Democrats could not have made a better choice in choosing to charge Donald Trump with obstruction of Congress and abuse of power
Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) said:
The first article is for Abuse of Power. It is an impeachable offense for the President to exercise the powers of his public office to obtain an improper personal benefit, while ignoring or injuring the national interest.
That is exactly what President Trump did when he solicited and pressured Ukraine to interfere in our 2020 Presidential Election—thus damaging our national security, undermining the integrity of the next election, and violating his oath to the American people. These actions, moreover, were consistent with President Trump’s previous invitations of foreign interference in our 2016 Presidential election.
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And when he was caught—when the House investigated and opened an impeachment inquiry—President Trump engaged in unprecedented, categorical, and indiscriminate defiance of the impeachment inquiry.
This gives rise to the second article of impeachment for Obstruction of Congress. Here, too, we see a familiar pattern in President Trump’s misconduct. A President who declares himself above accountability, above the American people, and above Congress’s power of impeachment—which is meant to protect against threats to our democratic institutions—is a President who sees himself as above the law.
We must be clear: no one, not even the President, is above the law.
Video:
Trump is officially charged with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. #articlesofimpeachment #impeachment pic.twitter.com/8BxpjCFmKX
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) December 10, 2019
As expected, Trump was charged with abuse of power for trying to solicit Ukrainian interference in the 2020 election, and he was charged with obstruction of Congress for refusing to comply with subpoenas and cooperate with the investigation.
Democrats are trying to avoid complicated and difficult to explain to the American people impeachment. The two articles were a perfect choice. There is overwhelming evidence that Trump abused his power with his Ukraine shakedown, and the obstruction of Congress is obvious.
Republicans will now have to defend Trump by arguing that their own branch of government should have no power, and that it is fine for a president to obstruct Congress.
House Democrats went with the clearest case. The vast majority of Americans believe that this president is corrupt, and no matter what happens in the Senate trial, these articles of impeachment stick a legacy of corruption to the Trump presidency forever.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
