Thanks, Miriam.
This article is one of several that have pretty much changed my
position on impeachment of Donald Trump. I began by maintaining that
impeachment was not going to fix the base problem, which is the
Corporate Capitalist System. And I argued that removing Donald Trump
would only allow Mike Pence to step into the regal presidential robes,
bringing with him his own brand of White Supremacy. But I am moved by
the conversation pointing out that impeaching Donald Trump would act
as pressure on Mike Pence, causing him to be far more cautious than he
would be if Donald Trump served his years and SMike Pence became the
next president. Whatever Donald Trump can do without being reeled in
will make the next president's options far greater. And the second
reason that is causing me to support impeachment is Donald Trump,
himself. His past two public appearances have ensured him the title
of, "Loose Cannon President". Listen carefully to his speeches and
tell me that you don't agree that Donald Trump is everybody's
neighborhood bully on steroids.
On 8/23/17, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
From: David Swanson via WarIsACrime.org [mailto:david@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Wednesday, August 23, 2017 10:31 AM
To: miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Trump’s Articles of Impeachment: A Greatest Hits Collection
Trump’s Articles of Impeachment: A Greatest Hits Collection
By David Swanson, FireDonaldTrump.org
<https://i1.wp.com/davidswanson.org/files/firedonaldtrump.jpg?resize=370,188>
Several years back, I led a team of authors drafting articles of impeachment
against then-President George W. Bush for then-Congressman Dennis Kucinich.
We drafted over 60 and settled on the best 35. Had Congress moved forward,
it would not have passed all 35 or convicted on them. But we felt it was
important to establish the record and present the options. In fact, I would
have preferred to go with more than 35, including a wider range of topics.
The fact that someone has abused power in 10 ways should constitute no
license to abuse it in an 11th way.
Believe it or not (hint, hint: I don’t need more emails on this) I am aware
of the general horror of Mike Pence, but a country that impeached and
removed presidents would be a very different country in which the next
president would have to behave or face impeachment and removal in turn. Fear
of the next person will look ever weaker as grounds for allowing the current
person to destroy things as he proceeds with his destruction.
I’m further aware that Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi’s team wants Trump around
more than the Republicans do, so that the Democrats can “oppose” him. The
task before the public is to compel members of both major parties to
impeach, not to sit back and observe them doing so of their own volition.
Although several potential articles of impeachment against Trump stand very
strongly on their own, and picking any one of them would be sufficient, the
very strongest case for impeachment is a cumulative one. I cannot predict
which articles, if any, will gain the most popular or Congressional support.
I am, therefore, collecting the strongest ones available here at
FireDonaldTrump.org. I will add more as the crime wave rolls on. I pushed
for impeachment of Bush and of Obama for some similar offenses and some
completely different ones. Many of Trump’s high crimes and misdemeanors are
unprecedented. None are identical to the abuses by those who have gone
before him.
I. Domestic Emoluments
In his conduct while President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, in
violation of his constitutional oath to faithfully execute the office of
President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve,
protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation
of his constitutional duty under Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution
“to take care that the laws be faithfully executed,” has illegally received
emoluments from the United States government and from individual state
governments.
The Constitutional ban on domestic emoluments is absolute, not waivable by
Congress, and not subject to proving any particular corrupting influence.
President Trump’s lease of the Old Post Office Building in Washington D.C.
violates the General Services Administration lease contract which states:
“No … elected official of the Government of the United States … shall be
admitted to any share or part of this Lease, or to any benefit that may
arise therefrom.” The GSA’s failure to enforce that contract constitutes an
emolument.
Since 1980 Trump and his businesses have garnered, according to the New York
Times, “$885 million in tax breaks, grants and other subsidies for luxury
apartments, hotels and office buildings in New York.” Those subsidies from
the state of New York have continued since President Trump took office and
constitute emoluments.
In these and many similar actions and decisions, President Donald J. Trump
has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President, and subversive of
constitutional government, to the prejudice of the cause of law and justice
and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States. Wherefore,
President Donald J. Trump, by such conduct, is guilty of an impeachable
offense warranting removal from office.
II. Foreign Emoluments
In his conduct while President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, in
violation of his constitutional oath to faithfully execute the office of
President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve,
protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation
of his constitutional duty under Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution
“to take care that the laws be faithfully executed,” has illegally received
emoluments from foreign governments. Foreign emoluments are banned by the
U.S. Constitution.
Donald J. Trump’s business has licensing deals with two Trump Towers in
Istanbul, Turkey. Donald J. Trump has stated: “I have a little conflict of
interest, because I have a major, major building in Istanbul.”
China’s state-owned Industrial and Commercial Bank of China is the largest
tenant in Trump Tower in New York City. It is also a major lender to Donald
J. Trump. Its rent payments and its loans put President Trump in violation
of the U.S. Constitution.
Foreign diplomats, including the Embassy of Kuwait, have changed their
Washington D.C. hotel and event reservations to Trump International Hotel
following Donald J. Trump’s election to public office.
