“If the president does something dastardly, the impeachment process is available.” Brett Kavanaugh

By Glen Reaux

After a long and bitter battle with Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, members of the Democratic Party leadership have broken ranks with Pelosi and started an impeachment inquiry into so-called president Trump.  While the House of Representatives was out on its summer break, 29 Democrats joined the growing ranks of Jerry Nadler, AOC and Representative Al Green of Houston bringing the total of Democrats calling for an impeachment inquiry to 134 of the 235 members of the caucus, roughly 57%.  Now, in spite of Nancy Pelosi’s attempts to quell the call for Trump’s head on a platter, under the leadership of Jerry Nadler and Representative Ben Ray Luja’n “Despite Polls Democrats Make Big Moves Toward Impeachment” of Donald Trump.  Pelosi, possibly out of fear from Trump’s base and certainly fear of the polls has not only fought impeachment but has done everything in her power to quash the very idea.

As evidenced by the above MSNBC and PBS polls, a majority of Americans are opposed to impeaching Donald Trump.  The very politically savvy Pelosi fears the possible backlash from such an action against Trump.  Considering the 2018, midterm, semi-blue wave that gave the Democrats control over the House, one can understand her concerns.  If viewing impeachment only through such a political lens was the only criteria for an impeachment decision, no one could blame her, especially since the Republican-controlled Senate is unlikely to convict their Republican president.  However, despite the quandary presented by polls that don’t support impeachment, partisan politics and any personal fears or feelings that she may harbor against the president, Pelosi has taken an oath of office that binds her to defend the constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic.  There’s no doubt that Trump’s many attacks on the constitution, the press, American citizens, individual members of congress and the Congressional body as a whole prove that he is a domestic enemy of our republic.  For that alone he must be held accountable.  Now that the majority of Democrats in Congress are echoing the wishes of their constituents, despite Pelosi’s fears, many Democrats now feel the time has come to uphold their constitutional responsibility and begin impeachment inquiries.  Thanks to Nadler, Luja’n and Al Green of Houston, Texas, the Democrats have developed a spine and are moving in the right direction.

To be successful, Democrats must not only make an impeachment case against Trump, they must also educate an unsuspecting segment of the American public to just who Trump is and the threats that he poses to our democratic republic.  Considering his steady base of loyal Republicans who will “ride or die” with Trump and strong Democratic support for impeachment, the education process needs only be targeted toward Independents.  Lately, Trump’s support among Independents has started to fall.  In April, when asked what to do about the Mueller investigation, only 14% of independents believed in impeachment. However, a June 2019, Marist/NPR/PBS News Hour poll shows that 17% of Republicans and 23% of independent voters now support impeaching the president ^{1}.  That is a 9% jump in just 2 months which offers proof of the direction in which Democrats need to travel in their education process.  And, according to a 2016 Gallop survey, 42% of the nation’s electorate identify as Independents.

To be successful in educating the public about the “clear and present danger” to our democracy presented by Trump and the crimes that he has committed while he has been in office, the case presented by Democrats must be concise and strike all of the emotional hot buttons that Independents hold dear.  This education process received a big boost on Monday, August 19^th when the fourth highest ranking Democrat in the House jumped onboard the Trump impeachment inquiry bandwagon.  Rep. Ben Ray Luján (N.M.), announced that he changed his mind upon realizing the Russian efforts to interfere in U.S. elections has continued heading into the 2020 election cycle potentially nullifying the will of the people and throwing the nation into chaos.   According to Luja’n; “The Trump presidency is creating grave national security concerns… Not only has he ignored the warnings that our Democracy is being targeted, but he has also actively encouraged Russian interference.”  Luja’n, the Assistant Speaker of the House further stated that Trump“”has failed to act,” making the launch of an impeachment inquiry a necessary step “to uncover the facts for the American people and hold this president accountable.”

Representative Luja’n’s statement is a clear example of two grounds for impeachment that meet the “high crimes and misdemeanors” requirements.  One high crime is dereliction of duty based upon Trump’s failure to act to protect our elections.  The second is treason which is the betrayal of one’s country.  Under Article 3 Section 3, the U.S. Constitution defines treason as:

“Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.”

