A Republican talking point is there are no underlying crimes in the Articles of Impeachment. This is from Rep. Mark Meadows:
In fact, Democrats have lots of first hand witnesses. The Senators can add Lev Parnas and John Bolton to the list if they want more.
In response to the nonsense about no underlying crimes, I put together a list of crimes committed during the Ukraine caper. (I can’t promise a comprehensive list. Who has that much time?)
#1: Witness intimidation. This one was included in the Impeachment Report to Accompany H. Res. 77
#2: Bribery: The report reminds us that it isn’t necessary for behavior to meet the elements of a statutory crime) and then explains that Trump’s behavior meets the elements of Criminal Bribery, 18 U.S.C. § 201. See also Prof. Randall Eliason here.
#3: Impound Control Act Not a criminal violation, but a broken law nonetheless. This morning, the Government Accountability Office determined that the Trump Administration violated the Impound Control Act by withholding military aid to Ukraine.
#4: Criminal Conspiracy (General) This simply requires two or more people to commit an illegal act and take a step toward its completion. Criminal conspiracies abound in the Ukraine caper. For example, see this Washington Post piece.
#5: Conspiring to Violate Straw and Foreign Donor Bans (Parnas, Fruman, and probably Giuliani as well, overlapped with Operation Ukraine Shakedown. The Federal Statute is here.
#6: Obstruction of Justice 18 U.S.C. § 1503: An act that corruptly . . . influences, obstructs, or impedes, or endeavors to influence, obstruct, or impede, the due administration of justice.
#7: Obstruction of proceedings before departments, agencies, and committees. 18 U.S.C. 1505. This includes obstructing congressional investigations. Come on. Surely Rep. Mark Meadows saw that one!
#8: Contempt of Congress. Michael Stern writing for Just Security did a thorough job explaining this one.
#9: Criminal Threats. Shall we begin with Trump threatening the Whistleblower?
#10: Illegal Surveillance. The illegal surveillance described by Lev Parnas is now the subject of an investigation in Ukraine because Zelensky, an actual anti-corruption president, knows what to investigate and what not to investigate.
#11: The Hatch Act prohibits federal employees to use their titles to promote partisan politics. Gary Stein, writing for Just Security, did a thorough job with that one.
#12: Misprison of Felony: Knowing someone committed a felony, and concealing that fact.
Anyone in the Trump administration helping Trump avoid accountability for, say, intimidating witnesses? (Correct answer: Yes, of course)
#13: Extortion.
Extortion is like bribery with force or intimidation. Here’s an illustration: Mother to 5 year old: I will give you $5 if you clean your room (like bribery) Mother to 5 year old: I will feed you this week if you clean your room (like extortion).
#14: Fraud / “black propaganda”
In asking for the announcement, Trump sought to hide the origins of the request. He wanted it to appear that Ukraine, on its own, investigated Biden. He was trying to defraud us!
#15: Honest Services Fraud: Barbara McQuade, writing for Just Security, did an in-depth job with this one.
#16: Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Thorough on the Foreign Corrupt Practices analysis from Susan Simpson, writing for Just Security
I’ll stop there. You get the idea.
I won’t summarize the expert witnesses who explained that impeachable offenses are abuses of power and not specific violations of the code. (There WAS NO federal criminal code in 1789)
Sometimes I think people who ask “where’s the crime” are being disingenuous.
The evidence is here.