In these and many similar actions and decisions, President Donald J. Trump
has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President, and subversive of
constitutional government, to the prejudice of the cause of law and justice
and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States. Wherefore,
President Donald J. Trump, by such conduct, is guilty of an impeachable
offense warranting removal from office.
III. Incitement of Violence Within the United States
In his conduct while President of the United States, and while campaigning
for election to that office, Donald J. Trump, in violation of his
constitutional oath to faithfully execute the office of President of the
United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend
the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his
constitutional duty under Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution “to take
care that the laws be faithfully executed,” has illegally incited violence
within the United States.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Brandenberg v. Ohio in 1969 that “advocacy
directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action . . . likely to
incite or produce such action” is not protected by the First Amendment.
An incomplete sampling of public statements by candidate Donald J. Trump:
“If you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of
them. I promise you, I will pay for the legal fees.”
“Maybe he should have been roughed up, because it was absolutely disgusting
what he was doing.”
“See, in the good old days this doesn’t happen, because they used to treat
them very, very rough. And when they protested once, you know, they would
not do it again so easily.”
“You know what I hate? There’s a guy, totally disruptive, throwing punches,
we’re not allowed to punch back anymore. I love the old days—you know what
they used to do to guys like that when they were in a place like this?
They’d be carried out on a stretcher, folks.”
“See the first group, I was nice. Oh, take your time. The second group, I
was pretty nice. The third group, I’ll be a little more violent. And the
fourth group, I’ll say get the hell out of here!”
“I’d like to punch him in the face, I tell ya.”
“You see, in the good old days, law enforcement acted a lot quicker than
this. A lot quicker. In the good old days, they’d rip him out of that seat
so fast — but today, everybody’s politically correct.”
“He was swinging, he was hitting people, and the audience hit back. That’s
what we need more of.”
Numerous incidents of violence followed these comments. John Franklin McGraw
punched a man in the face at a Trump event, and then told Inside Edition
that “The next time we see him, we might have to kill him.” Donald J. Trump
said that he was considering paying McGraw’s legal bills.
Since Trump’s election and inauguration, his comments appearing to incite
violence have continued, as have incidents of violence in which those
participating in violence have pointed to Trump as justification.
On July 2, 2017, President Donald J. Trump tweeted a video of himself body
slamming a man with an image of “CNN” superimposed on him.
In August 2017, participants in a racist rally in Charlottesville, Va.,
credited President Trump with boosting their cause. Their violence included
actions that have led to a murder charge. President Trump publicly minimized
the offense and sought to blame “many sides.”
In these and similar actions and decisions, President Donald J. Trump has
acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President, and subversive of
constitutional government, to the prejudice of the cause of law and justice
and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States. Wherefore,
President Donald J. Trump, by such conduct, is guilty of an impeachable
offense warranting removal from office.
IV. Voter Intimidation
In his conduct while President of the United States, and while campaigning
for election to that office, Donald J. Trump, in violation of his
constitutional oath to faithfully execute the office of President of the
United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend
the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his
constitutional duty under Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution “to take
care that the laws be faithfully executed,” has engaged in acts of voter
intimidation and suppression.
For months leading up to the November 2016 elections, Donald J. Trump
publicly encouraged his supporters, the same ones he had encouraged to
engage in violence, to patrol polling places in search of participants in
the virtually nonexistent practice of voter fraud. In so doing, candidate
Trump made would-be voters aware that they might face such patrols. His
remarks included:
“I hope you people can sort of not just vote on the 8th, go around and look
and watch other polling places, and make sure that it’s 100 percent fine.”
“We’re going to watch Pennsylvania. Go down to certain areas and watch and
study and make sure other people don’t come in and vote five times.”
Trump urged supporters to target Philadelphia, St. Louis, and other cities
with large minority populations.
He created on his campaign website a way to sign up to “volunteer to be a
Trump election observer.”
When early voting began, incidents were reported of Trump supporters
photographing voters and otherwise intimidating them.
Trump ally and former campaign advisor Roger Stone formed an activist group
called Stop the Steal that acted in line with Trump’s public statements. The
group threatened violence against delegates if the Republican Party denied
Trump its nomination. It then organized intimidation efforts in the general
election around the unsupported claim that Trump’s opponents would somehow
“flood the polls with illegals. Liberal enclaves already let illegals vote
in their local and state elections and now they want them to vote in the
Presidential election.”
According to the U.S. Department of Justice in 2006, in all federal
elections between 2002 and 2005, a total of 26 people out of 197 million
were convicted of trying to vote illegally.
Stone’s organization created official-looking ID badges for volunteers and
asked them to videotape voters, and conduct phony exit polls in nine cities
with large minority populations.
One such volunteer, Steve Webb of Ohio, told the Boston Globe, “I’m going to
go right up behind them. I’ll do everything legally. I want to see if they
are accountable. I’m not going to do anything illegal. I’m going to make
them a little bit nervous.”
Since becoming president, Donald J. Trump has continued with voter
intimidation efforts. He has created a Presidential Advisory Commission on
Election Integrity, which has sent letters to states requesting sensitive
voter information. Most states have refused. But thousands of people have
canceled their registrations rather than have their information turned over
to Trump’s administration.
