Impeachment Articles Against President Trump?

Last Wednesday, Al Green, a Democratic representative from Texas, released articles of impeachment against President Trump. Impeachment means that Congress brings formal charges against the president. It does not necessarily mean that the president is removed from office. After he introduced these public challenges, he allowed the matter to be shelved–meaning that the members of the House of Representatives would not actually have to take a vote on the matter.

 What Are the Accusations?

In a 15-page document, Representative Green outlines all of the ways in which Trump has presented himself as unfit to be president. The first thing Green accused Trump of condoning racism, sexism, and homophobia in the United States. Green listed several examples of actions and statements made by the president that explained this accusation, including his statements surrounding the NFL national anthem controversy; questioning the stream of Puerto Rican requests for hurricane assistance; the motives behind the Muslim travel ban; and others.

Green also accuses Trump of falsely claiming that three to five million people voted illegally in the 2016 presidential election, and then using public tax dollars to try to prove his claim. Trump also made several false, irresponsible statements about voter fraud, particularly in New Hampshire, Virginia, and California, which undermine the sanctity of the democracy.

Would Democrats Try Impeachment?

None of these actions are a crime. Green’s statement said that the president had undermined the sanctity of his office and proven himself unfit to be president. But that’s not enough of a legal basis for impeachment. Furthermore, impeachment resolutions go to the House Judiciary Committee for review before moving along to the House of Representatives for a hearing. But Republicans control the House Judiciary Committee.

That won’t stop some Democrats from bringing this topic up–more than once. Brad Sherman, a Democratic representative from California, introduced articles of impeachment in July. Steve Cohen, a Democratic representative from Tennessee, plans to do the same thing in the coming weeks. Other Democrats in the House have pledged that they will do the same. But there is no suggestion that there are enough Democrats to make anything proceed beyond these public statements–which amount to media stories rather than political action.

History of Impeachment

Congress believes that impeachment should only be used in the most extreme of circumstances. Up until now, only two U.S. presidents have been impeached. The first was Andrew Johnson in 1868 for violating the Tenure of Office Act. He was acquitted by the Senate when the vote fell one short of what was needed to remove him from office. More than a hundred years later, Bill Clinton was impeached in 1998 for perjury, obstruction of justice, and abuse of power. Once again, there were not enough votes to remove Clinton from office, and so he also was acquitted by the Senate.

Dig Deeper Many people think that President Richard Nixon was impeached for his role in the Watergate scandal. Using internet resources, explain what happened and why Nixon was not actually impeached.