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Efforts to impeach Donald Trump

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Further information: Timeline of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections
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Protesters on the day of Trump's inauguration

Efforts to impeach Donald Trump have been started by certain members of the United States Congress, and other people and groups who have asserted that Donald Trump has engaged in impeachable activity during his presidency, and should be removed from office. Talk of impeachment began even before Trump took office, but serious efforts began in earnest following a series of developments and revelations in May 2017.

Initial impeachment efforts

Further information: Business projects of Donald Trump in Russia and Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections

In December 2016, Senators Elizabeth Warren, Dick Durbin, Chris Coons, Ben Cardin, and Jeff Merkley introduced a bill that would require the President of the United States to divest any assets that could raise a conflict of interest, including a statement that the failure to divest such assets would constitute high crimes and misdemeanors "under the impeachment clause of the U.S. Constitution".[1] Vanity Fair characterized this as a preemptive effort to lay the groundwork for a future impeachment argument.[1] Concerns had previously been expressed that Trump's extensive business and real estate dealings, especially with respect to government agencies in other countries, may violate the Foreign Emoluments Clause of the United States Constitution,[2] sparking debate as to whether that is the case.[3][4]

Immediately after his inauguration, The Independent and The Washington Post each reported on efforts already underway to impeach Trump, based on asserted conflicts of interest arising from Trump's ability to use his political position to promote the interests of "Trump"-branded businesses, and ongoing payments by foreign entities to businesses within the Trump business empire as a violation of the Foreign Emoluments Clause.[5][6] In March 2017, China provisionally granted 38 "Trump" trademark applications that are set to take permanent effect in 90 days, which were noted to come in close proximity to Trump making policy decisions favorable to China.[7]

The Washington Post further noted the creation of ImpeachDonaldTrumpNow.org by liberal advocacy groups.[6] On February 9, 2017, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D, New York) had filed a resolution of inquiry, titled "H.Con.Res.5" to force the Trump administration to turn over documents relating to potential conflicts of interest and to ties with Russia.[8] Some sources have identified this as the first step in the process of impeaching Trump.[9][10] Fox News has outlined two potential bases for impeachment, one being the Emoluments Clause and the other being complicity with Russian interference in the 2016 United States presidential election.[11] On March 21, 2017, it was widely reported that senior Congresswoman Maxine Waters tweeted, "Get ready for impeachment", which Waters explained was in reference to the allegations of collusion with Russian interference in the election.[12]

The Impeach Trump Leadership PAC, a United States political action committee, was started in February 2017 by California Democratic Party congressional candidate Boyd Roberts, who filed documents with the Federal Election Commission to create the PAC on February 13.[13]

Dismissal of James Comey and revelation of classified information

Main article: Dismissal of James Comey

May 2017

Further information: Comey memos and Donald Trump's disclosure of classified information to Russia

Actions and revelations

Following Trumps' dismissal of James Comey, multiple Democratic members of Congress discussed an "impeachment clock" for Trump, saying that he was "moving" toward impeachment and raising the future possibility of bringing forth articles of impeachment for obstruction of justice and criminal malfeasance, if proof of illegal activity were found.[14][15] Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut stated in an interview: "It may well produce another United States v. Nixon on a subpoena that went to United States Supreme Court. It may well produce impeachment proceedings, although we're very far from that possibility."[16]

Later in May, news of Donald Trump's disclosure of classified information to Russia led to further discussions about the possibility of impeachment, with Representative Maxine Waters in particular alluding to the possibility.[17]

At almost the same time in May, the revelation that the chief executive had asked Director Comey to let Flynn get a pass led still more observers, including Senator Angus King, to say that impeachment might be in the offing.[18]

The weight of all these developments, occurring as they did within an 8-day period, led Senator John McCain to venture that matters had reached "Watergate scope and size."[19] This made reference to the Watergate scandal of the 1972–74 period and, possibly, to the impeachment process against Richard Nixon.[19]

Preparations for possible proceedings

Impeachment proceedings begin with a resolution being introduced in the House of Representatives. The first two Representatives to publicly suggest such an action were Pramila Jayapal (D-WA)[20] and Al Green (D-TX).[21]

