I read the Judiciary Committee Report on Constitutional Grounds for Presidential Impeachment.
Who wants to be a wonk and go through it?
Take out your notebooks. It’s time for Impeachment Law 101.
The report starts with the purpose of impeachment: To save the nation from misconduct that endangers democracy and rule of law.
Because impeachment results only in loss of the right to hold office, the purpose is not to inflict personal punishment. (That’s for criminal court)
The report explains what’s impeachable and what isn’t, and debunks the idea that impeachable behavior has to be an indictable offense.
Not everything that is indictable is impeachable; not everything a president can do that endangers the nation is an indictable offense:
From the report: “history teaches that ‘high Crimes and Misdemeanors’ referred mainly to acts committed by public officials, using their power or privileges, that inflicted grave harm on our political order.”
The report states that: “Because [the framers] could not anticipate and prohibit every threat a president might someday pose, the Framers adopted a standard sufficiently general and flexible enough to meet unknown future circumstances.”
‘They’ in this sentence is ‘the framers.’
The report distinguishes “bribery” as we understand it today in the federal criminal code from “bribery” as the founders understood it.
Impeachable bribery is:
The report also compares extortion to bribery: At common law (the law the framers would have been familiar with) “extortion” meant taking something you’re not entitled to.
Bribery was lesser because the solicitation alone was an impeachable offense.
The report debunks the idea that the president is free to conduct foreign policy anyway he chooses.
The Constitution gives Congress much of the power:
[Remember, impeachment is about the balance of power between Congress and the Executive branch.]
The report also debunks 6 Trump-GOP talking points. The report:
- Explains that in fact, all the processes have been fair, and that Trump was given greater privileges than Nixon or Clinton.
[For example, Starr’s entire investigation, which lasted years, was done in secret. The committee adopted the report without doing any additional investigating.]
- Explains that there is plenty of direct and circumstantial evidence, and moreover, Trump can’t complain that not enough witnesses have first hand information when he ordered them not to testify.
- Denies that Trump can do whatever he wants as president.
- Says that Congress doesn’t have to accept Trump’s excuses at face value. Courts assess motive all the time using such factors as: Does the explanation make sense? Does it fit with other behavior? Are the explanations shifting? Are the explanations based on falsehoods?
- Explains that Trump doesn’t get off the hook because his scheme was discovered and abandoned.
- Finally, the report explains that impeachment doesn’t “nullify” an election—it is part of the democratic process and necessary to stop a president abusing his power.
So if you are talking to someone persuadable, and you need law to back up your arguments, the report is readable and thorough.
It’s also relatively short (52 pages). Go for it!
