President with a crime in order
to have him removed, House Democrats should not be surprised that they face an
uphill battle in the Republican-controlled Senate, which is already skeptical
of the charges that allege President Trump abused his power when he temporarily
paused military assistance to Ukraine while he considered requesting a
rescission of the funding from Congress, namely because the President has the
power to consider and request such a rescission, and that otherwise, under
Article, the President is in charge of foreign policy.
Video: Trump admin. restores local control over zoning, ends HUD rule to condition funds on zoning changes
Because Congress
overwhelmingly acted on a bipartisan basis to prevent federal overreach, the Department
of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in the Trump administration has removed
requirements to make changes to local zoning according to income and racial
guidelines in order to qualify for federally funded community development block
grants.
Tens of thousands of gun rights supporters converge on Virginia State Capitol, peace ensues
In spite of the
cold weather, the rally drew tens of thousands of attendees. Of course, Virginians
from all across the Commonwealth – including some who live far from the capital
and got on the road in the wee hours of the morning – attended. The event also
drew Second Amendment supporters from states hundreds of miles away. The rally
took place nearly without a hitch. There was no violence. Once again, the
liberal media and the racist governor have beclowned themselves with their
attempts to smear the Right. Gun owners showed up in Richmond in large numbers
and demonstrated that an armed society is a polite society. There was no need
for the governor to waste taxpayers’ money on his show of force. With their
hopes of violence at the rally dashed, the Left will now have to try to find
another excuse for their gun-grabbing agenda.
Video: Trump counsel Pat Cippolone makes first statement on impeachment, absolutely nukes Dems
“It was a rally for gun rights, but the media were filled with gun wrongs. Gun-rights supporters had organized a big rally in Richmond, Virginia, to protest several gun-control bills being pushed by the Democrat-controlled legislature. Tens of thousands rallied peacefully and the news media treated it like it was the start of the second civil war or at least another violent confrontation like Charlottesville.”
Without any crimes cited, the impeachment of President Trump is doomed to failure in the Senate
By Robert Romano
“House Democrats settled on two flimsy Articles of Impeachment that allege no crime or violation of law whatsoever—much less “high Crimes and Misdemeanors,” as required by the Constitution… [T]he terminology of “high Crimes and Misdemeanors” makes clear that an impeachable offense must be a violation of established law. The Impeachment Clause did not confer upon Congress a roving license to make up new standards of conduct for government officials and to permit removal from office merely on a conclusion that conduct was “bad” if there was not an existing law that it violated.”
That is part of the defendant’s brief for President Donald Trump for his impeachment trial in the Senate, noting the fact that the two articles of impeachment against the President — abuse of power and obstruction of Congress — are not criminal violations under either federal or state criminal codes, nor are they bribery or treason.
Yet, Article II, Section 4 of the Federal Constitution says that the President can only be removed for a crime: “The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”
In fact, the Framers anticipated that a President, upon removal, would then be subject to prosecution for the crimes that he was removed from office for, under Article I, Section 3 of the Constitution, “the convicted party shall… be liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgment, and punishment, according to the law.”
This is further underscored in the Federalist No. 69 by Alexander Hamilton noting that Presidents can only be removed for crimes, “The President of the United States would be liable to be impeached, tried, and, upon conviction of treason, bribery, or other high crimes or misdemeanors, removed from office; and would afterwards be liable to prosecution and punishment in the ordinary course of law.”
Having failed that most basic obligation to charge the President with a crime in order to have him removed, House Democrats should not be surprised that they face an uphill battle in the Republican-controlled Senate, which is already skeptical of the charges that allege President Trump abused his power when he temporarily paused military assistance to Ukraine while he considered requesting a rescission of the funding from Congress, namely because the President has the power to consider and request such a rescission, and that otherwise, under Article, the President is in charge of foreign policy.
Under 2 U.S.C. Section 684 or 2 U.S.C. Section 683, the Impoundment Control Act, the President has the power to propose deferring funds on a temporary basis or rescinding them altogether, subject to Congressional approval.
There is also the Office of Management and Budget’s authority under 31 U.S.C. 1512 to conduct apportionments, which the White House cited as authority for the three-day spending freeze of foreign aid in August in its letter to the Department of State and USAID. The letter stated, “All previously apportioned unobligated resources in the [Treasury Appropriation Fund Symbols] shall be unavailable for obligation until three business days after the Office of Management and Budget receives an accounting from your agencies of the current outstanding unobligated resources…”
By Sept. 11, the reviews were completed by State and Defense, and the funds were released.
On the broad constitutional question of administering foreign policy, if the President believed that the military assistance to Ukraine risked a wider regional war or a global one involving the U.S. and Russia he did not wish to provoke — a real possibility as Moscow backs Ukrainian separatists in Crimea and other eastern provinces — he would be wise to consult with his Cabinet, Ukrainian and even Russian leaders first to ensure that such funding does not serve as a spark for a larger powder keg.
