Mod: Presidential impeachment is in the air this spring, something both invigorating and refreshing. And just so you know, this is not just another attempt at trendy fashion chasing here by The Tattler. The polls are beginning show that quite a few folks are getting on board as well. We all need to face it, the biggest political reality show ever could be just around the corner.
Poll Finds Growing Support for Impeaching Trump (
Vice.com link): Over
Trump's last month in office, the government has lost an
FBI director, gained a controversial new healthcare bill, and left many people wondering whether or not the current administration can be trusted to handle highly classified intelligence. Perhaps those are just some of the reasons that a majority of
American voters say they want
Trump impeached, according to a new poll.
The poll, released Tuesday from
Public Policy Polling, surveyed 692 registered voters from around the country between May 12–14—right after former
FBI director
James Comey's abrupt dismissal—and asked about their approval of
Trump's job so far and how long they think he'll last in the
Oval Office. It found that 48 percent of American voters think
Trump should be impeached, while 41 percent disagree.
Even more voters—54 percent—disapprove with the job
Trump's done, while only 40 percent approve. Those numbers are slightly higher than a
Quinnipiac University poll released last Wednesday that clocked
Trump's approval rating at just 36 percent. According to
Gallup, Trump's 36 percent approval rating is a record low for any president since the poll began in 1953.
"There is no way to spin or sugarcoat these sagging numbers,"
Tim Malloy,
Quinnipiac University Poll's assistant director, said. "Deepening concerns about
Trump's honesty, intelligence, and level headedness are red flags that the administration simply can't brush away."
The participants in the
Public Policy Poll were surveyed before the
Washington Post revealed Monday that
Trump had disclosed highly classified intelligence during a meeting with the
Russian foreign minister and ambassador last week. While revealing sensitive intelligence to another foreign nation may be incredibly careless, it's not illegal, so impeachment on those grounds is still a long shot.
Still, with a scandal embroiling
Trump and his administration seemingly every week, voters aren't confident he'll be in office for a full term—45 percent polled said he wouldn't last four years.
Mod: Slate.com (not wanting to miss out on all of the fun), has now published a roster of what they believe could be the Articles of Impeachment for Trump. It is a first pass, but what stands out is the numbers of items on their list. See if you agree.
Articles of Impeachment for Donald J. Trump (
Slate.com link): The framers of our
Constitution likely never imagined a President like
Donald J. Trump. And yet, they inserted impeachment provisions into the original text of the
Constitution, some 230 years ago, to empower
Congress to act in case a rube, tyrant, or criminal came to occupy the nation’s highest office.
It’s not crystal clear which
Trump might be, but the president’s latest outrageous actions—the reported passing of highly classified intelligence to
Russian diplomats in the
Oval Office—should awake
Republicans and
Democrats in
Congress to the dangers posed by
Trump to the nation in case that wasn’t already obvious.
His conduct now goes far beyond mere offense or incitement to constitute actual damage to
U.S. national security, the very definition of “high crimes and misdemeanors” contemplated by the men who crafted the
Constitution’s impeachment clauses. With this latest act, the time has come to commence the slow, deliberate process of demonstrating that
Trump needs to be removed from office so he can harm the nation no more. A broad congressional inquiry should begin immediately, to inform drafters who will prepare articles of impeachment for consideration by the
House and
Senate.
While
Republican control of
Congress means that such proceedings won’t occur anytime soon, it’s clear that they are warranted. We don’t yet know for certain what precisely such an investigation would yield, but there is enough public information already available to roughly map out what such articles of impeachment might—and probably should—look like.
Article 1: Compromising the integrity of the presidency through continuing violation of the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause. From his first day in office,
Trump’s continuing stake in
Trump Organization businesses has violated the clause of the
Constitution proscribing federal officials from receiving foreign payments. The true and full extent of
Trump’s conflicts of interest remains unknown. For his part,
Trump has transferred day-to-day control over these interests to his adult children and the management of the
Trump Organization. However, he remains the ultimate beneficiary for these businesses, so the fundamental conflict of interest remains. These foreign business ties violate both the letter and spirit of the
Constitution’s Emoluments Clause, and arguably provide the clearest basis for impeachment based on the facts and law.
Article 2: Violation of his constitutional oath to faithfully execute the duties of his office by disregarding U.S. interests and pursuing the interests of a hostile foreign power, to wit, Russia.
L’affaire Russia began during
Trump’s campaign for the presidency, during which several top aides reportedly had contacts with Russia and its intelligence service. His campaign manager also had reportedly worked either directly or indirectly for the
Kremlin. These contacts continued, famously, into the presidential transition, when the president’s chosen national security adviser,
Michael Flynn, had his ill-fated contacts with
Russia. Beyond these contacts,
Trump has substantively acted in myriad ways that benefit Russia, including dangerous diplomacy that has reportedly frayed relationships with our allies and allegedly put allied intelligence assets at risk. By offering classified information to the
Russians, it was reported that
Trump risked the intelligence assets of a
Middle Eastern ally that already warned
American officials that it would stop sharing such information with America if that information was shared too widely. In risking that relationship,
Trump has opened up the possibility for the loss of that information stream for combatting terrorism, and potentially put American lives at risk from the loss of intelligence that could inform officials about future attacks on Americans at home and abroad.