The first two Republican Representatives to call for impeachment were Justin Amash (R-Mich.),[22] and Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.).[23][24][25]

Congressman Al Green's Floor Speech on the Impeachment of President Trump

On May 17, Rep. Green made a call for impeachment on the house floor,[26][27] and House oversight committee chairman Jason Chaffetz announced that he was issuing subpoenas on the memo that FBI director James Comey wrote detailing possible obstruction of justice by the president.[28] On May 24, 2017, Green told CSPAN in an interview that he was drafting articles of impeachment and would shortly submit them as a privileged resolution, to begin the formal impeachment process. [29]

However, even in light of the above events, some major Democratic figures have stressed the need for caution, patience and bipartisanship in any potential impeachment process.[30]

While this was going on, administration officials announced that White House lawyers were indeed researching impeachment proceedings and how to deal with them.[31][32]

An independent counsel

Starting with the appointment of Archibald Cox in relation to the Watergate scandal in May 1973, supporters of presidential impeachment proceedings have relied on independent counsels to gather evidence in support of their movements.[33] In fact, such evidence had led to proceedings against presidents Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton and serious consideration of such with regard to President Ronald Reagan during the Iran Contra affair.[33]

On May 17, 2017, former FBI Director Robert Mueller was appointed special counsel by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, acting after the recusal of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, [34] and any cover-up related to it by Trump or any White House officials.[35][36] According to sources close to the White House, the Trump administration is considering using various obscure legal means to slow down the investigation and undermine the special counsel.[37]

June 2017

Former FBI Director James Comey agreed to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee on June 8.[38] Shortly after the date of Comey's testimony was announced however, there was talk of the Trump administration invoking Executive Privilege to block Comey from testifying. Some legal experts and politicians, such as Rep. Eric Swalwell of California, have argued that Trump's numerous comments in news interviews and on Twitter regarding the subjects Comey would testify on (such as whether or not Trump tried to improperly influence or coerce Comey and the reasons why Trump fired him) may well have voided the validity of an Executive Privilege claim in this instance.[39]

On June 7, 2017 an advance copy of Comey's prepared congressional testimony was submitted to the Senate Intelligence Committee.[40] In it, he says that on February 14, 2017, the President attempted to persuade him to "let go" of any investigation into Michael Flynn.[41] He adds that Trump requested his personal loyalty, to which Comey replied he would give his "honest loyalty" to the President.[42] Comey says Trump, on several occasions, inquired whether there were an investigation into the President himself, and Comey replied each time there was not.[43] Comey states that Trump requested that he publicly declare this so that Trump's image could be improved, but Comey says he told the President he would need to have approval from the Attorney General's office for reasons of legality.[44] Comey recounts his final conversation with President Trump, on April 11, 2017:

On the morning of April 11, the President called me and asked what I had done about his request that I "get out" that he is not personally under investigation. I replied that I had passed his request to the Acting Deputy Attorney General, but I had not heard back. He replied that "the cloud" was getting in the way of his ability to do his job. He said that perhaps he would have his people reach out to the Acting Deputy Attorney General. I said that was the way his request should be handled. I said the White House Counsel should contact the leadership of DOJ to make the request, which was the traditional channel. He said he would do that and added, "Because I have been very loyal to you, very loyal; we had that thing you know." I did not reply or ask him what he meant by "that thing." I said only that the way to handle it was to have the White House Counsel call the Acting Deputy Attorney General. He said that was what he would do and the call ended.
That was the last time I spoke with President Trump. — James Comey [42]

Congressman Al Green announced, on June 7, 2017, that Congressman Brad Sherman would join with him in drafting articles of impeachment against President Trump.[45] Sherman said: "I’m not going to be deterred."[45] Green stated: "In the spirit of keeping the republic, I have concluded that the president has obstructed justice and in so doing, the remedy for obstruction of justice is impeachment. The president will not be indicted while he is in office, and while there is some merit in talking about the judicial process, the impeachment process is the one that will bring him before the bar of justice."[45]

