House Judiciary Vote on Trump Impeachment Is the Right Move to Protect Our Constitution
Statement of Robert Weissman, President, Public Citize
Note: Articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump are headed to the full U.S. House of Representatives after the House Judiciary Committee voted 23-17 today to favorably report both articles for consideration.
The House Judiciary Committee did the right thing today in approving two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump. Now it’s time for the full U.S. House of Representatives to impeach Trump and stand up for our Constitution and democracy – and for the U.S. Senate to follow suit by voting to remove him from office.
There is no hard-and-fast definition of what constitutes impeachable wrongdoing.
But the essential issue is abuse of power.
And the quintessential abuses of power that most worried the framers of the Constitution – and which logically must be the worthiest of impeachment – are those that involve:
- The president elevating his or her personal interest above the public interest;
- Misuses of power to undermine the integrity of elections, the normal means to ensure political accountability; and
- Efforts to solicit the involvement of foreign powers in our elections.
Trump’s abuses in the Ukraine scandal check all those boxes.
Every member of the House of Representatives, each of whom has taken an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, should vote for impeachment. There is no serious argument about the facts in this case, nor any serious dispute that a president pressuring a foreign government to intervene in our elections should be impeached. History will judge poorly those who choose politics and partisanship over their duty to protect and defend our Constitution and our democracy.