Article 3: Impairment and obstruction of inquiries by the Justice Department and Congress into the extent of the Trump administration’s conflicts of interests and Russia ties. The
Trump administration has systematically impeded, avoided, or obstructed the machinery of justice to obscure its business relationships, its
Russia ties, and the forces acting within the
Trump White House to animate policy. The most egregious and visible examples have been
Trump’s firings of
Acting Attorney General Sally Yates and
FBI Director James Comey. [Update, 6:18 p.m.: The
New York Times reported on Tuesday afternoon on an even more egregious case of apparent obstruction of justice, wherein
Trump allegedly directly asked
Comey to end the
FBI's investigation of
Michael Flynn.] Each termination had what appeared to be a lawful pretext; subsequent statements or admissions have indicated each had more to do with obstructing justice than holding leaders accountable. Alongside these sackings, the
Trump administration has also worked to starve
Justice Department inquiries of resources and refocus investigators on suspected leaks instead of the
White House’s own
Russia intrigues. The
Trump administration also interfered with congressional inquiries through attempting to block witnesses like
Yates from appearing or selective leaking of classified information to
House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes, compromising
Nunes so badly he had to recuse himself from the matter.
Article 4: Undermining of the American judicial system through felonious intimidation of potential witnesses. In his desire to continue
Comey’s public humiliation, and ensure
Comey remained silent about
Trump’s possible sins, the president threatened
Comey on Twitter with disclosure of “tapes” of their conversations. This follows a pattern of
Trump roughly treating witnesses and litigation adversaries that stretches back for decades before his presidency. Since taking office,
Trump has also used the bully pulpit of his office to threaten intelligence officials for purported leaks and badger former
Yates before her congressional testimony. In addition to falling beneath the dignity of the presidency, these verbal assaults also constitute obstruction of justice, prohibited by federal statutes on witness intimidation, retaliation against a witness, and obstruction of federal proceedings. These attacks don’t just harm the individuals who are targeted; they assault and undermine the rule of law. As such, they constitute further grounds for impeachment of
Trump and his removal from the presidency.
Article 5: Undermining of his office and the Constitution through repeated assaults on the integrity of the federal judiciary and its officers. During the presidential campaign,
Trump publicly attacked federal district
Judge Gonzalo Curiel on the basis of his ethnicity, saying
Curiel had been “extremely hostile to (Trump),” and that the judge had ruled against
Trump because of his “
Mexican heritage.” Since taking office, Trump has continued his unpresidential assaults on the federal judiciary, particularly after repeatedly losing court battles over his travel bans. At one point, he described a member of the bench as a “so-called judge,” undermining the premise of an independent judiciary. These statements also undermined both the dignity and power of the presidency, and threaten the rule of law by attacking the integrity of the federal judiciary.
Article 6: Demeaning the integrity of government and its public servants, particularly the military and intelligence agencies, in contravention of his constitutional duties to serve as chief executive and commander in chief of the armed forces.
Trump swept into office with considerable disdain for the government and its military. Indeed, during his campaign, he insulted former prisoners of war,
Purple Heart recipients, and
Gold Star families; criticized the military for its performance in
Iraq; and said today’s generals and admirals had been “reduced to rubble” during the
Obama administration.
Trump carried this disdain into the presidency, through his attacks on the “deep state” of military and intelligence officials that he believed to be obstructing his agenda. He also demeaned the military and its apolitical ethos through use of military fora and audiences as public spectacle—first to sign his immigration order in the
Pentagon’s Hall of Heroes, and then to deliver rambling speeches at military and intelligence headquarters suggesting that pro-
Trump elements in those agencies were grateful
Trump had taken power.
Trump has also continued to wage political war against his intelligence community, suggesting as recently as Tuesday morning that it was sabotaging his administration through leaking and other nefarious activities. In doing these things,
Trump has undermined his constitutional office as president and commander in chief of the armed forces.
Article 7: Dereliction of his constitutional duty to faithfully execute the office of president by failing to timely appoint officers of the United States to administer the nation’s federal agencies. Shortly after taking office,
Trump administration strategist
Stephen Bannon articulated his plan for the “deconstruction of the administrative state.” During its first four months in office, the
Trump administration’s neglect of governance illustrates how this strategy is to be executed: delay of political appointments, failure to reach budget agreements with
Congress in a timely manner, and deliberate neglect of governance and government operations. These actions and failures risk the health, welfare, and security of the nation, and represent a dereliction of
Trump’s constitutional duty to faithfully execute the office of the presidency.
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