Washington dysfunction is having all of the evidence of the Mueller Report in front of Congress, and some Members not even bothering to read it. It’s having a Constitutional process for dealing with abuse of power and ongoing corruption, and choosing not to follow it. It’s obfuscating, hiding, and attempting to run out the clock until the next election.
And now, in a disturbing admission during an interview on ABC News, President Trump made his 2020 strategy abundantly clear: he would still--after all this--utilize foreign interference in his campaign if it helps him hold onto power. These unprecedented claims should be the alarm bells ringing for every House Democrat still on the fence about instituting the impeachment process --and for every House Republican who has yet to take a stand against such flagrant corruption.
The Mueller Report was a very clear green light for Congress to begin impeachment proceedings. Now President Trump’s confession provides the impetus to step on the gas. Let me explain.
I am a lawyer who has worked my entire life fighting for justice and the rule of law. I’ve read the Constitution, the Federalist Papers and all 448 pages of the Mueller Report. And I’ve heard the President’s own disturbing and destabilizing words. I have no doubt it’s time for Congress to begin impeachment hearings against President Trump. Even if impeachment results in his acquittal in the Senate, it is the legislative duty of our elected officials to lead in accordance with the oath they swore to defend our Constitution.
It’s not about nullifying or affecting an election: it’s about ensuring power is checked and checked immediately before future abuses occur. The Constitution requires the impeachment process from Congress if, in the words of the Founding Fathers, the President has "abused their confidence.” A president is subject to impeachment when they have "proved themselves to be unworthy of the confidence" placed in them. The Founding Fathers say allowing a President who has committed High Crimes and Misdemeanors (which actually means “misdeeds”) to avoid impeachment brings “disgrace” on the Congress for failing to act. (See Federalist Papers, No. 66).
What we miss is that the impeachment process is not destabilizing or partisan, as the refusals to pursue it suggests. The impeachment process is elucidating and cathartic to the public and it actually fortifies our system. Thwarting our constitutional checks and balances for polls or election strategy demeans an important underpinning of a representative republic.
The Mueller Report clearly lays out the President’s numerous abuses of power and instances of obstruction of justice. Special Counsel Mueller himself even said that he did not believe, under the Constitution, that the President should face criminal proceedings because the Constitution provided impeachment for this very situation. In the face of well-documented obstruction of justice charges laid out in the Mueller Report, and other charges of self-dealing and misdeeds, Congress has a Constitutional duty to act. And it is through this action that the public will be informed as to the breadth and depth of these charges against the President.
In Federalist No. 66, Alexander Hamilton writes that if Congress chooses to follow public opinion and not pursue impeachment when it is warranted, it allows the president to be “the authors of their mismanagement and disgrace.” Congress must not shirk its duty; our leaders must lead.
The President’s intentions have never been more clear: he would utilize foreign interference in his campaign to attack a political opponent. He is laying the groundwork for hostile collaboration with a foreign government right before our very eyes.
The Founders warned of such influence and they provided safeguards against such action. President Trump’s continued occupancy of the White House poses an unprecedented and direct threat to free, fair elections and our democracy. It’s time for the Democratic leaders to do their duty by beginning impeachment proceedings and it’s time for Republicans to put patriotism over party and defend our democracy.
Washington dysfunction is disgraceful enough on its own. When that dysfunction enables a president who would abuse power to go unchecked, it signals that our very grasp on democracy is slipping.
The U.S. Constitution is the greatest civic document the world has known. Let’s use it.
Teresa Tomlinson is a candidate for U.S. Senate from Georgia.