A SECOND OPINION: Trump Not Fully Exonerated

If you’ve been keeping up with the news, you may have realized that in the Congressional Hearings with Special Investigator Robert Mueller, President Trump was not fully exonerated from wrongdoing by Mueller’s report.

Although he may not be removed from office through impeachment, President Trump could be prosecuted after he leaves office for Russian collusion and obstruction of justice, both of which the President vehemently denies ever occurred.

Robert Mueller was candid with the Congressional representatives, saying that foreign interference in US elections “could be the new normal, I fear,” adding that the Russians are interfering in the campaigning for President “as we speak.”

News pundits panned Robert Mueller’s performance as a witness before Congress, saying that he acted befuddled and refused to answer basic questions.

But with practically all the Democratic candidates for President in 2020 calling for Trump’s impeachment, Mueller’s testimony sowed doubts about President Trump’s behavior and response to Russian meddling in the 2016 campaign.

Just to make things clear, here is the definition of impeachment:

It is a process by which a legislative body levels charges against a government official. It does not mean removal from office; it is only a statement of charges, akin to an indictment in criminal law. Once an individual is impeached, he or she must then face the possibility of conviction by a legislative vote, which judgment entails removal from office.

Because impeachment and conviction of officials involve an overturning of the normal constitutional procedures by which individuals achieve high office (election, ratification or appointment) and because it generally requires a supermajority, they are usually reserved for those deemed to have committed serious abuses of their office. In the United States, for example, impeachment at the federal level is limited to those who may have committed “Treason, Bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.”

Nancy Pelosi, the Senate Democratic Majority leader, is stalling her party on impeachment proceedings, and in fact, there are not enough votes quite yet to go ahead with the process.

The whole bug-a-boo seems to stem from Trump’s ambition to build one of his famous towers in the heart of Moscow, as well as his light-hearted acceptance of Russian favoritism in the 2016 Presidential campaign. Also, claims of his “obstruction of justice” come from his repeated refusals to meet with Mueller one-on-one.

In a ceremony to install the new Defense Department head, Trump touted the extra billions he had added to the Defense budget to make sure America’s military was number one in the world. While the legislators work to get him out, the military is giving him a shout!

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Featured image/Mike Licht, CC BY2.0
Trump/Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA2.0
Impeachment March, MB298, CC BY-SA2.0
Pelosi/Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA2.0
Moscow/Andrey Filippov, CC BY2.0