This definition of treason provided by the constitution is extremely hard to prove in a court of law.  In the case of Donald Trump, since war has not been declared against Russia, it is nearly impossible to prove.  However, an impeachment is not bound by the burdens of proof that constrain our judicial system.  Treasonous activities can be defined in much simpler terms. And, the education process of the American people merely requires a less legal and complicated definition.  According to Webster, treason is:

1 : the offense of attempting by overt acts to overthrow the government of the state to which the offender owes allegiance or to kill or personally injure the sovereign or the sovereign’s family

2 : the betrayal of a trust : treachery

Since Democrats hold public opinion in high regard in their impeachment deliberations, the simplistic or common definition of treason is a strong message that the American public could quickly embrace.  The public messaging of treason committed and ongoing by Donald Trump would go a long way in garnering support from the general public and in particular, Independents for the legal case of impeachment.  It would be very hard for Republican Senators to stand by a president that their constituents consider to be a traitor.  This is a battle they cannot win and none would sacrifice their political careers for.  Republican Senators could not vote against impeaching a treasonous president, even Donald Trump whose approval ratings are the worst in modern history.  There would be no justification to vote against impeachment.

Aside from dereliction of duty and treason, the case for impeachment is exceptionally strong.  Mistakenly, Democrats in the past placed their hopes for impeachment in the Mueller investigation.  Despite its conclusions which detail Trump’s numerous crimes of obstruction-of-justice and tons of evidence supporting a claim of the Trump campaign’s conspiracy with Russian’s to overthrow our election, Trump’s personal lawyer and Attorney General William Barr tainted the report and exonerated Trump in the eyes of many of the American people.  Now the Democrats have the extremely hard task of re-educating the public to the truth of the evidence in the Mueller Report’s 2 volumes and 448 pages that hardly anyone has read.  Instead, they could have based their impeachment hopes on the everyday behavior exhibited by Trump which falls under the category of “high crimes and misdemeanors” which comes from Article III section 4 of the constitution.  In other words, Trump on a daily basis incriminates himself without shame.

Mueller Report

Volume I, Russian Interference in the 2016 presidential election

https://www.dropbox.com/s/syc87tf1btjmnyl/Mueller-Report%20Volume%20I%20Russian%20Collusion.pdf?dl=0

Volume II, obstruction-of-justice

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ua4ws0hfgl85uml/Mueller-Report%20Volume%20II%20Obstruction-of-justice.pdf?dl=0

Under House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerrold Nadler, Democrats are not relying on the Mueller Report which presents a much smarter strategy.  On September 9^th, Nadler unveiled a resolution which will be voted on Thursday, September 12^th.  The 5-page resolution sets the structure by which an impeachment investigation will be conducted and states the fact that impeachment articles are a consideration of the investigation.  The Nadler resolution follows the model of the Nixon impeachment investigation.

Now that the world has been put on notice that Donald Trump is under investigation for impeachable offenses which may lead to an eventual impeachment, the public has to be educated about the case for impeachment.  In the presentation of the case, Democrats have to educate the public about Trump’s crimes in such a way as to garner the public’s confidence that Trump is a criminal, a threat to the security of our nation and that his continued presidency will cause each and every individual American citizen harm.  The case must be factual and more importantly emotionally impactful upon the people that identify as Independents.  They must understand the harm and feel the pain of what Trump has done and the consequences of what he and his administration’s minions such as William Barr and Lindsay Graham will cause in the future.

The term “high crimes and misdemeanors” as used by the founders did not mean more serious crimes.  Moreover, it meant punishable offenses that only apply to people considered to be high persons which include public officials.  These individuals are under special obligations that ordinary persons are not under and commit crimes that could not be committed by ordinary people.  So what are Trump’s “high crimes and misdemeanors?”  Aside from those outlined in the Mueller investigation, here is a brief listing.  Xplicit News would not dare to attempt a complete listing:

