Recently, a Michigan Congressman introduced articles of impeachment directed at the President. Impeachment sounds serious, so I decided to take a closer look.
Impeachment Is A High Bar
To set the stage, Article II, Section 4 of our Constitution provides, “The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.” The House of Representatives has the sole power of impeachment, which serves as the charging document. The Senate has the sole power to try all impeachments, which require a 2/3 vote (67/100) to convict.
Policy Disagreements Are Not Impeachable
I read the articles of impeachment fairly closely, and I found that the vast majority of accusations do not approach the high bar for impeachment. The articles include accusations like abuse of Executive power, usurpation of appropriations power, abuse of trade powers, First Amendment violations, creation of DOGE, and the like. All of these may be legitimate criticisms of our President, but that does not make them impeachable. Policy disagreements are not impeachable. Violating the First Amendment is not impeachable. Expanding Executive power is not impeachable. Indeed, throughout the history of our country, most every President has had arm wrestling matches with Congress over the proper division between Executive and Legislative power. It is nothing new, and these power struggles are not impeachable.
Most – maybe all – of the issues in the articles of impeachment are currently being litigated in federal courts. The courts are doing their job of interpreting and applying the Constitution and laws of the U.S. The courts do not need an assist from the Congressman.
The Articles Of Impeachment Will Only Further Divide Us
There are some accusations that could be impeachable, like bribery, though that is far from clear. And it is also far from clear that these articles will ever gather the kind of support needed to convict. The President’s opponents have tried to impeach him twice before. Both attempts failed. He was impeached but not convicted, and it cost the American people untold dollars, airtime, distraction and gray matter.
It seems to me that this latest impeachment attempt is being used to rally opponents of the Admin. Many people will be quick to jump on the impeachment bandwagon because they do not like the President or what he is doing. I understand that reaction, but I would suggest that we all exercise some caution and take a closer look at whether impeachment is the proper route here.
In the meantime, these articles of impeachment are also going to rally the Admin’s supporters who think the President has been unfairly persecuted. Again, I get it. But it is the politics of division all over again. What the Congressman is doing with these articles of impeachment is no different than how the Admin uses issues of illegal immigration to rally its base. It is a political stunt being used in the place of real debate or policymaking.
The Gentleman From Michigan Should Get Back To His Day Job
I have been critical of the Admin on a number of issues. But I am trying to maintain my objectivity. I understand this Admin is a handful. As a result, the Congressman’s job is hard. But our jobs are hard, too. And we don’t get to stop doing our jobs when they get harder. The Congressman should drop these articles of impeachment, let the courts do their job, and get back to doing his.
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