Symbolic municipal resolutions

City councils that have made formal resolutions calling for the impeachment of Donald Trump include those governing the San Francisco Bay Area cities of Alameda, Berkeley, and Richmond.[46][47] On the East Coast, the Cambridge, Massachusetts city council passed a policy order to support a House resolution to investigate Emoluments Clause conflicts.[48]

Suspension of powers and duties under 25th Amendment

Some commentators have noted that a president can have his powers and duties suspended under the 25th Amendment of the Constitution,[49][50][51] which allows for the removal of a president's powers and duties, if the vice president and a majority of the cabinet concur that the president is unfit. Section 4 of the 25th amendment states:

Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.

— Section 4, 25th Amendment, United States Constitution

Public opinion on impeachment

Public opinion is a key factor in impeachment proceedings, as politicians including those in the United States House of Representatives look to opinion polls to assess the tenor of those they represent.[52][53][54] First and foremost action would have to be necessitated on the requisite legal groups for impeachment, with such action being more likely in the face of support from public opinion.[52][53][54]

Public Policy Polling reported that as of January 26, 2017, 35% of voters supported the impeachment of President Trump, with 50% opposed.[55] By the following week, after the controversial rollout of Executive Order 13769, which barred people from seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the U.S., support for impeachment had grown to 40%,[56] and the week after that support for impeachment reached 46%, matching opposition to impeachment.[57]

In May 2017, for the first time more Americans supported impeaching Trump (48%) than opposed impeaching Trump (41%), with 11% not sure.[58]

Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size 		Margin of
error 		Support/Yes Oppose/No Undecided/Don't know
Morning Consult/Politico* May 25-30, 2017 1,991 ± 2% 43% 45% 13%
Morning Consult/Politico* May 18-22, 2017 1,938 ± 2% 38% 46% 16%
Public Policy Polling May 12–14, 2017 692 ± 3.7% 48% 41% 11%
Public Policy Polling April 17–18, 2017 648 ± 3.9% 40% 48% 12%
Public Policy Polling March 27–28, 2017 677 ± 3.8% 44% 45% 13%
Public Policy Polling March 10–12, 2017 808 ± 3.4% 44% 45% 12%
Public Policy Polling February 21–22, 2017 941 ± 3.2% 41% 46% 13%
Public Policy Polling February 7–8, 2017 712 ± 3.7% 46% 46% 9%
Public Policy Polling January 30–31, 2017 725 ± 3.6% 40% 48% 12%
Public Policy Polling January 23–24, 2017 1,043 ± 3.0% 35% 50% 15%

* Question was: "As you may know, the first step toward removing a president from office is impeachment. Do you believe Congress should or should not begin impeachment proceedings to remove President Trump from office?"

