In September, House speaker Nancy Pelosi announced a formal impeachment inquiry against President Trump. The call for impeachment comes after news of Trump seeking help from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to find criminalizing evidence against Joe Biden and his son. This phone call was revealed by a whistleblower whose identity is legally protected, though that has not stopped Trump’s political allies to begin to try to find out who they are.
The impeachment inquiry specifically states, “President Trump has betrayed his oath of office, betrayed our national security and betrayed the integrity of our elections for his own personal political gain.” To strengthen the inquiry, Pelosi has also released a fact sheet with a list of Trump’s past transgressions.
The fact sheet included three categories: the shakedown, the pressure campaign, and the cover up. The shakedown refers to Trump’s wish for an investigation into Biden; the pressure campaign has to do with text messages between diplomats stating that the inquiry for information against Biden had to do with delegitimizing his campaign. The cover up has to do with Trump’s attempts to keep the details of the call completely secret.
The start of November marks the second month of the impeachment effort, which sees Nancy Pelosi against essentially all of Trump’s allies in Congress. Despite the pressure from Trump’s side, the Washington Post finds that 196 (and counting) Democrats are in full support of the impeachment inquiry.
There have only been two impeachments in U.S. history, those of Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton. There is a lot to consider when thinking about Trump’s possible impeachment. The biggest question, of course, is the administration going to be any better if Vice President Mike Pence replaces Trump? Before we can even consider that, however, we need to think about whether two-thirds of the Republican majority Senate will even vote to allow impeachment.
Interestingly, I find that the call to the president of Ukraine was the “final straw” for Pelosi and the Democrats. The multiple sexual assault allegations, his blatant racism and sexism, and his complete disregard for the ethics of his position have made Trump one of the absolute worst people to rule this country. Nevertheless, he has found a way into the Oval Office, and I am apprehensive to think that he will find a way out before the end of his term.
It is so easy to get lost in the news of the impeachment inquiry because there is constantly new information being thrown at us. But in an administration where the president himself is not above withholding the truth, it is important that we value the facts of every situation, especially those that have to do with the government.
I am not sure if I’m in support of the Trump impeachment, but I know that there are positives and negatives to the situation. I think polarization both in Congress and between citizens in the U.S. has left important legal issues to petty politics. President Trump has not taken his role seriously, and it seems the law is finally catching up with him.