Or, in the case of the new administration in Ukraine — one of the most corrupt governments in the world — under President Volodymyr Zelensky, to ascertain if leaders in Ukraine are simply too corrupt to give funds to.
Not only are these considerations not crimes, they are things the President expressly has the power to do under Article II of the Constitution’s sole vesting of executive power in the President. Whether they were good ideas or not, or why they were being considered, is not relevant to the constitutional discharge of the President’s duties.
Which is why a crime is needed in order for a President to be removed from office. Without one, an impeachment cannot be held to be valid, and therefore, once the House and the President’s legal teams have had the opportunity to present their cases, the Senate should move for a swift dismissal of the charges and acquittal.
Robert Romano is the Vice President of Public Policy at Americans for Limited Government.
Video: Trump admin. restores local control over zoning, ends HUD rule to condition funds on zoning changes
To view online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uf3Nras7WY4
Tens of thousands of gun rights supporters converge on Virginia State Capitol, peace ensues
By Richard McCarty
The liberal media and their favorite racist, Gov. Ralph Northam (D-VA), must be bitterly disappointed. (For those who don’t follow Virginia politics, the governor admitted to wearing blackface but claims to have no idea why he had the nickname “Coonman” in college; unfortunately, this information was successfully hidden from voters until well after the 2017 election.) They portrayed a Second Amendment event in Richmond, Virginia’s capital, as being a gathering of potentially violent radicals. But the Left’s narrative was wrong once again: the rally was attended by law-abiding citizens, and it was peaceful.
Since Democrats seized control of the state legislature, they have passed several anti-gun bills, including a “red flag” bill, a bill to limit handgun purchases, a bill to expand background checks, a ban on guns at the Capitol, and a bill allowing localities to further infringe upon gun owners’ rights. Two other anti-gun bills were also proposed: a bill banning “assault” weapons, silencers, and high-capacity magazines and a spiteful bill designed to close the National Rifle Association’s gun range at its headquarters in Northern Virginia. The Democrats’ anti-gun agenda has sparked quite a backlash across the Commonwealth and scores of localities have recently declared themselves to be Second Amendment sanctuaries.
To advance his narrative and anger gun rights advocates, the governor pulled out all the stops to gin up fear over the rally – declaring a temporary state of emergency, putting up a fence all around the State Capitol to limit admittance, temporarily banning guns on Capitol grounds, bringing in State Troopers and a SWAT vehicle to augment the Capitol Police, having a police helicopter hover overhead for hours, and blocking streets with dump trucks. Also spotted near the Capitol were ambulances from a nearby county as well as two mass casualty buses: one from a neighboring county and another from a city 60 miles away. In the end, all of the attempts to provoke rallygoers into violence failed.
This successful event was organized by the Virginia Citizens Defense League. Every year, the gun rights organization puts together a Lobby Day on Martin Luther Day when many people have the day off. (The regular sessions of Virginia’s legislature only last 45-60 days a year so time is short between when bills are introduced and when they are voted upon.) Were Democrats not bent on assaulting Virginians’ Constitutional rights, this year’s Lobby Day would likely have been yet another low-profile event.
In spite of the cold weather, the rally drew tens of thousands of attendees. Of course, Virginians from all across the Commonwealth – including some who live far from the capital and got on the road in the wee hours of the morning – attended. The event also drew Second Amendment supporters from states hundreds of miles away. Fortunately, the Left’s lie that the event was a white nationalist rally did not prevent minorities who support the Second Amendment from attending. Rallygoers flew American flags, Colonial Era flags, Trump flags, and even a Hong Kong flag.
The rally took place nearly without a hitch. There was no violence, and out of the many attendees, only one was arrested – after two warnings – for wearing a bandanna in violation of the state’s anti-mask law (which was put in place to fight the Ku Klux Klan). As is typical with conservative events, the rally area was not trashed. In fact, volunteers were walking around and picking up trash as the event wound down.
Once again, the liberal media and the racist governor have beclowned themselves with their attempts to smear the Right. Gun owners showed up in Richmond in large numbers and demonstrated that an armed society is a polite society. There was no need for the governor to waste taxpayers’ money on his show of force. With their hopes of violence at the rally dashed, the Left will now have to try to find another excuse for their gun-grabbing agenda.
Richard McCarty is the Research Director at Americans for Limited Government Foundation.
ALG Editor’s Note: In the following featured video, White House Counsel Pat Cippolone makes the case against removing President Donald Trump from office:
Trump counsel Pat Cippolone makes first statement on impeachment, absolutely nukes Dems
