Last week, the House opened a formal impeachment inquiry following a whistleblower’s complaints on a phone call President Trump made to the Ukrainian President. In the House, six House committees are expected to investigate Trump’s impeachable offenses and send their strongest cases to the Judiciary Committee. If it passes the committee and wins a majority of the House vote, the process will move to the Senate where they hold a trial. After the trial, two-thirds of the Senate has to vote in favor of convicting Trump, however, since the Senate is controlled by Republicans, led by Mitch McConnell, it is unclear if the impeachment would proceed. McConnell could also choose to table to impeachment proceedings, preventing debates or votes. In 2016, McConnell stated that the Senate would not vote on Merrick Garland, Obama’s Supreme Court Justice nomination. McConnell argued that the voters should decide by voting in the upcoming presidential election which would allow the new president to fill the vacancy. McConnell has not responded to reporters’ questions on whether he would allow Senate to hold a trial, but other members of Congress hope that he will go through with the trial. The role of the Senate in the impeachment process is vague and its rules are flexible according to the Constitution giving McConnell more power to decide to continue the impeachment process.
Questions:
1. What happened to Merrick Garland and how does it relate to Trump’s impeachment process?
2. Compare Trump’s impeachment case to the previous impeachment cases. How are they different?
3. Do you think the reasons for impeachment are valid? Why?
Trump abused his power as the president of the United States by soliciting foreign governments help in his re-election bid. He tried to pressure Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden and his son for corruption by withholding US military aid to Ukraine. This is clearly a violation of the constitution. Therefore, the reasons for impeachment are valid.
ReplyDelete3. In Federalist 65, Hamilton describes impeachable offenses as arising from "the abuse or violation of some public trust," and by pressuring the Ukrainian government to investigate his political opponent, Joe Biden, and Biden's son Hunter, Trump blatantly violated this trust. Trump even ordered his staff to withdraw congressionally mandated military aid to Ukraine in order to pressure the nation's president to launch investigations, and he attempted to cover up what transpired, including by intentionally misclassifying the transcript of the call. These actions clearly represent a misuse of the presidential office for personal gain and an attempt at obstructing justice. The reasons for impeachment are therefore valid.
ReplyDelete- Danielle
ReplyDelete1) Merrick Garland was nominated to fill the spot on the Supreme Court by Obama, but Mitch McConnell decided to "let the voters choose" if they wanted Garland, a very liberal candidate, on the Supreme Court. He could claim the same thing with the Trump impeachment case. If the people do not want him in office, they will vote him out of office in the next election which is coming up fairly soon. There is also nothing saying that that a trial is mandatory, which means that he would not be doing anything illegal or against our founding documents. Although this would be a controversial move, and a misuse of his power, it is not technically breaking any written rules, even if they have been set over time through action.
ReplyDeleteWhen Obama attempted to nominate Merrick Garland, the Senate refused to even consider him as a candidate. Mitch McConnell argued that since it was an election year, the Senate should wait until the new president is in office to approve a new Supreme Court Justice. The Senate could also refuse to cooperate with the impeachment trial, just like they refused to cooperate with the Obama administration for Garland's nomination.
ReplyDeleteI think that Trump abused his power and overstepped his role. Cooperation with a foreign leader for help in the 2020 election is treason and bribery. As Nancy Pelosi once said, the next couple months with him in office would be just as chaotic if we ended up impeaching him. Although, I don't think that it is likely that the Senate will remove him.
ReplyDeleteBefore the impeachment process went through, it was tough to say if the benefits outweigh the risks. No matter what though, it's still extremely unlikely that Trump would be voted out of office because that still requires 20 senators to be the majority if favor of it. Plus, unlike Nixon, it's also unlikely that Trump wouldn't give up his power, resign, and leave the oval office. Despite this, there are still many more outcomes that could come through from the impeachment that would be beneficial towards the less likelihood of Trump getting re-elected in 2020. This impeachment could release his allegations in the Mueller Report, it could highlight new discoveries on his conduct, and could force Republican allies to choose publicly whether or not to hold him accountable for his actions. Overall, I think an impeachment inquiry is a valid action even though there are several risks to it, because if we don't then it sends a message to future presidents and politicians that those powerful enough could go above the law, which is not true at all.
ReplyDelete3) In my opinion, I think that Trump should be and will be among the two other presidents that have been impeached from office. Among other troubling offenses committed by Donald Trump, this one tops all of it. Using the power of your presidency and office against a population is completely messed up and shows that Trump has a lack of self-control and awareness. He is not able to solve issues without being a bully or a child about it. He should be impeached considering how much damage he has caused America and its people. His mental incompetency and utter political unawareness lead everybody to believe that his political tactics are nonsensical.
ReplyDelete3. I believe that Trump's actions are impeachable offenses as there was a clear abuse of power. Trump engaged in a quid pro quo in which he withheld money from a congressional mandate to Ukraine in order to force Ukraine to investigate the Biden's. Trump abused his power and used the federal money for his own personal gain. The money was stopped during negotiation about the investigation, and Mulvaney even admitted that they do quid pro quo's "all the time". Even though the money was eventually released, this only occurred after the whistleblower accusations and therefore suggests that the money was only released after they realized they were caught. Thus, Trump's abuse of power in his attempt to get information on his competitor is a valid reason for impeachment.
ReplyDelete3. It may be cheating now that we know Trump's actions are bad enough to actually be impeached by the house. I personally find that the last 3 years have been a stain on American history with everyday having to hear of another scandal or drama in the white house. The question now at hand though is whether or not the Senate will convict Trump for his actions. Sadly, I believe that the chance of this happening are slim to none given the Republican majority in the Senate. Nevertheless, the message that was made with the house impeaching Trump will hopefully be enough for either his actions to change, or someone else being elected in 2020
ReplyDelete1. Obama tried to nominate Merrick Garland, a liberal judge, to the supreme court in the time approaching the presidential election. McConnell and the senate essentially blocked this nomination, saying we should “let the voters decide” and wait until a new president was elected and in office. They could do the same thing with the impeachment trial and refuse to comply with it.
ReplyDelete1. Trump was impeached by the House this past Tuesday. However, I sincerely doubt he will be convicted by the Senate, particularly with the Senate being Republican controlled, and led by Mitch "The Grim Reaper" Mcconnell. With Merrick Garland, who was nominated by Obama in his last term, Mcconnel effectively refused to let the senate vote on confirming Garland. He could do the same with Trump, or refuse to let the Senate debate the conviction seriously.
ReplyDeleteThe reasons for impeachment are valid and we saw that this week as the House of Representatives impeached Trump. Trump blatantly abuses his power and uses his powers for his own gain. This is especially shown with the withholding of aid to Ukraine in exchange for an investigation into the Bidens. Trump has continuously used the powers of the presidency for his own personal bidding and this has led to him being impeached.
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