In these and similar actions and decisions, President Donald J. Trump has
acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President, and subversive of
constitutional government, to the prejudice of the cause of law and justice
and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States. Wherefore,
President Donald J. Trump, by such conduct, is guilty of an impeachable
offense warranting removal from office.
V. Muslim Bans
In his conduct while President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, in
violation of his constitutional oath to faithfully execute the office of
President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve,
protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation
of his constitutional duty under Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution
“to take care that the laws be faithfully executed,” has engaged in acts of
discrimination in violation of the First Amendment and other laws by seeking
to ban Muslims from entering the United States.
Donald J. Trump had openly campaigned for office promising a “total and
complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.” Once in office, he
created an executive order that his advisor Rudy Giuliani, said on Fox News
had been drafted after Trump had asked him for the best way to create a
Muslim ban “legally.” The order targeted several majority-Muslim countries
for restrictions on immigration to the United States, but made allowances
for people of minority religions within those countries. Trump told the
Christian Broadcasting Network that Christian refugees would be given
priority. When a federal court stopped this order from taking effect,
President Trump issued a new one containing, in the words of his advisor
Stephen Miller “minor technical differences.”
In these actions and decisions, President Donald J. Trump has acted in a
manner contrary to his trust as President, and subversive of constitutional
government, to the prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the
manifest injury of the people of the United States. Wherefore, President
Donald J. Trump, by such conduct, is guilty of an impeachable offense
warranting removal from office.
VI. Environmental Destruction
In his conduct while President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, in
violation of his constitutional oath to faithfully execute the office of
President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve,
protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation
of his constitutional duty under Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution
“to take care that the laws be faithfully executed,” has actively sought to
endanger the future existence of human life in the United States and
elsewhere.
On December 6, 2009, on page 8 of the New York Times a letter to
then-President Barack Obama printed as an advertisement and signed by Donald
J. Trump called climate change an immediate challenge. “Please don’t
postpone the earth,” it read. “If we fail to act now, it is scientifically
irrefutable that there will be catastrophic and irreversible consequences
for humanity and our planet.” An overwhelming consensus of climate
scientists agreed with and still agree with that statement.
As president, Donald J. Trump has taken the opposite course, refusing to
take any significant steps to protect the earth’s climate, and actively
taking steps to endanger it, including by seeking to de-fund the
Environmental Protection Agency and to censor its publications. President
Trump has issued an executive order curbing enforcement of climate
regulations. He has withdrawn the United States from the Paris climate
agreement. He has disbanded the Advisory Committee for the Sustained
National Climate Assessment. He has canceled a study of the health impacts
of mountain-top removal.
The prosecutor for the International Criminal Court has written than
environmental crimes are crimes against humanity.
In the above and many similar actions and decisions, President Donald J.
Trump has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President, and
subversive of constitutional government, to the prejudice of the cause of
law and justice and to the manifest injury of the people of the United
States and the world. Wherefore, President Donald J. Trump, by such conduct,
is guilty of an impeachable offense warranting removal from office.
VII. Illegal Wars
In his conduct while President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, in
violation of his constitutional oath to faithfully execute the office of
President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve,
protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation
of his constitutional duty under Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution
“to take care that the laws be faithfully executed,” has waged numerous wars
in violation of the United Nations Charter and of the Kellogg-Briand Pact,
both treaties part of the Supreme Law of the United States under Article VI
of the U.S. Constitution.
By these actions, President Donald J. Trump has acted in a manner contrary
to his trust as President, and subversive of constitutional government, to
the prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury of
the people of the United States and the world. Wherefore, President Donald
J. Trump, by such conduct, is guilty of an impeachable offense warranting
removal from office.
VIII. Illegal Threats of Wars
In his conduct while President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, in
violation of his constitutional oath to faithfully execute the office of
President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve,
protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation
of his constitutional duty under Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution
“to take care that the laws be faithfully executed,” has threatened war
against additional nations, including North Korea, in violation of the
United Nations Charter, a treaty that is part of the Supreme Law of the
United States under Article VI of the U.S. Constitution.
By these actions, President Donald J. Trump has acted in a manner contrary
to his trust as President, and subversive of constitutional government, to
the prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury of
the people of the United States and the world. Wherefore, President Donald
J. Trump, by such conduct, is guilty of an impeachable offense warranting
removal from office.
IX. Sexual Assault
Prior to becoming President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, stated:
“I’m automatically attracted to beautiful [women]—I just start kissing them.
It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star
they let you do it. You can do anything … Grab them by the pussy. You can do
anything.”
By this action, Donald J. Trump has acted in a manner that makes it
impossible for him to fulfill his constitutional duty under Article II,
Section 1 of the Constitution “to take care that the laws be faithfully
executed.”
Wherefore, President Donald J. Trump, by such conduct, is guilty of an
impeachable offense warranting removal from office.
##
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