DEMOCRACY is alive in America! The 45th President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, has been impeached by the House of Representatives for abuse of power and obstruction of a co-equal branch of government pursuant to the mandate of the Constitution. Trump is the third of the 45 presidents to be impeached, and the first to be impeached in his first term.
Forward-thinking and fearing that presidents or other executive officers might prove disloyal to the country and Constitution they were sworn to protect, our founding fathers — the framers — drafted the U.S. Constitution to include clauses to protect the democracy of the nation.
One such way was through the principle of checks and balances among the three branches of government so that no one person or institution would abuse the power and public trust accorded to them by the government position they hold. The point of checks and balances was to make sure no one branch would be able to control too much power, and it created a separation of powers.
Another guardrail was the Emoluments Clause, prohibiting any government officer from accepting a title or a gift from any foreign government.
As PBS reported, “That part of the Constitution had come to seem antique, as the norms and presumptions of American politics long ago made it hard to imagine a sitting president actually being bribed by a foreign power.”
Trump’s integrity and loyalty to the Constitution of the United States had been in question even before he was sworn-in to office, and his first three years in office had been tainted with scandals and investigations, one after another, involving many of his staff who had already been convicted in court, his family and Foundation that have been ordered to pay fines for using the monetary donations intended for veterans to his own political campaign.
And of course, there was the Mueller report which could not exonerate Trump for obstruction of justice because of the DOJ memorandum that prevents a sitting president from being indicted.
Many Americans have been increasingly losing faith in the system, and in the Democrats when they have reclaimed leadership of the House of Representatives, for not pursuing proposals to impeach the president after all the blatant transgressions against our democratic processes and institutions, and his assault against human decency.
What really triggered the inevitable — the most serious threat to his presidency — is the latest development on his call with Ukrainian President, which comes from the same playbook as his dealings with Russia, Australia, and now even China, as well as his questionable relationship with Saudi Arabia, North Korea, etc.
Trump used military aide from taxpayers’ money to bribe the Ukrainian president to dig dirt on his political opponent for his own personal political interest, or the military aide due Ukraine would remain to be withheld. This allegation had been substantiated by whistleblower account, corroborated by testimonies given under oath during the impeachment inquiry in the House. From the evidence presented, articles of impeachment were drafted and voted “aye” by a majority in the House.
Such abuse of power shows how Trump is a threat to national security. Foreign countries interfering in our elections, especially at the behest or invitation of the President, compromises our security and national interest — a clear violation of the oath taken by Trump when he was sworn in as President of the United States.
When we talk about national security, we as Americans need to look at this as a non-partisan issue because it involves all of us and the security of our nation. When partisan colors cloud the way we objectively assess what is happening now in America in the age of Trump and decide what should be done, we need to go back to the spirit of the law in the Constitution, as stated by the Founding Fathers against a corrupt government.
During the course of the impeachment inquiry by the House, pursuant to the mandate given by the Constitution, Trump did NOT cooperate at all with the investigation, forbidding his staff from testifying under oath, and refused to turn in documents subpoenaed by the House to unearth the truth.
Trump claimed he did nothing wrong, why then would he not cooperate, as other presidents did, to help exonerate him? If indeed he is not guilty, why would he not allow his aides — like Mick Mulvaney, John Bolton, Mike Pompeo, Rudy Giuliani who had first hand account of his transactions with Ukraine— to testify under oath and/or submit the required documents?
The reason why Trump has been openly defying these orders is because the 45th president of the United States does not accept Congress as a co-equal branch of government. He acts and behaves like he is a “king” like the Prince of Saudi Arabia, a “dictator” like his idols Russia’s Putin, North Korea’s Kim, and China’s Ping.
Trump’s defiance of this mandate of the Constitution is why he was impeached for “Obstruction of Congress.” Nobody is above the law, not even the President of the United States, not even Donald Trump the celebrity.
WHAT’S NEXT? The House has impeached Trump but this does not remove him from office. That is the mandate given to the Senate.
What will the Republican-led Senate do now, especially after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told Hannity on Fox News, “Everything I do during this, I’m coordinating with the White House counsel…There will be no difference between the president’s position and our position as to how to handle this to the extent that we can.”
McConnel added, “I’m going to take my cues from the president’s lawyers.” Then he affirmed his impartiality saying there is “no chance Trump will be removed from office.”
ABANGAN ANG “Lutong Macau” sa Senado?
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Gel Santos Relos has been in news, talk, public service and educational broadcasting since 1989 with ABS-CBN and is now serving the Filipino audience using different platforms, including digital broadcasting, and print, and is working on a new public service program for the community. You may contact her through email at [email protected], or send her a message via Facebook at Facebook.com/Gel.Santos.Relos.