1. Perjury – “lying under oath about a material matter” or “violation of an oath”.
2. Violation of the Oath of Office – By Art. II Sec. 1 Cl. 8, the president must swear: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” Trump is bound by this oath in all matters until he leaves office. No additional oath is needed to bind him to tell the truth in anything he says. Any public statement is perjury if it is a lie.  By last estimates, as of August 12, 2019, Trump has perjured himself by telling more than 12,000 lies or misleading statements.  Which means that he lies more than you wash your hands.
3. Violation of the Emoluments Clause – Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause prohibits the president from accepting personal benefits from any foreign government or official. – Every time a foreign official stays at a Trump hotel, or a foreign government approves a new Trump Organization project, or grants a trademark, Trump is committing a crime.
4. Shortly after being sworn into office, the Chinese government gave preliminary approval to 38 trademarks of Trump’s name.
5. In June of 2019, China approved nine Donald Trump trademarks they had previously rejected.
6. Whenever he goes to golf at a Trump property, he funnels taxpayer money into his family business—violating the Domestic Emoluments Clause. Most recently, during a Trip to Vice President Pence during a trip to Ireland housed his entire party and secret service detail at the Trump golf club in Doonbeg Ireland more than 150 miles away from his scheduled meetings.  This violation provided more than $1million in tax payer money to a failing Trump facility.
7. Advocating political and police violence –When Trump refused to condemn neo-Nazis who in 2017 rioted in Charlottesville and murdered a protester, he violated his obligation to protect the citizenry against domestic violence. – At a political rally, Trump encouraged police officers to rough up people they have under arrest violating his constitutional obligation to oversee faithful execution of the laws.
8. Trump sharing of anti-Muslim content on Twitter violated his obligation to uphold equal protection of the laws.
9. These lawless actions represent a pattern of disregard for the president’s basic responsibilities as defined by the Constitution.
10. Abuse of Power –Trump has repeatedly pressured the Department of Justice and the FBI to investigate and prosecute political adversaries like Hillary Clinton.
11. Promising pardons to ICE and Homeland Security Officials that violate the law to enforce illegal immigration policies or attempts to build a border wall
12. Transferring Congressional allocated funds for the military to other department to build a border wall.
13. Trump’s repeated attacks on the press which is a violation of his oath to uphold the constitution. The 1^st amendment guarantees free speech and a free press.
14. Violation of Election Laws –At the direction of Trump, Michael Cohen and American Media, Inc. (AMI), the publisher of the National Enquirer bought the rights to the women’s stories and forced them to sign Non-Disclosure Agreements to prevent them from going public.
15. Cohen admitted to making illegal, hush-money payments to hide Trump’s affairs in the fall of 2016, just weeks before the election.
16. Trump is an unindicted co-conspirator in the conviction of Michael Cohen for the Stormy Daniels offenses.
17. In a June 2019, TV interview with ABC reporter George Stephanopoulos, Trump extends an open invitation to foreign powers to interfere in the 2020 presidential election.

On July 16^th, Houston Congressman Al Green filed articles of impeachment against so-called president Donald trump for his racist attacks against four minority congresswomen.  Trump’s attacks were a continuation of his attacks against Congress and his attempts to obstruct justice.  On April 24^th, in furtherance of his refusal to comply with his constitutional duties, Trump told reporters “We’re fighting all the subpoenas.”  This statement was in defiance of House attempts to investigate Trump’s activities outlined in the Mueller Report.  Following this statement, Trump instituted a policy prohibiting his administration’s officials that were being subpoenaed by Congress from testifying.

Now that Congress has begun official actions in pursuit of investigating the president for impeachable offenses, the country is in for a very bumpy ride.  Just how bumpy depends more on how effective the Democrats are at educating the public about Trump’s crimes as opposed to the details of the investigation.  Critical to the education process is the ability to develop messages about Trump that will strike an emotional chord with the public that angers them against Trump.  Messages that will make average Americans feel a sense of being betrayed by Trump.  Unlike the Mueller Report which nearly killed the Democrats impeachment hopes, the devil is not in the details of 448 pages.  It is in the big and simple picture that must paint Trump’s crimes as dishonest, inhumane, self-serving and treasonous to our American ideals, democracy and our right to free and open elections free from all foreign interference including from Russia.

https://www.gofundme.com/xplicit-news

Linked Sources and Documentation

1. Marist/NPR/PBS News Hour Poll: http://maristpoll.marist.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/NPR_PBS-NewsHour_Marist-Poll_USA-NOS-and-Tables-on-Politics_1906051430.pdf#page=3

Copyright © 2019, Glen Reaux, all rights reserved