Republicans, wake up and defend the Constitution
Donald Tr ump has betrayed his tr ust to the A merica n people and must be impeached and removed f rom of f ice. In just t he latest outrage — pressur ing Ukraine to a nnounce fraudulent investigations into Tr ump’s politica l opponents — Tr ump has proven, once aga in, t hat his f irst a l leg ia nce will a lways be to himself, not to our countr y.
Even before the Ukraine extor tion scheme, Tr ump repeatedly demonstrated his disda in for t he Constit ution — referring to “the phony emoluments clause,” politicizing t he judiciar y, a nd sug gesting t hat he won’t leave of f ice a f ter t wo ter ms.
But with the House impeachment inquir y, Tr ump’s lawlessness has drag ged our countr y even f ur t her into t he pit: His ref usa l to comply wit h subpoenas, refusal to provide documents required by Congress to fulfill its role as a co-equal branch of government, a nd threatening and retaliating against those who are fulfilling their patriotic duty to testify before Congress. None of t his is OK.
The argument being made by Trump and his supporters— that they have no obligation to comply with oversight because they don’t see the impeachment inquiry as legitimate—is fundamentally anti-constitutional. I imagine that by the 10 th investigation of Benghazi, the Obama administration and Hillary Clinton probably felt, perhaps correctly, that these exercises in congressional oversight were illegitimate and politically motivated. And yet O ba man ever ordered his administration to refuse subpoenas, and Clinton famous ly testified before
Congress for 11 hours—because that’ s what the Constitution demands. For the record, none of the 10 Benghazi investigations resulted in charges against anyone.
Meanwhile ,215 charges have been brought against Trump-connected allies just from the limited Mueller investigation and five individuals are serving prison sentences. The Tr ump
Foundation and Trump University have both been shut dow n for fraud, a nd Tr ump was recently ordered to pay a $2 million fine for misusing charitable contributions for, among other things, a $10,000 portrait of himself.
What a betrayal of the party of presidents Abra ham Lincoln a nd Dwight Eisen hower. Congressional Republica ns, please wa ke up from this slumber of sin. You a re capable of so much better than what you have become under Tr ump. We need you to remember who you a re a nd join us in defending t he Constit ution aga inst a ll enemies — foreig n a nd domestic.