Presidential succession

Main article: United States presidential line of succession

If Trump were impeached and convicted, the next people in the presidential line of succession are the Vice President, currently Mike Pence, then the Speaker of the House of Representatives, currently Paul Ryan, then the Senate president pro tempore, currently Orrin Hatch.[52][59][60] Under the 25th Amendment, the President would then appoint a Vice President designate, who would take office after confirmation by both houses of Congress.[61][62][63]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Fox, Emily Jane (December 15, 2016). "Democrats Are Paving the Way to Impeach Donald Trump". Vanity Fair.
  2. ^ Teachout, Zephyr (November 17, 2016). "Trump's Foreign Business Ties May Violate the Constitution". The New York Times.
  3. ^ Tillman, Seth Barrett (November 18, 2016). "Constitutional Restrictions on Foreign Gifts Don't Apply to Presidents". The New York Times.
  4. ^ Adler, Jonathan H. (November 21, 2016). "The Emoluments Clause – is Donald Trump violating its letter or spirit?". The Volokh Conspiracy (The Washington Post).
  5. ^ Revesz, Rachael (January 20, 2017). "Website aiming to impeach Donald Trump so popular it crashed". The Independent.
  6. ^ a b Gold, Matea (January 20, 2017). "The campaign to impeach President Trump has begun". The Washington Post.
  7. ^ "China provisionally grants Trump 38 trademarks – including for escort service". The Guardian. Associated Press. March 8, 2017. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
  8. ^ DeBonis, Mike (February 9, 2017). "Democrat moves to force House debate on Trump's alleged business conflicts and Russia ties". The Washington Post.
  9. ^ Solomon, Norman (February 10, 2017). "The Long Road To Impeach Trump Just Got Shorter". HuffPost.
  10. ^ "Congressman Jerrold Nalder takes First Steps Toward Impeachment of Donald Trump". The Source. February 10, 2017.
  11. ^ McKelway, Doug (February 27, 2017). "Dems already cranking up Trump impeachment talk". Fox News.
  12. ^ Harriet Agerholm (March 22, 2017). "Prominent politician tells Donald Trump: 'Get ready for impeachment'". The Independent.
  13. ^ Hagen, Lisa (February 14, 2017). "Congressional candidate forms Impeach Trump PAC". The Hill. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  14. ^ Alex Roarty (May 10, 2017). "Democrats talk of an 'impeachment clock' for Trump". The McClatchy Company.
  15. ^ Easley, Jonathan (May 10, 2017). "Dem reps: Trump is 'moving' toward impeachment". The Hill.
  16. ^ Hamedy, Saba (May 11, 2017). "Blumenthal: Comey firing 'may well produce impeachment proceedings'"". CNN.
  17. ^ "Waters: Trump's Disclosure of Classified Info to Russia Moves Us Closer to 'Impeachment'". freebeacon.com. May 16, 2017. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
  18. ^ "CNN's Wolf Blitzer: "Are We Getting Closer" To Impeachment Of Donald Trump?". www.realclearpolitics.com.
  19. ^ a b Seipel, Brooke (May 16, 2017). "McCain: Trump scandals reaching 'Watergate size and scale'". The Hill.
  20. ^ Connelly, Joel (May 16, 2017). "Connelly: Rep. Jayapal raises specter of impeachment". SeattlePI. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  21. ^ Elliott, Rebecca (May 15, 2017). "U.S. Rep. Green calls for Trump's impeachment". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  22. ^ Smilowitz, Elliot (May 17, 2017). "First Republican raises impeachment for Trump".
  23. ^ "Two GOP congressmen suggest Trump may have committed impeachable offense". Retrieved May 18, 2017.
  24. ^ "Republicans are now fighting over who gets credit for bringing up Trump's impeachment first". May 17, 2017. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
  25. ^ Smilowitz, Elliot (May 17, 2017). "First Republicans talk possibility of impeachment for Trump". Retrieved May 18, 2017.
  26. ^ Firozi, Paulina (May 17, 2017). "Dem calls for Trump impeachment on House floor".
  27. ^ "U.S. Rep. Green calls for Trump's impeachment".
  28. ^ "House Oversight Chairman Chaffetz demands all FBI documents on Trump, Comey". Retrieved May 18, 2017.
  29. ^ "Rep. Al Green says he's drafting Trump impeachment articles".
  30. ^ "Democratic Leaders Try to Slow Calls to Impeach Trump". Retrieved May 19, 2017.
  31. ^ Correspondent, Evan Perez, CNN Justice. "Sources: White House lawyers research impeachment". CNN. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  32. ^ Giaritelli, Anna. "Trump's lawyers researching impeachment procedures: report".
  33. ^ a b Posner, Richard A. (1999), An Affair of State: The Investigation, Impeachment, and Trial of President Clinton, Harvard University Press, pp. 116, 151, 208, 220, ISBN 978-0674000803
