Robert Reich: The House Now Has a Constitutional Duty to Impeach Trump

[babylonsister]

https://prospect.org/article/house-now-has-constitutional-duty-impeach-trump


The House Now Has a Constitutional Duty to Impeach Trump
Robert Reich
May 20, 2019
When the framers designed the Constitution to protect against tyranny, they had a moment just like this in mind.

snip//

Every child in America is supposed to learn about the Constitution’s basic principles of separation of powers, and checks and balances.

But these days, every child and every adult in America is learning from Donald Trump that these principles are bunk.

By issuing a blanket refusal to respond to any congressional subpoena, Trump is saying Congress has no constitutional authority to oversee the executive branch. He’s telling America that Congress is a subordinate branch of government rather than a co-equal branch. Forget separation of powers.

snip//

The core purpose of the U.S. Constitution is to prevent tyranny. That’s why the framers of the Constitution distributed power among the president, Congress, and the judiciary. That’s why each of the three branches was designed to limit the powers of the other two.

In other words, the framers anticipated the possibility of a Donald Trump.

The framers also put in mechanisms to enforce the Constitution against a president who tries to usurp the powers of the other branches of government. Article I, Section 2 gives the House of Representatives the “sole power of impeachment.” Article I, Section 3 gives the Senate the “sole power to try all impeachments.”

Trump surely appears to be usurping the powers of the other branches. Under these circumstances, the Constitution mandates that the House undertake an impeachment inquiry and present evidence to the Senate.

This may not be the practical political thing to do. But it is the right thing to do.

[Kath2]

1. It is absolutely the right thing to do!

Congress should begin impeachment proceedings immediately.

[Fullduplexxx]

2. Knock knock knock hellooooooo nancy? Hellooooooo knock knock knock you there? Hellllloooooooooo

[FirstLight]

3. agreed.

It is a Constitutional DUTY!

People are using Pence as an excuse not to do this, it's a misnomer IMO.

The object is enforcing the Balance of Powers - it's not about Trump as a (shitty) person, it's about precedent for future Presidents who may try and assume authoritarian power.