  34. ^ "Appointment of Special Prosecutor". Department of Justice. Office of Public Affairs. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  35. ^ "Comey agrees to testify in public as Trump-Russia probe heats up".
  36. ^ Chaitin, Daniel. "Investigation into Russia now has ability to look for possible Trump cover-up".
  37. ^ "White House looking at ethics rule to weaken special investigation: sources". Reuters. May 19, 2017. Retrieved May 20, 2017.
  38. ^ "Comey agrees to publicly testify before Senate Intelligence Committee". NBC News.
  39. ^ "White House Weighing Attempt To Block James Comey Testimony". MSNBC.
  40. ^ Bertrand, Natasha (June 7, 2017). "Here's what James Comey will tell Congress in his first testimony since being fired". Business Insider. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  41. ^ Smith, David; Borger, Julian (June 7, 2017). "James Comey reveals concerns about Trump in devastating account to Congress". The Guardian. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  42. ^ a b Comey, James (June 8, 2017). "Statement for the Record Senate Select Committee on Intelligence" (pdf). United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. United States Government. p. 7. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  43. ^ Schmidt, Michael S.; Goldman, Adam (June 7, 2017). "Comey to Testify Trump Pressured Him to Say He Wasn't Under Investigation". The New York Times. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  44. ^ Comey, James B. (June 7, 2017). "READ: James Comey's prepared testimony". CNN. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  45. ^ a b c Singman, Brooke (June 7, 2017). "Reps. Green and Sherman announce plan to file articles of impeachment". Fox News. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  46. ^ Raguso, Emilie (March 29, 2017). "Berkeley calls for Trump impeachment". Berkeleyside. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
  47. ^ "Berkeley Joins Other Bay Area Cities Calling For Trump's Impeachment". CBS San Francisco. March 30, 2017. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
  48. ^ McGovern, Marc C. & Devereux, Jan & Cheung, Leland (April 3, 2017). "Policy Order POR 2017 #96: That the City Council call upon the United States House of Representatives to support a resolution authorizing and directing the House Committee on the Judiciary to investigate whether sufficient grounds exist for the impeachment of Donald J. Trump, President of the United States, including but not limited to the violations of the Foreign Emoluments Clause and the Domestic Emoluments Clause of the United States Constitution". Cambridge, Massachusetts.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  49. ^ Cain, Patrick (May 16, 2017), "There's a process to remove incapable presidents, but it probably won't be used on Trump — yet", Globalnews.ca
  50. ^ Parton, Heather Digby. "Efforts to impeach Donald Trump". Salon.
  51. ^ Prokop, Andrew. "The 25th Amendment, explained: how a president can be declared unfit to serve". Vox.
  52. ^ a b c McCarthy, Tom (May 16, 2017), "What would happen if Donald Trump were impeached?", The Guardian, Public opinion matters because for impeachment to happen, Congress must act, and elected officials sometimes hang their principles on opinion polls.
  53. ^ a b England, Charlotte (November 10, 2016), "What would happen if Donald Trump was impeached?", The Independent, So the House of Representatives could turn against Mr Trump, and there could be sufficient legal grounds to impeach him. But to actually kickstart start the mechanism for removing him from office there would probably have to be a shift in public opinion.
  54. ^ a b Clench, Sam (May 17, 2017), "Could Donald Trump be impeached as president?", News.com.au, But ultimately, the probability of a push for impeachment succeeding is dependent on public opinion.
  55. ^ Jensen, Tom (January 26, 2017). "Americans Think Trump Will Be Worst President Since Nixon". Public Policy Polling.
  56. ^ Jensen, Tom (February 2, 2017). "After 2 Weeks, Voters Yearn For Obama". Public Policy Polling.
  57. ^ Jensen, Tom (February 10, 2017). "Americans Now Evenly Divided on Impeaching Trump". Public Policy Polling.
  58. ^ Tom Jensen, Health Care Puts House in Play, Public Policy Polling (May 16, 2017).
  59. ^ Sorensen, Jeff (June 1, 2017), "Will The Future Blame Us For Donald Trump's Presidency?", The Huffington Post
  60. ^ "The investigation into Donald Trump and Russia: FAQ", Macleans.ca, May 19, 2017
  61. ^ "How Is a New Vice President Chosen?", Slate, March 5, 2001
  62. ^ Bank, Justin (April 8, 2008), "Ask FactCheck: Replacing the Vice President", FactCheck.org
  63. ^ "Succession: Presidential and Vice Presidential Fast Facts", CNN, September 26, 2016

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